MLB insider predicts PED-tainted past can ruin Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez's chances of making it into HOF
MLB Insider Jon Heyman has shared his disappointment at the prospect of MLB greats Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez never making it to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame. Rodriguez and Ramirez accumulated 35.7 and 33.2 percent of the total votes, respectively, in this year's Hall of Fame voting.
In his 22 seasons in the MLB, Alex Rodriguez won the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award three times. A 14-time All-Star, A-Rod is a modern-day baseball great.
The mercurial Manny Ramirez, on the other hand, is a 12-time All-Star who was a part of two World Series-winning teams with the Boston Red Sox. However, at different points, both careers were marred by their usage of performance-enhancing drugs.
In his column for the New York Post, Jon Heyman wrote:
"Baseball Hall of Fame election day is a time to celebrate our wonderful game. But unfortunately, it’s also become an annual exercise to regret, to question, to condemn ,and to second-guess.
"... Baseball’s Hall of Fame is by far the greatest of all the halls, and it’s an overall plus that it triggers conversation and controversy for days. But it brings sadness, too, especially over what might have been."
Heyman continued:
"Alex Rodriguez is a three-time MVP and all-time great, Manny Ramirez an unstoppable offensive force...... If history is a guide, A-Rod and Manny never make it, and that’s a shame, because they surely had the talent to do it without chemical enhancement."
Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, two of basketball's greatest talents, might never adorn the walls of Cooperstown. Heyman believes a combination of extreme opinions and an increased preference for stats over what he calls "true impact" has triggered this possibility.
HOF ballot journey of Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez
This was Rodriguez's second year on the HOF ballot, while Ramirez completed his eighth. Nearly 400 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted for this year's Hall of Fame. To get inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame, a player on the ballot has to receive more than 75% of the total votes polled.
New York Yankees legend Rodriguez, who played for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers before moving to the Big Apple, received 34.3% of the votes last year. His second appearance on the ballot did not register a significant bump in his numbers.
Ramirez's numbers also seem to have stagnated with every passing year. In 2018, the Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer secured 22% of the votes, while 2023 MLB HOF entrant Scott Rolen had only 10.8%. With only two shots left, it will take a miracle for the Dominican-American outfielder to bridge the little-over 40% gap that remains between him and Cooperstown.
While Alex Rodriguez's chances seem realistic considering the number of chances left, it remains to be seen whether the voters will be more lenient toward him than they have been with Ramirez.