The votes are in. As expected, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are the latest inductees into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. No surprise there...Ripken and Gwynn's selection were no-brainers. If anything, the surprise with those two that it wasn't anonymous; there just had to be a few writers who believe in the "no first-time-on-the ballot" sentiment.

Still, Ripken gained 98.5% of the vote, the third highest in HOF history. Gwynn's 97.6% was good for 7th place on the all-time list.

The other news of course, was the non-election of Mark McGwire. Shame. A few years ago everybody was saying that his name would be announced along with Ripken and Gwynn. Things change. Jose Canseco's book Juiced and his confession before Congress that he did use steroids sealed his fate, at least for this year. McGwire garnered 23.5% of the vote to finish 10th and given all the negative publicity, I'm surprised he got the 128 votes he did. Sad to say, McGwire will never make it. His vote totals may go up for as long as he stays on the ballot, but the steroid scandal will forever keep him out.

And speaking of McGwire's partner-in-crime, Canseco only got six votes or 1.1%. Not to worry. Jose won't be on any more ballots. To be honest, even without the steroids, Canseco's chances were pretty slim. His run-ins with writers, fans and the law killed his chances of Cooperstown. I'm personally not losing any sleep over Canseco not getting in. I doubt the Veterans Committee will consider him as well. If Canseco wants to enter Cooperstown, let him buy a ticket.

If Bruce Sutter can get in, why not Goose Gossage? Dennis Eckersley is in (OK, he was starter for the first half of his career) and Gossage isn't. Hopefully his 3rd place finish will translate well for next season, since the Class of 2008 is not expceted to have any big names. Gossage was basically the AL's version of Sutter, altho Gossage did spend some time in the NL, getting to the '84 Series with the Padres.

Once again Jim Ed Rice did not get in. Looks like his 13th try was unlucky, indeed. OK, as a Red Sox fan, to me this is an injustice. Jim Ed had a long and successful career with the Sox and had he not gotten hurt late in the '75 season, I have no doubt The Curse would have ended against the Reds that year. The past two years his vote totals have gotten higher and if he makes it next year it would be fitting that #14 makes it on his 14th try on the ballot.

Rikaalbert Blijleven (Bert Blyleven for all you non-Dutchmen out there) once again did not make it. What hurts Blijleven is the fact that he played for mediocre teams for most of his career. A lot of people forget that he has a World Series ring, courtesy of the 1979 Pirates. All they remember were the Twins, Angels and Rangers squads he played for...an all-star but never in a World Series except for the '79 Pirates where he was just another member of a championship team. Factor in Blijleven's presence on teams such as the Yankees or Red Sox of that era and he would have had better numbers and an easier time getting to Cooperstown. One of Blijleven's teammates on the '79 Pirates, Dave Parker also was on the ballot and received 11.4% of the vote.

Andre Dawson once again was overlooked. Had it not been for the artificial turf in Montreal that shortened his career and caused him to lose some time on the DL Dawson's numbers would have been higher.

Once he left the Expos for the Cubs, he improved his numbers; and had he played most of his career in the AL, he could have played longer as a DH, the role he served for two seasons with the BoSox. If Dawson ever does make it in, the HOF has agreed he can go in wearing a Marlins cap, a salute to his hometown. Even if Cooperstown never calls, Dawson is a HOFer to many.

Lee Smith should be in there. A former all time save leader finishes no higher that 7th? That situation should change in a few years. It's no secret that the man who broke Smith's record, Trevor Hoffman, has his plaque already made for Cooperstown.

Tommy John...can't help but wonder how much higher his numbers would have been had it not been for the surgery that bears his name. You'd think that he'd be in with the long career that he had. I have a feeling that if John gets to the Veterans Committee selection, he'll have a better chance to get in.

One other big name that did not make it and won't be on any susbsequent ballots is Orel Hershiser. Hershiser received 4.4% of the vote, just shy of the minimum 5% needed for retention. I didn't expect Hershiser to get in this time around, but I didn't expect he'd have totals this low. Albert Belle (3.5%) also didn't make the cut...should we be surprised?

McGwire's non-induction should help Roger Maris when the Veterans Committee meets again. Maris's non-steroid numbers should finally be recognized and he should get his due. Far be it for a Red Sox fan like me to beat the drum for a Yankee, but Maris has been log denied Cooperstown and he deserves it, as does Gil Hodges and Ron Santo.

Let's hope that the Veterans Committee announces some company for Ripken and Gwynn in February.