McGriff elected to HOF; Bonds, Clemens left out

SAN DIEGO -- Former large league slugger Fred McGriff was selected arsenic the newest subordinate of the Baseball Hall of Fame connected Sunday, with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling denied again.

McGriff was a unanimous prime among the 16 members of the inaugural modern shot epoch committee, which considered a ballot of 8 candidates whose superior contributions to the crippled took spot aft 1980. A subordinate needs 75% of the ballot to beryllium elected.

"What an honor," McGriff said successful a Zoom telephone with the media from his location successful Florida. "It's a beauteous nighttime successful Tampa. I did it. I got successful there. I consciousness arsenic if I've been wholly blessed my full beingness and I proceed to beryllium blessed. It's an grant to beryllium inducted into the Hall of Fame."

McGriff, 59, starred for six antithetic clubs during a 19-year vocation that ended successful 2004. The five-time All-Star clubbed 493 homers and collected 2,493 hits portion finishing successful the apical 10 of MVP balloting successful six antithetic seasons, including each play from 1989 to 1993.

McGriff deed 30 oregon much homers successful a play for 5 antithetic franchises, including the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs. He was a cardinal subordinate of the 1995 Braves squad that won the World Series, homering doubly successful the Fall Classic against Cleveland.

Still, successful portion owed to a backlog of arguable candidates from the divisive steroid era, McGriff could not get implicit the hump successful 10 appearances connected the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, topping retired astatine 69 votes (39.8%) successful his last twelvemonth of eligibility successful 2019.

Since then, McGriff became a favored origin among Hall of Fame pundits for his accordant excellence and a way grounds escaped of the benignant of performance-enhancer-related controversies that plagued different stars from his era. Now, the soft-spoken McGriff volition beryllium delivering the biggest code of his beingness July 23 during the induction ceremonial successful Cooperstown, New York.

"For maine it was ever astir consistency," McGriff said. "I worked hard to get to this point. I went retired and conscionable played the crippled the mode it was expected to beryllium played."

While McGriff was celebrating the long-awaited honor, overmuch of the chatter successful the lead-up to Sunday's announcement revolved astir all-time greats connected the ballot who person been associated with assorted controversies, including 354-game victor Clemens and all-time location tally person Bonds.

It was the archetypal clip that Bonds, Clemens and Schilling had faced a Hall committee since falling abbreviated successful January successful their last chances with the BBWAA. Bonds and Clemens person been accused of utilizing performance-enhancing drugs, and enactment for Schilling dropped aft his incendiary tweets and remarks astir Muslims, transgender people, reporters and others. On the 2022 BBWAA ballot, Bonds received 260 of 394 votes (66%), Clemens 257 (65.2%) and Schilling 231 (58.6%).

Asked if Bonds belonged successful Cooperstown, a smiling McGriff responded: "Honestly, close now, I'm going to conscionable bask this evening.''

This year's modern epoch sheet was comprised of Hall of Fame members Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Frank Thomas and Alan Trammell; large league executives Paul Beeston, Theo Epstein, Derrick Hall, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Dave St. Peter and Ken Williams; and seasoned media members Steve Hirdt, LaVelle Neal and Susan Slusser. The committee was chaired by Hall of Fame president Jane Forbes Clark successful a non-voting capacity.

Hall of Famer Chipper Jones was primitively slated to enactment successful the deliberations but had to bow retired owed to illness. Hall replaced him connected the panel, which met successful San Diego astatine baseball's wintertime meetings.

Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Belle, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy rounded retired the eight-man ballot. Mattingly was adjacent closest to election, with 8 votes of 12 required. Schilling had 7 and Murphy had six. Nobody other had much than three.

The adjacent clip that modern epoch players tin beryllium considered is 2025, for imaginable inclusion successful the 2026 induction ceremonies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.