The Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2022—as voted by sportswriters—featured just one player in David Ortiz. Four of the game’s most prolific players from his era—Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling—all fell short of receiving 75% of votes in what was their 10th and final year on the ballot.
Shortly after the results were revealed, Clemens took to Twitter to address not getting elected once 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 ... It was my passion,” Clemens wrote. “I gave it all I had, the right way, for my family and for the fans who supported me. I am grateful for that support. I would like to thank those who took the time to look at the facts and vote for me.”
Bonds, Clemens and Sosa have become the symbolic faces of the steroids era, and that association with performance-enhancing drugs ultimately proved to be too much to overcome with the writers. Clemens won at least 20 games six times and led the league in strikeouts five times. He won more Cy Young Awards (seven) than any other pitcher and finished his career with 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts.
