After hundreds of ballots were collected and vote totals calculated, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) announced that the class of 2022 National Baseball Hall of Fame consists of one person. The lone inductee is David Ortiz. Ortiz’s entrance saved baseball fans from going two consecutive years without an inductee. This is because in 2021, for the first time since 1960, no players were voted in. However, the induction of one of the greatest Red Sox of all-time was not the biggest conversation stemming from this announcement. The big story is the exclusion of several of the most talented and statistically significant players in the history of baseball.

The BBWAA requires a person’s name to be marked on at least 75 percent of ballots to be made a member of the Hall. In his first year on the ballot, “Big Papi” received votes from 77.9 percent. He is the 58th player elected in their first year as eligible. Ortiz’s batting statistics, postseason heroics, and vibrant personality should have had him pegged as a Hall of Fame lock. There was uncertainty, though. This came from the role he took up for a large majority of his career. 88 percent of the games Ortiz started were from the designated hitter position. This is a completely unprecedented portion and some voters could see his lack of fielding as a deal breaker. Luckily for Ortiz, the game has changed a lot. It is hard to overlook 541 home runs. We now know that not playing defense is not enough to push a great talent away. This is not a moot point because we’ve also learned that voters have no problem denying great talents. 

When David Ortiz was asked about those who fell just short of the 75 percent of votes needed, he told ESPN “When I see these guys, to be honest with you, I don’t even compare myself with them. I saw so many times, with them performing, and it was something that was very special. Now, not having them join me at this time is something that it’s hard for me to believe. Those guys, they did it all.” When a legend of the game says that he doesn’t understand how the players he looked up to were not inducted, it raises many questions. Unfortunately, the confusion can be settled by one simple connection.

The connection between the excluded icons Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa is that they are believed to have taken performance enhancing drugs. The late 1990s and early 2000s are known as a very transitional time for Major League Baseball.  A player strike in 1994 had almost 1,000 games cancelled and replacement players brought in. As many would put it, the sport was dying. An onslaught of moonshots and down to the wire home run races in the following years brought excitement and passion back to America’s pastime. In 1998, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire battled against each other and history throughout an entire summer to see who the all time single-season home run leader would be. Barry Bonds is the current leader in all time home runs (762) and single-season home runs (73). Roger Clemens has more Cy Young Awards (Best Pitcher) than any player in history.

These statistics make it clear that those who deserve the most credit for returning baseball to glory are those who are being scrutinized and kept from induction into the hall of fame. It would probably be a different story if any of these players were ever caught using performance enhancing drugs, but none were. Only accused. This situation seems pretty unfair and hopeless, but there is still another way for these legends to enter the Hall.

According to the Hall of Fame’s website, the “Today’s Game Committee” gives those who were not elected in their given five year span another chance at induction. This committee is made up of 16 members of the Hall of Fame. They meet twice out of every five years and decide if there are any excluded potential inductees who deserve another chance. They are scheduled to meet in 2022, so it will not be long until the controversy surrounding these baseball legends.