It proved a rough maiden voyage for Alex Rodriguez in his hope to reach the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rodriguez, a three-time Most Valuable Player, received 135 of the 394 votes posted by Baseball Writers Association of America members, 34.3 percent of the total, not even half of the 75 percent necessary for election. He has nine more shots to go.
His introduction to this process also brought about the removal of 10th-year candidates Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, all of whom faced strong speculation of illegal performance-enhancing drug usage, without actually getting caught. Rodriguez, on the other hand, did get caught. He sat out the 2014 season after being found guilty of breaking the game’s collectively bargained rules.
The infielder’s best chance for a turnaround probably lies in a turnover of the electorate, as younger writers obtain a vote (with 10 years of service in the BBWAA) and take a different stance on the illegal PED issue. The exclusion of Bonds, Clemens and Sosa, however, undoubtedly hurts his cause, while the good news for A-Rod’s fellow first-year candidate David Ortiz probably doesn’t help much given that Ortiz, who did fail the 2003 survey test for illegal PEDs, never got in any trouble once discipline went into effect.
Slugger Manny Ramirez, the only other player on the ballot who got officially caught using illegal PEDs (he actually got caught twice), trailed Rodriguez with 28.9 percent, a meager 0.7 percent rise in his fifth try.
In other ballot developments:
- Third baseman Scott Rolen will own the 2023 role of “top returning candidate,” as he shot up from 52.9 percent last year to 63.2. With five years left, the former Phillie, Cardinal, Blue Jay and Red holds a strong chance of election. Rockies legend Todd Helton (52 percent, fourth year) and closer Billy Wagner (51 percent, seventh year) both cleared the 50 percent landmark for the first time.
- For all the understandable attention given to Curt Schilling, who plummeted from 71.1 percent to 58.6 percent in his last chance after declaring war on the BBWAA last year, shortstop Omar Vizquel experienced an even bigger drop, from 49.1 percent to 23.9 percent, in the wake of allegations of domestic violence. Vizquel has five more years of eligibility.
- Yankees legend Andy Pettitte, in his fourth year, dropped from 13.7 percent to 10.7, a likely casualty of those who voted for both Ortiz and A-Rod and ran out of room on the maximum-10 ballot to retain the southpaw.
- Coming next year: Carlos Beltran! The former Met and Yankee will bring a whole new conundrum into play: How should Hall voters regard those involved in the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal?