Chipper Jones, 3 others in Hall of Fame; Bonds falls short
Jones leads class of four players
Barry Bonds still is not a Hall of Famer. Neither is Roger Clemens. In fact, they’re far from it. Four members of the 2018 Hall of Fame class were announced Wednesday: third baseman Chipper Jones, outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, first baseman Jim Thome and closer Trevor Hoffman.
Bonds and Clemens hardly got a bump in the voting in their sixth year on the ballot. Bonds received 56.4 percent, barely up from last year’s 53.8 percent. Clemens got 57.3 percent, up from 54.1 percent.
Links to performance-enhancing drugs during their playing careers continue to be costly for Bonds, a seven-time
MVP and the all-time and singleseason home run champ, and Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner.
Both received in the 30-percent range when debuting in 2013 but got spikes last year as newly eligible voters considered only their numbers, older voters lost their eligibility and others softened their stances, especially as players with steroid suspicions were getting elected, along with former Commissioner Bud Selig.
This year, however, the gain was minimal.
In a Wednesday conference call, Jones called Bonds “the best baseball player I’ve ever seen don a uniform. It’s unfortunate some of the best players in this era have a cloud of suspicion because you’re talking about all-timers, guys that would be considered the greatest players of all time.”
Jones added, “I’m not going to tell anybody how to vote. I think both would have been Hall of Famers regardless, whether they had a cloud of suspicion or not.”
Hall of Famer Willie McCovey made a plea for Bonds in comments published last month in The Chronicle, saying, “I just think it’s a sin he’s not in there. If anybody deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, it’s Barry.”
McCovey also said he didn’t appreciate a letter sent to voters by Hall of Famer Joe Morgan asking them not to support players with steroid ties and suggesting some Hall of Famers wouldn’t attend the ceremony if those players got in.
This month, at a private birthday party the Giants hosted for McCovey, 80, an emotional Bonds broke down during a speech in which he said he hopes to join McCovey and Willie Mays, his godfather, in Cooperstown.
Edgar Martinez fell short of the 75 percent required for induction in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Martinez, whose candidacy has been slowed largely because he was a designated hitter, received 70.4 percent and will have one more chance to be selected by the writers.
Candidates can stay on the ballot up to 10 years.
Pitcher Mike Mussina finished at 63.5 percent, pitcher Curt Schilling at 51.2 percent. Former Giants middle infielders Jeff Kent, the all-time leader in homers for a second baseman, and Omar Vizquel, a spectacular defensive shortstop who collected 2,877 hits, were well out of the running at 14.5 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
Jones (97.2 percent) and Thome (89.8 percent) were selected in their first year of eligibility, Guerrero (92.9 percent) in his second, Hoffman (79.9 percent) in his third. They’re joining a class that includes Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, who had dropped off the writers’ ballot but were voted in by a veterans committee.
Jones, a mainstay on a Braves team that won 14 consecutive division titles, hit .303 with 468 homers, third most for a switchhitter. He’ll join former Braves teammates Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz in Cooperstown, along with his old manager Bobby Cox and general manager John Schuerholz.
Jones said another teammate, Fred McGriff, who wasn’t tainted like many sluggers of the era, had Hall of Fame numbers, including 493 homers and 1,550 RBIs. He received 23.2 percent and has one more year on the ballot.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Jones said. “I think if he had been a little bit more outspoken or flashy or whatnot, you might notice the numbers a little more. He was just a professional.”
Guerrero was a free swinger who hit .318 with 449 homers and will be the third Dominican Hall of Famer, following two pitchers — Giants legend Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez. Guerrero said he was humbled and thankful but noted that other Dominican hitters will be knocking on the door eventually, including David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre and Albert Pujols.
Thome hit 612 homers, eighth on the all-time list, and Hoffman is second on the saves list behind Mariano Rivera and is the sixth reliever headed to the Hall.
The induction ceremony is July 29.