(Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens (L-R) departs with his wife Debbie Clemens and his attorney Rusty Hardin after the first day of his perjury trial, at the federal courthouse in Washington, July 6, 2011. Clemens, 48, was indicted a year ago on charges he gave false statements to a U.S. congressional committee investigating steroid use in baseball, perjured himself under oath and obstructed the lawmakers' inquiry into widespread drug use that has scarred the sport.Roger Clemens, former starting baseball pitcher, has reacted to the fact that no players were voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time since 1996.
After a large number of allegations surrounded potential Hall-of-Famers using steroids, voters for the Hall of Fame did not elect to induct any players for 2013. While 37 players were eligible to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in Cooperstown, N.Y., there were no players that received the 75 percent of votes needed from baseball writers to induct them.
Clemens was not surprised by the news that was made public Wednesday, taking to his Twitter account to thank supporters in light of missing the opportunity to be inducted into the Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility.
"After what has been written and said over the last few years, I'm not overly surprised. Thanks to all the teams I've worked with and to fans and friends for all the fantastic letters, voicemails and texts of support over the last few years," Clemens tweeted after hearing about the news. "To those who did take the time to look at the facts … we very much appreciate it."
Although Clemens has never admitted to using steroids, he was investigated for the use of performance-enhancing drugs and was acquitted of lying to Congress about the matter last year. Jon Heyman, a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America who had some power in the Hall of Fame vote, spoke about the impact of no players being voted into the Hall of Fame for 2013.
"This is really a statement on an era, and it's really a sad day for baseball," Heyman told MLB Network. "To ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, for example, is hard to justify. Moreover, to penalize players exonerated in legal proceedings -- and others never even implicated -- is simply unfair. The Hall of Fame is supposed to be for the best players to have ever played the game."
Major League Baseball fans took to Twitter to react to the news. One person thought there should be a change in the Hall of Fame voting policy.
"No matter how the Hall of Fame approaches voting in the future, one absolute necessity is public ballots," the person tweeted. "Shame those who shame the vote."
Another person chose to recognize the people who entered the Hall of Fame without steroid use.
"Shout out to everyone that didn't need steroids to not get into the baseball Hall of Fame," the person tweeted.
The decision to forgo naming any players into the Hall of Fame has only happened eight times in history.
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