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The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame was created all the way back in 1936 and has 312 members that have been enshrined over the years. The process, which involves sports writers and even former players voting and requires a player to receive 75% to be inducted, is far from perfect. Sure, you have plenty of players that are deserving that make it into the Hall of Fame without problem. But sometimes, deserving players are left out for long periods—such as third baseman Ron Santo, who finally was selected following his death in 2011—and other times undeserving players are chosen....

Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Piazza - MLB Hall of Fame Class 2016

Of the 32 names on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, only two were approved Wednesday by baseball writers to join the immortals inside Cooperstown: Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza. They're two iconic sluggers of the 1990s with 1,057 homers between them, whose paths will cross again when they're inducted July 24. Griffey, on his first ballot, earned 99.3 percent of the vote, a total that surpasses Tom Seaver's record of 98.84 in 1992. Griffey missed three ballots. Piazza, in his fourth Hall of Fame campaign, received 83 percent, up from the 69.9 percent that left him outside of...

Lon Simmons, the Hall of Fame broadcaster whose baritone voice and dry wit captured some of the most thrilling moments Bay Area sports history, has died. He was 91. The Giants sent a press release Sunday afternoon that said, "The Giants family and Bay Area sports community lost a true gentleman (Sunday) morning when Hall of Fame broadcaster Lon Simmons peacefully passed away."

NEW YORK (AP) — Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz appear to be shoo-ins for election to the Hall of Fame in what is shaping up as the baseball writers' biggest class of inductees in 60 years. When the Hall of Fame reveals the results Tuesday at 2 p.m. on the MLB Network, holdover Craig Biggio and perhaps Mike Piazza could join those three first-ballot pitchers who were utterly dominant in a hitters' era of artificially bulging statistics.

No matter what you think of Pete Rose, you can't deny what an electric moment it was on September 11th, 1985, when Rose became baseball's all-time major league hit leader -- a record that still stands today. And yet, the debate over whether his cardinal sin -- gambling on baseball -- should keep him out of the Hall of Fame for life remains as fierce as ever, as correspondent Lee Cowan explains in a profile of Rose, to be aired on CBS' "Sunday Morning" October 19... Take our poll! Do you feel Pete Rose should be inducted into the National...

The Hall of Fame says it's up to baseball writers to propose any changes in the selection process. The Baseball Writers' Association of America has voted on Hall of Fame candidates since 1936, and elections have become more controversial in recent years as stars tainted by accusations of steroids use have fallen well short of the 75 percent needed for entry to Cooperstown. Writers are limited to a maximum 10 votes, and some say there's a logjam as Barry Bonds, Rogers Clemens and Mark McGwire remain on the ballot at a time new players are added.

Former Atlanta Braves star pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine and retired superstar slugger Frank Thomas were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in voting announced on Wednesday. With 75 percent support from 571 votes cast by a media panel needed to ensure enshrinement, Maddux received 97.2 percent while Glavine had 91.9 percent backing and Thomas was supported by 83.7 percent.

No player has ever been elected unanimously to the Hall of Fame and four-time Cy Young winner Greg Maddux, the most obvious of the many deserving candidates on this year’s ballot, won’t be the first. We now know that for sure thanks to MLB.com’s commendable tradition of posting its writers’ ballots the day before the results are announced. There are 17 MLB.com writers who have been members of the Baseball Writers Association of America for 10 or more years and thus are eligible to vote for the Hall of Fame. Sixteen of them voted for Maddux. Dodgers beat reporter Ken...

On this, the day of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, let's take a look at the life of Bert Blyleven. Rik Aalbert Blijleven was born in Zeist, Netherlands on April 6, 1951. His family moved to Canada when he was just two years old, and then to Garden Grove, California when he was five. He was raised in Garden Grove, where he listened to Vin Scully on the Dodgers' radio broadcasts and pitched on a mound that his father had built in the family's backyard.

Finally, Bert Blyleven is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The longtime Minnesota Twins pitcher received 463 votes (79.7%) from the Baseball Writers Association of America -- surpassing the 75% mark required for induction in his 14th year on the ballot. He'll be inducted along with infielder Roberto Alomar and executive Pat Gillick on July 24 in Cooperstown N.Y. Blyleven, 59, will become the fourth player in Twins history to have a plaque in the Hall, joining Harmon Killebrew (1984), Rod Carew (1991) and Kirby Puckett (2001).

CHICAGO (AP)—When it comes to the electing players to the Baseball Hall of Fame, no new guidelines are needed to deal with the so-called Steroid Era because voters are already asked to consider a player’s integrity and character. That’s what the Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America decided Friday. The chapter will not forward any measures or recommendations to the national chapter of the baseball writers group, which will meet at next month’s All-Star Game in St. Louis. While some Chicago writers said Friday they’re frustrated at the idea of voting for people who may or may...

NEW YORK - Barry Bonds would boycott Cooperstown if the Hall of Fame displays his record-breaking home run ball with an asterisk. That includes skipping his potential induction ceremony. "I won't go. I won't be part of it," Bonds said in an interview with MSNBC that aired Thursday night. "You can call me, but I won't be there." The ball Bonds hit for home run No. 756 this season will be branded with an asterisk and sent to the Hall. Fashion designer Marc Ecko bought the ball in an online auction and set up a Web site for fans to...

FRANK GRANT never got a chance to stretch his talent as a baseball player as far as it could go. The reason is so simple that it needs no finessing. He was black. His color kept him out. In a gesture that goes a long way toward making up for past slights, professional baseball is stretching its hand out to honor the forgotten black men of baseball. Grant, buried in Clifton, is one of them. He and others bounced around among all black teams but also played on teams that integrated decades before the Brooklyn Dodgers hired Jackie Robinson, baseball...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - David Wells gave up Barry Bonds’ 701st home run. He doesn’t want the Giants slugger to pass Babe Ruth’s total of 714. “No. Not really,” the Boston Red Sox left-hander said Wednesday, one day after excerpts of a book were released alleging that Bonds used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds needs seven homers to pass Ruth for second place and 48 to overtake Hank Aaron for the top spot. Wells praised Bonds’ baseball skills but said he should “be a man and come out and say that he did it” if he used steroids.