Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is a sure thing and Denver native Roy Halladay is a lock. After that, things get interesting, controversial, and for fans of former Rockies right fielder Larry Walker, hopeful.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame unveils its Class of 2019 on Tuesday and the most intriguing aspect of the announcement is not whether Rivera will become the first player unanimously elected to Cooperstown. Rather, it’s whether slugger Barry Bonds and overpowering right-hander Roger Clemens, two stars long suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs during baseball’s dark steroid era, will continue gaining support.
The duo will likely come up short of the 75 percent of the votes needed from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), but in their seventh year of eligibility, they’re gaining steam.