Red Sox News: Trio of former Boston stars miss out on Cooperstown

It was announced who will be making the trip to the Hall of Fame this year and the Boston Red Sox failed to add anyone to the roster in Cooperstown.

It’s that time of the year again, friends. We just found out who will be immortalized forever in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. The Red Sox had a handful of players eligible on this year’s ballot but none of them will be making their way to the Hall. Only two players qualified to be inducted for 2020, one of which was in his first year of eligibility and the other his last. Congrats to Derek Jeter and Larry Walker on the amazing accomplishment, both well deserved.

Back to the Red Sox and their chances of adding some more plaques to the walls of Cooperstown. Boston had two former aces on the ballot today that had great chances of getting the call. Curt Schilling wasn’t far from missing out on the Hall last year as he finished with 60.9% of the necessary 75%. He saw his total jump drastically for the 2020 class up to 70% and was trending close to the required number before just falling short.

Curt had successes dam near everywhere he pitched and will go down in history for breaking the curse. He was the ace of the staff that took down New York in the 2004 ALCS on their way to winning Boston’s first World Series in 86 years. Based on how far his percentage jumped from 2019 to 2020, I believe that Curt Schilling will be taking his well-deserved spot in the Hall of Fame.

Fenway’s other former ace on the ballot that was sniffing election was Roger Clemens. The right-hander began his career with the Red Sox and reached some great career highs while playing in Boston. He may be remembered more for what he did as a member of the rival Yankees but his time with the Red Sox can’t be forgotten.

Clemens is in his eighth year of eligibility meaning he has just two years left on the ballot before heading to the Modern Era Committee vote. There was a slight uptick in his percentage but nothing in the fashion that Schilling saw. The righty went from 59.5% in 2019 to only 61% in 2020, not quite the improvement I’m sure he was hoping for.

If Clemens isn’t able to get into the Hall based on the BWAA voting then I don’t see him getting in. As strange as it sounds to say that about a player that had the career that Roger had, his off the field behavior may be what keeps him out of Cooperstown. PED allegations and a strongly defiant response to the accusations have tarnished the perception of Clemens as a player.

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We know how the voters feel about anyone that may be tied to PED’s and that belief will most likely keep the former Boston starter on the outside looking in.

Finally, Manny Ramirez had another crack at the Hall but much like Clemens, the slugger didn’t see much of an increase in his numbers. Manny did jump from 22.8% to 28.2% which is a decent increase. This was his fourth year of eligibility, leaving him six more opportunities to earn his way to Cooperstown.

Red Sox fans have a love-hate relationship with Manny as he could be incredibly frustrating at times. Mostly the times he was playing defense, at the plate he was untouchable.

His postseason heroics were things of legend, especially once he paired up with David Ortiz. As I said before, Manny’s defense could be incredibly frustrating. There were so many moments of brilliance just to have boneheaded plays wipe those memories away.

The countless times he’d gun somebody down from left field could be matched by the times he’d misplay a ball off the Green Monster. Then there’s that time he couldn’t find the ball only to be sitting on it.

There’s plenty of time left on the board for Ramirez to climb up the ladder and get closer to being enshrined forever. He’ll eventually run into the same issue that Clemens and even Barry Bonds find themselves in and that’s the PED talk. Not only were there allegations against Manny but he was actually caught as well. That misstep will most likely stop him despite his fantastic career.

The Red Sox had other members on the ballot for 2020 including Billy Wagner, Brad Penny, Josh Beckett, and Carlos Pena. Wagner actually finished above Manny with a 31.7% tally in his fifth year, the rest didn’t even sniff anything of significance.

Hall of Fame time is always exciting for fans and players alike. It gives everyone a chance to remember the greats of the past and show their appreciation. Though the Red Sox won’t be sending anyone to Cooperstown this year that may change in the near future. When all is said and done, I’m sure we’ll be seeing several players that wore the Boston “B” may their way to the Hall.