Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today, with Griffey receiving the highest percentage of votes in history.

In the closest pursuit yet toward a unanimous choice in National Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. missed by only three votes of a ideal score in the 2016 balloting by the BBWAA verified by Ernst & Young. His 99.3 percent result broke the previous mark of 98.8 percent, set by Tom Seaver in 1992.

Griffey was also the first No. 1 overall pick to earn election to the Hall, while Piazza, regarded as the best power-hitting catcher in modern-day history, became the lowest draft pick to be voted into Cooperstown.

The vote total dropped by 109 from last year because writers who have not been active for 10 years lost their votes under new rules.

Others of note: Roger Clemens only received 45.2%, while Barry Bonds received only 44.3%, well short of inclusion.

Griffey Jr. played in 13 All-Star games over his 22-year career with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox. The biggest gainer in this year’s vote, as compared to the 2015 vote, is Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners. He hit 56 home runs in the 1997 and the ’98 seasons, following them up with a 48-homer campaign in 1999.

Among those missing the Cooperstown cut were Jeff Bagwell (71.6 percent), Tim Raines (69.8), Trevor Hoffman (67.3) and Curt Schilling (52.3) Alan Trammell falls off the ballot after failing to reach the needed 75 percent required for induction in his 15th and final year of eligibility.

Both have six more years on the ballot before their eligibility expires.

When it was all said and done, there were two brand-new members elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

With former Mets co-owner Nelson Doubleday’s urging, the Mets acquired Piazza in a trade with the Marlins in 1998 and then signed him to a seven-year contract worth $91 million after the season. He lived up to the hype, winning 10 Gold Gloves and mashing 630 home runs, the sixth most all time. Bagwell received just 55.7 percent past year, and with some extra support, could be inducted in 2017. He hit a go-ahead, eighth inning home run on September 21, 2001 at Shea Stadium – 10 days after the terrorist attacks in Manhattan. Piazza, whose 396 homers as a catcher are the most for anyone at the position, got in on his fourth try. Piazza was a 12-time All-Star and ranks first among all catchers in home runs and slugging percentage.