ORLANDO, Fla. — With Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens facing only one more chance under the current rules to get into baseball’s Hall of Fame, the Hall chairman thinks they were turned down because contemporary era committee members evaluate the Steroids Era in the same manner as baseball writers.
Bonds and Clemens each received fewer than five votes Sunday from the committee that elected Jeff Kent.
“I’m not surprised because I think there’s overlap and obviously discussions among the writers and we have writers represented on that committee,” Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said Monday following a news conference with Kent at the winter meetings.
Under a change announced by the Hall last March, candidates who received fewer than five votes from the 16-person panel are not eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.
That means if Bonds and Clemens reappear on the contemporary era ballot in 2031 and fail to get five votes, they would be barred from future appearances unless the rules are changed.
“What’s lovely about it is it’s going to open up spots on the ballot so that more people can be reviewed,” Clark said. “They certainly can come back in six years, in ’31, but between now and then some other people will have a chance because I think that’s really important.”
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Under the Hall’s committee format, contemporary era players from 1980 on alternate over three years with the classic era and contemporary era managers, executives and umpires.
A seven-time NL MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, Bonds set the career home run record with 762 and the season record with 73 in 2001. A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).
Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs and Clemens maintains he never used PEDs.
Bonds and Clemens fell short in 2022 in their 10th and final appearances on the BBWAA ballot, when Bonds received 260 of 394 votes (66%) and Clemens 257 (65.2%).
In their first appearance on the contemporary era committee ballot, Bonds and Clemens each received fewer than four votes in December 2022 as Fred McGriff was elected.
