Twins' Bert Blyleven elected to baseball Hall of Fame

By Ben Walker, AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven became Hall of Famers on Wednesday, the two-time World Series champions easily elected after narrow misses last season.

Sluggers Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Jeff Bagwell and Juan Gonzalez came nowhere close. Hall voters, for now, seem intent to prevent the cloud of the Steroids Era from covering Cooperstown.

Alomar was picked on 90 percent of the ballots by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 12-time All-Star won a record 10 Gold Gloves at second base, hit .300 for his career and helped the Toronto Blue Jays win titles in 1992-93.

Blyleven was picked on 79.7 percent - it takes 75 percent to reach the shrine. The great curveballer had 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts and 60 shutouts. This was his 14th time on the ballot and his career stats have gotten a boost in recent years by sabermetricians who have new ways to evaluate baseball numbers.

"It's been 14 years of praying and waiting," Blyleven said in a conference call. "I'd like to thank the Baseball Writers of America for, I'd like to say, finally getting it right."

Blyleven sayid it took a long time for the writers to focus on the positives of his career.

"There were so many naysayers out there who said 'Well he only made two All-Star Games. He only won 20 games once.' They only seem to pick the negatives. And to me, life is about positives," he said.

Palmeiro, McGwire, Bagwell and Gonzalez fared poorly in the election, with voters apparently reluctant to choose bulky hitters who posted big numbers in the 1990s and 2000s.

"The writers are saying this was the steroids era, like they've kind of done for Mark McGwire," Blyleven said. "They've made their point. It doesn't surprise me."

Palmeiro was listed on just 64 of a record 581 ballots (11 percent) in his first try despite lofty career numbers - he is joined by Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the lone players with more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

But Palmeiro failed a drug test and was suspended by Major League Baseball in 2005. The penalty came a few months after he wagged his finger at members of Congress and told them: "I have never used steroids. Period."

Palmeiro recently reiterated the anabolic steroid that caused his positive test came in a vitamin vial given to him by teammate Miguel Tejada.

Bagwell got 41.7 percent in his first year on the ballot. His career stats are among the best for first basemen since World War II - .297 batting average, .408 on-base percentage and .540 slugging percentage. He hit 449 home runs, topped 1,500 RBIs and runs and ran the bases hard. He was Rookie of the Year, NL MVP and a Gold Glove winner.

Bagwell never tested positive, there were no public allegations against him and he was adamant that he never used illegal drugs. Still, many voters and fans aren't sure yet how to assess the big numbers put up by the game's biggest hitters.

McGwire got 19.8 percent, a drop from 23.7 percent last year. This was his fifth time on the ballot, and first since the former home run champion admitted he took steroids and human growth hormone.

Juan Gonzalez, a two-time AL MVP implicated by Jose Canseco in steroids use, received 30 votes, just above the 5 threshold for remaining on the ballot next year.

Alomar and Blyleven will be joined by Pat Gillick at the induction ceremonies July 24 in Cooperstown. The longtime executive was picked last month by the Veterans Committee. Gillick helped earn his place with a trade that brought Alomar to Toronto.

Smart and acrobatic on the field, Alomar also was guilty in one of the game's most boorish moments. He spit on umpire John Hirschbeck during a dispute in 1996 and was suspended. They later made up and Hirschbeck supported Alomar's bid for the Hall.

Alomar drew 73.7 percent last year in his first try on the ballot. Blyleven had come even closer, missing by just five votes while getting 74.2 percent - it takes 75 percent for election.

It was quite a climb for Blyleven, who helped pitch Pittsburgh to the 1979 title and Minnesota to the 1987 crown. Many years ago, he drew barely over 14 percent in the BBWAA voting.

"I could not be happier if it was my own son," Twins Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew said. "I played in the first game Bert pitched for the Minnesota Twins in 1970. ... I wish it wouldn't have taken so long but now that he is in, it's wonderful."

Barry Larkin and Tim Raines showed gains in this year's voting. Pete Rose received three write-in votes.

(MPR reporter Matt Sepic contributed to this report.)

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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