Breaking News: Ripken and Gwynn Elected to Hall of Fame

Today, on Tuesday January 9, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were elected to the Hall of Fame. These two great baseball players rightfully deserved to make the Hall of Fame. However, there selecting to the Hall of Fame was overshadowed by the fact that Mark McGuire who hit 70 home runs and shattered Babe Ruth's record, was not elected to the Hall of Fame. Mark McGuire's controversial use of steroids impacted the voting as he received only the ninth most votes. Cal Ripken, who played shortstop and third base for the Baltimore Orioles, received 537 votes, which was 98.5 percent of the voters. Tony Gwynn who played outfield for the San Diego Padres and was one of the most prolific hitters of all time, having several seasons with 300 hits, received 532 votes, which was 97.6 of all voters.

Cal Ripken gained his fame through his great defensive presence in his career at shortstop. He moved to third base as his old age kicked in. He is also famous in baseball for playing the most consecutive games in a row, an accomplishment that is not likely to be beaten anytime soon or ever.

Rich Goosage who was a closer for the Yankees and Athletics, received 388 votes which was 71.2 percent of all votes but still fell 21 votes shy of gaining entry into the Hall of Fame once again. Rich Goosage is one of the few players on the ballot list along with Jim Rice who truly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Mark McGuire finished 9th on the ballot, gaining 128 votes and 23.5 percent of the votes. His appearance in court in which he stated that he didn't want to talk about his past and use of steroids also hurt his candidacy into the Hall of Fame.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn both share the common trait of being with the same team their entire career and never leading their team to the championship. While Gwynn tried valiantly by leading the Padres to face the Yankees in the 2000 World Series, his team came up short as they were swept in four games.

As for Mark McGuire, his lack of votes is significant because Sammy Sosa who will be retiring shortly will likely receive the same lack of support from the voters because he too is suspected of being a cheater. Jose Canseco who hit 500 home runs admitted in his book that he used steroids and the Hall of Fame voters are unlikely to vote for Jose Canseco anytime soon, if ever.