Cooperstown will at least have Derek Jeter this summer.
A year after the former Yankee fell one vote short to become the second player to be unanimously selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame, no player is expected to get enough votes for entrenchment when announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Curt Schilling had 75.1 percent of the votes counted by Ryan Thibodaux and counted on Twitter @Notmrtibbs.
And while that would be enough for the 75 percent cut-off for participation, rates consistently drop significantly when all votes are counted.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were the only others to follow more than 70 percent on Tuesday, both close to where they were at the time a year ago when they were also quite short.
If none of the three makes it to Tuesday, it will be the first time in eight years that no one has been elected to the Hall of Fame.
That was also the first year that Schilling, Bonds and Clemens were on the ballot. Nine players from that 2013 ballot, including Larry Walker and Mike Piazza, eventually entered.
But as for July, as last year’s launch ceremony was canceled due to the COVID pandemic, Jeter, Walker, Ted Simmons and the late union leader Marvin Miller are expected to be honored in New York state.
Next year will also be the last time on the ballot for Schilling, Bonds and Clemens, although they will be eligible to participate in veteran committees in the future. How that will affect the disgraced players remains to be seen.
Schilling may also have cost himself future votes with his response to the January 6 Capitol riots, adding to his list of controversial statements over the years.
In addition to being the last year in which we qualify for Schilling, Bonds and Clemens, 2022 will also be the first year for some other controversial figures – including Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz.
Both Rodriguez and Ortiz, like Bonds and Clemens, have ties to PEDs. Rodriguez admitted to using them, while Ortiz denied it, but his name appeared on the Mitchell report.
Rodriguez and Ortiz have had more success in rehabilitating their images. Each of them are on Fox Sports during the postseason, and Rodriguez also works for ESPN, making an effort to buy the Mets off-season before losing to Steve Cohen.
Of the 25 freshmen players on this year’s ballot, Mark Buehrle is the highest at only 7.9 percent.
Scott Rolen is next behind Clemens and Bonds, with 62.1 percent, which would be a jump from the 35 percent he got a year ago.
Todd Helton, Billy Wagner, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel were the only remaining players to get more than 40 percent of the vote.
Former Yankee Nick Swisher and ex-Mets Michael Cuddyer and LaTroy Hawkins are also on the ballot for the first time this year, while former Yankees Andy Pettitte and Bobby Abreu and former Met Jeff Kent are among the other remnants.