David Ortiz, a former Boston Red Sox star, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday.
Notable Major League Baseball (MLB) stars that were not voted in include Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, according to CNN.
BREAKING: David Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first turn on the ballot, while Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied entry in their final year under consideration amid suspicions they used performance-enhancing drugs. https://t.co/CNdcXcJZpc
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 25, 2022
Ortiz played in the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004, 2007, and was awarded the World Series MVP in 2013, CNN reported.
“While my path to Boston took 10 years (including stints in the minors), those 14 years in a Red Sox uniform were the best of my life. We broke the curse and then got two more championships before I retired in 2016 – what a sweet and beautiful journey it has been,” Ortiz said, reported CNN.
Both Bonds and Clemens were previously accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in a 2007 report, CNN reported. However, neither Bonds nor Clemens ever tested positive for steroids.
Clemens received 65.2% of the vote for induction, while Bonds received 66%, according to CNN. Players need 75% of the vote to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. (RELATED: Not One Baseball Player Elected To 2021 Hall Of Fame Class)
Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, Bonds, and Clemens were all voted down in their tenth and final year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, according to the Associated Press (AP). Schilling previously asked the Baseball Hall of Fame to exclude him from voting this year.
“Not having them join me is hard for me to believe,” Ortiz said about Bonds and Clemens, AP reported. “Those guys did it all.”
Hey y’all! I figured I’d give y’all a statement since it’s that time of the year again. My family and I put the HOF in the rear view mirror ten years ago. I didn’t play baseball to get into the HOF. I played to make a generational difference in the lives of my family. (Thread)
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) January 25, 2022
“My family and I put the HOF in the rear view mirror ten years ago,” Clemens said in a statement on Twitter.
“I gave it all I had, the right way, for my family and for the fans who supported me,” Clemens went on to say. “I would like to thank those who took the time to look at the facts and vote for me.”