Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens Among Biggest Names of Top 10 Best Players Not Enshrined in Cooperstown (Photos)

by NESN Staff on Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 11:47AM

Cooperstown, N.Y., should be an awfully quiet town this summer, with the Baseball Writers Association of American failing to vote in any new players to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

However, it’s not for a lack of talent on the ballot — it’s just that some of the biggest names up for consideration have some very serious question marks surrounding their candidacy.

Barry Bonds, the game’s all-time home run king, received just just over 36 percent of the vote, while Roger Clemens, another of the game’s all-time greats, saw his vote total hover around 38 percent. The minimum threshold for election is 75 percent.

Those two might be some of the best to play the game in the last 20 years, but their links to performance-enhancing drugs will keep them out … for now. While Cooperstown has said “yes” to plenty of questionable characters in the past (including some noted racists and cheaters), the writers have appeared to draw a line in the sand against steroids and those who (allegedly) used them.

However, not all of the game’s greats are being kept out because of drug rumors, and plenty of these players may some day get in. For now, they will have to wait at least another year.