Voters pitch Hall of Fame shutout

ESPN:  NEW YORK -- Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa were denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame, with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades.

In a vote that keeps the game's career home run leader and one of its greatest pitchers out of Cooperstown -- at least for now -- Bonds received just 36.2 percent of the vote and Clemens 37.6 in totals announced Wednesday by the Hall and the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Both fell well short of the 75 percent necessary, while Sosa, eighth on the career home run list, got 12.5 percent.

2013 Hall of Fame voting

For the first time since 1996, no players were elected to the Hall of Fame by baseball writers. A player needs at least 75 percent of the vote to gain election.

Player	Votes	Pct
Craig Biggio	388	68.2
Jack Morris	385	67.7
Jeff Bagwell	339	59.6
Mike Piazza	329	57.8
Tim Raines	297	52.2
Lee Smith	272	47.8
Curt Schilling	221	38.8
Roger Clemens	214	37.6
Barry Bonds	206	36.2
Edgar Martinez	204	35.9
Alan Trammell	191	33.6
Larry Walker	123	21.6
Fred McGriff	118	20.7
Dale Murphy	106	18.6
Mark McGwire	96	16.9
Don Mattingly	75	13.2
Sammy Sosa	71	12.5
Rafael Palmeiro	50	8.8
Others receiving votes: Bernie Williams, 19; Kenny Lofton, 18; Sandy Alomar Jr., 16; Julio Franco, 6; David Wells, 5; Steve Finley, 4; Shawn Green, 2; Aaron Sele, 1.

"Curt Schilling made a good point; everyone was guilty. Either you used PEDs, or you did nothing to stop their use," Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt said in an email to The Associated Press. "This generation got rich. Seems there was a price to pay."

Bonds, Clemens and Sosa were eligible for the first time and have up to 14 more years on the writers' ballot to gain baseball's highest honor.

"After what has been written and said over the last few years, I'm not overly surprised," Clemens said in a statement he posted on Twitter.

Craig Biggio, 20th on the career list with 3,060 hits, topped the 37 candidates with 68.2 percent of the 569 ballots, 39 shy of election. Among other first-year eligibles, Mike Piazza received 57.8 percent and Schilling 38.8.

"I think as a player, a group, this is one of the first times that we've been publicly called out," Schilling said. "I think it's fitting. ... If there was ever a ballot and a year to make a statement about what we didn't do as players -- which is we didn't actively push to get the game clean -- this is it."

Jack Morris led holdovers with 67.7 percent. He will make his final ballot appearance next year, when fellow pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine along with slugger Frank Thomas are eligible for the first time.

Two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy received 18.6 percent in his 15th and final appearance.

"With 53 percent you can get to the White House, but you can't get to Cooperstown," BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell said. "It's the 75 percent that makes it difficult."

Jasper's Thoughts: "I think that it sends a powerful message to not induct any players this year.  I would also make the case for BBWA writers that former performance enhancing drug users should not be induced into the hall."