Which hat for Griffey, Piazza on Hall of Fame plaque?

No one, not Babe Ruth nor Jackie Robinson nor the previous record-holder Tom Seaver, has ever been elected unanimously.

Much ink is being spilled over the three Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters who didn’t include Ken Griffey Jr. on their Hall of Fame ballots.

Griffey is the first number one overall draft pick to be inducted into the Hall of Famer where as Piazza is the lowest drafted player.

Falling 15 votes shy of the 330 required for election this year was first baseman Jeff Bagwell, whose vote total represented 71.6 percent.

The Hall of Fame now has 312 elected members, including 217 players, of which 121 have come through the BBWAA ballot.

Ken Griffey Jr. seen here batting for the Seattle Mariners against the New York Yankees in 2009. “It’s just an honor to be elected and to have the highest percentage is definitely a shock”, Griffey said during a conference call. The draft no longer lasts that long.

Whether this election also suggests a shift will be clearer in the coming years.

“Junior”, who hit 630 home runs, had one of the game’s sweetest hitting strokes, and his energy and enthusiasm for the game earned him the nickname “the Kid”. What were the odds that two great players, two Hall of Fame players, would be born on the exact same day, in the exact same town.

Testing and strict violations have helped, though Remington guesses use of performance-enhancing drugs is at a “historic norm”.

Piazza, who was named on 83% of the ballots, is not known to have failed a drug test. His name did not appear in the Mitchell Report. “They’ve addressed the issue”.

A larger talent pool across the board raises the bar for players entering the MLB, Zimbalist says. “There’s no question the issue mentioned has been a dark cloud over the game”. “The fans understand there’s no flawless institution”. It’s a human condition. Membership in this exclusive club grants them the opportunity to take a great honor and make it about themselves.

Piazza, on the ballot for the fourth time, received 365 votes. Candidates need 75 percent of the vote (this year, 440 ballots were submitted) to get in, or 5 percent to be able to try again next year (they’re eliminated after 10 attempts). Mark McGwire, who admitted using steroids, received 12 percent in his 10th and final ballot appearance.

“He hits it harder than I did when I was 16”, Williams says on a videotape of their meeting.

I don’t think I can accurately describe what Griffey meant to the baseball fans of Seattle. All the outfielder did was make a Major League roster at 19 and immediately dominate for over a decade.

Griffey posted seven different seasons of 40 or more home runs, eight seasons of 100 or more RBIs, six seasons of 100 or more runs scored and four seasons with a 1.000 OPS or better. He never won the MVP award, but he finished among the top three finalists on three separate occasions. A lot of people didn’t understand it…. He had a candy bar named after him, and cameos in The Simpsons and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

It wasn’t if, but when the smooth-swatting slugger with an unforgettable smile and backwards ball cap would run through the doors of Cooperstown to claim his spot among immortals. “In case you don’t know, I’m really superstitious”, said Griffey. He wound up playing longer for the New York Mets and said in his 2013 autobiography that he would want his Hall plaque to feature a Mets cap, not a Dodgers cap. He was on 43.4 percent of the ballots with 191 votes. His increase this year corresponded with a decrease in the electorate. Meanwhile, outfielder Sammy Sosa garnered 7 percent, barely enough to keep him on the ballot for another year. He didn’t prepare any comments before receiving the call. Although he visited Cooperstown a few times during his career, he never once set foot in the Hall of Fame.

“I also had a dad that said you’re never going to be the biggest, you’re never going to be the strongest and you’re never going to be the fastest”, he said.

The folks I know who vote take their process very seriously.