TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – David Ortiz was one of the most feared hitters in his days a star for the Boston Red Sox. On Tuesday, one of the great designated hitters of all-time was elected to the 2022 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
75 percent of votes are required to enter the Hall. Ortiz received 77.9 percent, in his first year of eligibility.
News Channel 8’s Dan Lucas talked to a Tampa Bay area Hall of Fame voter, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, about a year that would close the book on a controversial debate among voters and baseball fans.
Do Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens belong in the Hall of Fame?
Bonds and Clemens fell short of 75 percent in their 10th and final year of eligibility. Bonds finished with his highest percentage, 66 percent. Clemens finished with 65.2 percent of the votes.
Most writers and fans acknowledge the accomplishments and records by both players but the argument for the Hall of Fame centers around their place in baseball’s “Steroid Era,” the rampant decade of players using banned substances.
Neither Bonds nor Clemens tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Topkin voted for both Bonds and Clemens during their entire ten years on the ballot.
Topkin did the same for Tampa’s Gary Sheffield, one of the most feared hitters throughout his long Major League career. Sheffield held steady at 40.6 percent of the votes, with two more years of eligibility.
Former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford also appeared on the 2022 ballot but received no votes. Crawford needed at least five percent to qualify for next year’s vote.