Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday afternoon. Alomar and Blyleven were the leading vote-getters this year after missing out on induction last year. The players won two World Series championships apiece.

Alomar, a second baseman for the Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians and three other teams, appeared on 90 percent of the ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Alomar was a 12-time All-Star and won 10 Gold Glove awards.

Blyleven appeared on 79.7 percent of the ballots. The pitcher spent most of his career with the Twins, recording 287 career wins, 3,701 strikeouts and 60 shutouts. Blyleven appeared for his 14th time on the ballot.

Missing out on the induction was first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, appearing for the first time on the ballot. Palmeiro was backed by Tom Davis, the former head of the Congressional subcommittee that oversaw the testimonials of Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa and Palmeiro. Davis said that he believed Palmeiro did not knowingly take steroids during his career. His name appeared on only 11 percent of the ballots submitted — the fewest of any player.

Leave a Reply