Ex-Expo Guerrero elected to Hall of Fame
Jones, Thome and Hoffman also in; Martinez gets close
Former Montreal Expos NEW YORK outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman have been elected to the baseball Hall of Fame.
Designated hitter Edgar Martinez came close (20 votes short) after a grassroots campaign to boost him. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both tainted by the steroids scandal, edged up but again fell far short.
Jones and Thome are the 53rd and 54th players elected in their first year of eligibility by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Jones drew 97.2 per cent (410 of 422) in results announced Wednesday, and Thome was at 89.8 per cent.
“I am quite thankful to Montreal, to the Expos, because that was the team, after some teams overlooked me in the Dominican Republic, that gave me the opportunity to break into professional baseball,” said Guerrero, in comments via an interpreter, on a conference call Wednesday night. “I’m always thankful for the way I was treated in Canada.”
Guerrero, in his second year on the ballot, received 392 votes for 92.9 per cent. Seventy-five per cent is needed for induction. The 42-year-old spent eight years in Montreal, 1996 to 2003.
Guerrero was the MVP in the American League in 2004, his first season with the then Anaheim Angels, when he batted .337 with 39 home runs and 126 RBIs plus league-leading totals in runs (124) and total bases (366).
The Dominican Republic native also played for the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles in a 16-season career in which he compiled a .318 batting average and .553 slugging percentage. Guerrero was an eight-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award, seven times as a right-fielder and once as a designated hitter. He appeared in nine all-star games and had 13 seasons with a .300 or better batting average.
He had four 200-plus-hit seasons, drove in 100 or more runs 10 times and scored 100 or more runs six times.
Jones was an eight-time all-star third baseman for the Atlanta Braves. The switch-hitter batted .303 and hit 468 home runs.
Thome hit 612 home runs, putting him eighth on the career list. The five-time all-star played mostly for Cleveland.
Hoffman was chosen in his third year, getting 79.9 per cent after missing by just five votes last time. The former San Diego Padres closer had 601 saves, second to Mariano Rivera’s 652.
Clemens, winner of 354 games and seven Cy Young Awards, got 57.3 per cent after drawing 54.1 per cent last time. Bonds, the career home run leader and a seven-time MVP, reached 56.4 per cent, up from 53.8 per cent.
Clemens and Bonds each have four tries left.
The four new members will be inducted on July 29. They will be joined by Jack Morris and shortstop Alan Trammell, who were picked last month by a committee that considered older players and executives.