2014 Hall of Fame class announced.

Well the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2014 has been announced. In addition to managers Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre, three players got in. Braves pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, and White Sox slugger Frank Thomas. I believe this is the biggest class of living inductees since the initial inductions. All of them deserve their spots and it is good to see them get in.

On the other end of the spectrum were the players who dropped off the ballot due to lack of support. Any player who gets less than 5% of the vote drops off. Some, like former Ranger Kenny Rogers, were expected. Kenny was a good player but not a Hall of Famer so it's no surprise to see him drop off.

Unfortunately it also wasn't a surprise to see former Ranger Rafael Palmeiro drop off the ballot. Raffy, shown here on card 225 of the 1990 Donruss set, had career numbers that compare favorably to Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Eddie Murray. All three of those guys are already in The Hall. Palmeiro put up his numbers in the steroid era though and that makes them somewhat suspect. Top it off with Raffy lying to congress, testing positive for PED's, and ending his career under suspension and it's no shock to see the voters dump him. Sad, but not unforeseen. Hopefully there's some young player out there watching and deciding the risk with PED's is not worth the possible benefit.