Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds miss last chance to enter Baseball Hall of Fame
NEWNow you can listen to News articles!
Jeff Kent has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.
Kent, the 2000 National League MVP winner who played most of his career at second base, received 14 of the committee’s 16 possible votes to earn his spot in Cooperstown as part of the Class of 2026.
Kent was the only candidate to receive 75% of the necessary votes from the 16-person committee. The next closest was Carlos Delgado, who received nine of the 16 votes.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON News
Second baseman Jeff Kent #21 of the San Francisco Giants walks on the field during the MLB game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 19, 2002 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Gary Sheffield, all players linked to performance-enhancing drug use in their careers, each received fewer than five votes. Fernando Valenzuela, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy also did not receive the necessary votes.
Clemens received the endorsement of President Donald Trump before the committee vote.
“Roger Clemens, who won 354 games, went through his own witch hunt. HE WAS CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES!!! If he doesn’t get into the Hall of Fame, he should sue Major League Baseball!” Trump wrote in Truth Social early Sunday.
TRUMP TO BAT FOR ROGER CLEMENS’ HALL OF FAME NOMINATION BEFORE COMMITTEE VOTE
“It was the Obama Justice Department (of course!) that brutally went after the great Roger Clemens. ROGER WAS COMPLETELY CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES!!!”
For Clemens, he came up short in the 2022 committee elections. That year it received only 65.2%.
When this era’s ballot was reviewed in December 2022, Fred McGriff was elected unanimously with all 16 votes. Mattingly received eight votes, while Curt Schilling, who was removed from the ballot this year, received seven. Bonds and Clemens, as well as Rafael Palmeiro, who was eliminated along with Schilling, had fewer than four votes.
Roger Clemens #21 of the Boston Red Sox pitching during a game in the 1990s. (SPX/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
In 2008, Clemens became embroiled in a federal investigation into the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by several prominent Major League Baseball players. Clemens testified before Congress that he did not use banned substances and was acquitted of a federal charge of lying to Congress.
Trump had an even longer complaint about Clemens on Saturday.
“‘The Rocket’ is second only to another all-time GREAT, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, in most strikeouts. Roger Clemens is the only pitcher to win 300 games who doesn’t have the honor of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which is a total travesty! The only reason he isn’t is because of rumors and innuendo, which were unproven. He never tested positive, and when Obama’s Justice Department found him pursued in a criminal case alleging that he did. in total, in the History of Baseball!), and the Commissioner of Baseball does. The strength, wisdom and power to do the right thing and put Roger Clemens in the Baseball Hall of Fame, IMMEDIATELY! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote.
Bonds and Clemens would be the favorites for the Hall if their MLB careers had not been tainted by the allegations. Both Bonds and Clemens were removed from the BBWAA ballot in 2022 after the former received 66% of the votes (260 of 394) and the latter received 65.2% of the votes (257). 75% of the vote is also needed to receive an induction into the Hall.
Roger Clemens #22 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the game at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 2003 in the Bronx, New York. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE News APP
Bonds, of course, remains the MLB home run king, having hit 762 throughout his career, as well as holding the record for most home runs in a single season (73). He won seven National League MVP awards and also made 14 All-Star Game appearances.
Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, has the third-most strikeouts in league history with 4,672, trailing only Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).
Regular Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) voting will be announced on January 20, 2026 to fill out next year’s class.
Follow News Digital sports coverage in X and subscribe to the News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Scott Thompson is a sports writer for News Digital.