Shutout: Baseball Writers Elect None To Hall of Fame in 2021

For just the ninth time in history, and second time in the last eight years, none of the ex-players up for induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame received the necessary votes to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Word came late Tuesday from the Baseball Hall. Among those eligible for the 2021 class, Curt Shilling was the closest, with just over 71% of the vote among the Baseball Writers Association of America. Two of the game's greats, who are also linked performance enhancing drugs, came second and third: Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens each received approximately 62% support (Bonds was officially 61.8% and Clemens 61.6%).

Per the Baseball Hall of Fame, here are this year's vote results:

Curt Schilling 285 (71.1 percent), Barry Bonds 248 (61.8), Roger Clemens 247 (61.6), Scott Rolen 212 (52.9), Omar Vizquel 197 (49.1), Billy Wagner 186 (46.4), Todd Helton 180 (44.9), Gary Sheffield 163 (40.6), Andruw Jones 136 (33.9), Jeff Kent 130 (32.4), Manny Ramírez 113 (28.2), Sammy Sosa 68 (17.0), Andy Pettitte 55 (13.7), Mark Buehrle 44 (11.0), Torii Hunter 38 (9.5), Bobby Abreu 35 (8.7), Tim Hudson 21 (5.2), Aramis Ramírez 4 (1.0), LaTroy Hawkins 2 (0.5), Barry Zito 1 (0.2), A.J. Burnett 0, Michael Cuddyer 0, Dan Haren 0, Nick Swisher 0, Shane Victorino 0.

According HOF officials, in order to get the 75% required for induction, Schilling would have needed 16 more votes. Last year, the ex-pitcher whose political views have drawn much criticism, finished 20 votes shy, officials said. Next year will be the final year of eligibility for Schilling, Bonds and Clemens.

Players can stay on the eligible list for up to a decade, so long as they don't received less than 5% of the vote in any of those years. That means Aramis Ramirez, LaTroy Hawkins, Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, Muchael Cuddyer, Dan Haren, Nick Swisher and Shane Victorino are off next year's list.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Keep in mind, because of the pandemic, the 2020 festivities that surround the annual ceremony were called off. Dereker Jeter and Larry Walker headlined last year's class, but their inductions are now scheduled to be commemorated this July. Marvin Miller and Ted Simmons were added to the 2020 class after gaining election last year via the Hall's Modern Baseball Era Committee.

-------------------------------------------------