Ken Griffey Jr. Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame With Record-Breaking, But Not Unanimous, Vote

Andrew Simon, reporting for MLB.com:

Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza are headed to Cooperstown as the Class of 2016.

Both were announced as Hall of Famers on Wednesday, when the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting was revealed live on MLB Network and MLB.com. Griffey was named on 99.3 percent of ballots (437 of 440), breaking the record of 98.84 percent set by Tom Seaver in 1992.

It’s certainly an honor to have the highest percentage of votes in history, but it’s ridiculous that anyone voted against Griffey. He was fucking amazing — high OBP, 630 career home runs, 10 Gold Gloves in the outfield. If Ken Griffey Jr. isn’t a Hall of Fame baseball player, no one is. This handful of BBWAA voters who believe no one should get in unanimously think they’re protecting some sort of noble tradition (“If Babe Ruth wasn’t elected unanimously, no one should be” is how I’ve heard it argued), but they’re just making fools of themselves. That 3 out of 440 voters didn’t vote for Griffey makes it look like some of the voters don’t know anything about baseball.

Same for Greg Maddux two years ago, Randy Johnson last year, and just about everyone else who’s ever gotten 97 percent or higher. Who didn’t vote for Tony Gwynn or Cal Ripken in 2007? It boggles the mind.

(Bookmark this for a few years from now, when Mariano Rivera is eligible, and the year after, when Derek Jeter is.)

★ Wednesday, 6 January 2016