As you know, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today. The former two were considered stone cold locks of the day, while Rodriguez’s chances were a bit more shrouded in mystery.
Rodriguez, who made 14 All-Star rosters and owns 13 Gold Gloves, appeared on 78 percent of Hall of Fame ballots made public before today’s actual vote. And when the final results were announced, he just got in, with 76 percent.
Rodriguez would have been in the 90-percent range IMO, except that his reputation was tarnished with PED allegations — a notion first brought by Jose Canseco in his book Juiced.