There are few things more perfect than a Sunday afternoon in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the newest class of the Baseball Hall of Fame takes turns speaking in front of their fellow Hall of Famers and an enormous crowd of fans, any of whom are free to simply walk up on the day of the event. There is usually plenty of room to spare.
But this year, just as in 2013, none of the 25 finalists appeared on the required 75 percent of the ballots of the eligible voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America.