NEW YORK – Known for two decades as No. 2, Derek Jeter is now linked to the number 1 — as in, who was the lone Hall of Fame voter who didn't put a check mark next to his name?
Jeter came within one vote of being a unanimous pick Tuesday, falling just shy of the standard set when longtime New York Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous selection last year.
"Well, I look at all the votes that I got," Jeter said. "Trying to get that many people to agree on something is pretty difficult to do. So that's not something that's on mind."
Larry Walker got 304 votes, six above the 75% needed and up from 54.6% last year. He was making his 10th and final appearance on the ballot. He tweeted earlier in the day "I believe I'm going to come up a little short today" after checking the vote tracker that projected he would finish at 73.3%.
Pitcher Curt Schilling was third with 278 votes (70%) in his eighth ballot appearance, an increase from 60.9% but still 20 votes shy. The steroids-tainted pair of Roger Clemens (61%) and Barry Bonds (60.7%) rose slightly in their eighth tries, Clemens up from 59.5% last year and Bonds from 59.1%.
Jeter and Walker will be inducted July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with catcher Ted Simmons and former players' association head Marvin Miller, who were voted in last month by the Hall's Modern Era Committee.
For full Hall of Fame voting, see Scoreboard on C7.
Associated press
