The results of the 2016 MLB Hall of Fame Class were announced on Wednesday night and both Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were both selected to enter Cooperstown. In fact, Griffey Jr. got the most votes of all time as 99.3 percent of voters elected the former Seattle Mariners‘ center fielder to be enshrined in the Hall. While that’s certainly a tremendous recognition, the three voters that left Griffey Jr. off their ballots should have their voting privileges revoked.
There is no reasonable explanation for leaving Griffey Jr. off your ballot. Offensively, he hit .284 with a .370 OBP, 630 home runs and 1,836 RBIs over his 22-year career. Griffey Jr. was also a 13-time All Star, seven-time Silver Slugger and won 10 Gold Glove awards at one of the most grueling positions on the field. Most importantly for current voters, he was never connected to steroids.
That leaves us to ponder why these three voters would leave him off their ballots. The only reason that comes to mind is that they didn’t want a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame to happen on their watch. There’s too many politics involved with the Hall of Fame voting. Instead of deciding whether or not a player the voters abuse their power to prove a hidden agenda.
A perfect example is Griffey Jr.’s classmate Piazza. In his autobiography released in 2013, Piazza admitted to using androstenedione, a muscle-building compound long banned by the International Olympic Committee and added to baseball’s banned substances list in 2004. As far as any other steroids, Piazza denied using even though many teammates, opponents, scouts and management had concerns otherwise.
Now that the voters have allowed Piazza into the Hall, it opens the door for Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and all other steroid users to join because the BBWAA decided that it was time to allow Piazza in.
While Griffey Jr. was ecstatic about receiving the highest percentage of votes of all time, he was robbed by the three voters that chose their own agenda over rightfully naming him the only unanimous Hall of Fame player in history.
