Alex Rodriguez received a slight bounce in his second year on the Hall of Fame ballot, but not enough to suggest voters changed their minds about admitted PED cheating.
The three-time MVP received 35.7% of the votes on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballots, the results of which were announced Tuesday with the election of Scott Rolen to the Hall of Fame. Last year, as a rookie on the ballot, Rodriguez received 34.3% of the vote. A candidate needs 75% of the vote to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Rodriguez was suspended the entire 2014 season with the Yankees for his involvement with Biogenesis, a South Florida-based lab that supplied players with banned performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez also admitted to using PED during his tenure with Rangers.
Manny Ramirez, another Hall of Fame slam-dunk selection if not for his PED history, received 33.2% of the vote in his eighth year on the ballot. The former outfielder was suspended twice by MLB after testing positive for PEDs.
Next winter’s ballot will include debutants Adrian Beltre, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Joe Mauer and Chase Utley, among others. Beltre will most likely be a strong consideration for election in his freshman year, with Ichiro Suzuki looming as a potential candidate for the ballot that will elect the Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
RA Dickey and Jacoby Ellsbury were among the sole candidates in this election. Each former player received only one vote (0.3%). A candidate must obtain at least 5% of the votes to remain on the ballot.
It was the 28th time the BBWAA has elected a single Hall of Fame nominee – most likely among individual results historically. On 27 occasions, the BBWAA has elected two candidates, the second most likely individual outcome.
