Raines, Pudge, Bagwell headed to Baseball HOF
NEW YORK — Bags and Rock and Pudge are heading to Cooperstown.
After a vote that could prove to be a turning point how Steroids Era stars are viewed, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens could be joining them in the next few years.
Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday, earning the honor as Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero fell just short of the necessary 75 percent.
Bonds and Clemens, their careers tainted by allegations of steroids use, were passed over for the fifth straight year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America but each received a majority of votes for the first time.
“They were just awesome,” Bagwell said. “Their demeanor, the way they went about their business, was just amazing, and I respect them.”
On the ballot for the seventh time after falling 15 votes short last year, Bagwell appeared on 381 of 442 ballots for 86.2 percent. Players needed 332 votes this year.
“Anxiety was very, very high,” Bagwell said. “It’s a weird thing to be a Hall of Famer. I wrote it on a ball tonight. It was kind of crazy, so it was cool.”
In his 10th and final year of eligibility, Raines was at 380 (86 percent). He was just the fifth player elected in his final year of eligibility after Red Ruffing (1967), Joe Medwick (1968), Ralph Kiner (1975) and Jim Rice (2009).
“Last night was probably the worst night I’ve had out of the 10 years,” Raines said. “I knew I was close, but I wasn’t sure.”
Raines started at 24.3 percent in 2008 and jumped from 55 percent in 2015 to 69.8 percent last year. He said modern metrics boosted his chances from days when voters considered primarily whether players had 3,000 hits, 500 homers or 300 wins.
“I think social media played a big role,” he said. “You’ve got these new stats. You’ve got WAR. You’ve all this stuff. People really didn’t look at it back in the day. ... The more they looked, the better it turned out for me.”
Rodriguez, at 45 the youngest current Hall member, received 336 votes (76 percent).
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping for three days,” he said.
Rodriguez, the 52nd player elected in his first year of eligibility, joins Johnny Bench in 1989 as the only catchers voted in on their first ballot.
“Johnny Bench was my favorite player growing up,” Pudge added.
Hoffman was five votes short and Guerrero 15 shy.
“Falling short of this class is disappointing,” Hoffman said in a statement. “I am truly humbled to have come so close. I hope to one day soon share a Hall of Fame celebration with my family, friends, teammates and all of San Diego.”
Edgar Martinez was next at 58.6 percent, followed by Clemens at 54.1 percent, Bonds at 53.8 percent, Mike Mussina at 51.8 percent, Curt Schilling at 45 percent, Lee Smith at 34.2 percent and Manny Ramirez at 23.8 percent.
Players will be inducted July 30 during ceremonies at Cooperstown along with former Commissioner Bud Selig and retired Kansas City and Atlanta executive John Schuerholz, both elected last month by a veterans committee.
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