Blyleven falls just short in Hall of Fame vote
Former Minnesota Twins pitching ace Bert Blyleven has once again been passed over in balloting for baseball's Hall of Fame.
Eight-time All-Star Andre Dawson, appearing on the ballot for the ninth time, was finally awarded baseball's highest honor. He was the only player to receive the required number of votes in this year's balloting.
Blyleven received 400 votes (74.2 percent), up from 338 last year, and the pitcher will likely get in because he has two more tries on the BBWAA ballot.
"Hopefully, next year will be my time," Blyleven said in an interview on MLB Network.
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Also missing the 75 percent threshold by just a few votes was Robert Alomar, who received 397 votes (73.7 percent) in the second baseman's first appearance. He was followed by pitcher Jack Morris with 282 (52.3 percent), a big rise from his 237 last year.
Dawson will be inducted July 25 at Cooperstown along with manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey, elected last month by the Veterans Committee.
The close calls for Blyleven and Alomar marked the first time in BBWAA balloting that two players fell fewer than 10 votes short in one year.
Alomar received the most votes of any first-year candidate who wasn't elected.
Next year's ballot also will include newcomers Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, Larry Walker, Jeff Bagwell, John Franco and Kevin Brown.