Six Cardinals no longer on Hall of Fame ballot

On Wednesday, the BBWAA announced the newest inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two of them were selected: Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza. Griffey Jr. set a record with receiving 99.3% of votes for induction (only three votes were not for him to be inducted), while Piazza received 83.0% of the votes.

However, of the six out of eighth members of the St. Louis Cardinals that were on the ballot (players that at some point or another had played with the franchise), not only did neither of them garner sufficient votes for induction into the Hall of Fame, but none of them are on the ballot for future induction.

Of the six players, one had only been on the ballot for one year.

And that was… Jim Edmonds.

A beloved Cardinal for eight seasons, Edmonds ranks among the top 10 center fielders of all time in homers (393) and slugging percentage (.527). Also, he won eight Gold Glove Awards and had five 30-home run seasons. However, whether with the Angels, Cardinals, or Cubs, injuries had hindered the talent that Edmonds possessed. He fell short of amassing 2,000 hits and 400 home runs, and only play in 140 games in a season seven times (five with the Cardinals).

The threshold for remaining on the ballot for the next year requires 5% of the vote: Edmonds only garnered 2.5% of votes.

As for the others who didn’t make the threshold, they were: David Eckstein, Troy Glaus, Mark Grudzielanek, Randy Winn, and Mark McGwire.

Eckstein was the World Series MVP during the Cardinals’ 2006 World Series run, in which they won their 10th title. He also was a two-time All-Star, both selections during his three-year tenure with the Cardinals. Glaus arrived via a trade for Scott Rolen, and spent two seasons with the Cardinals, though injuries hampered his last season with them. Grudzielanek only was with the Cardinals for the 2005 season, but has been the most recent member of the team to have hit for the cycle. Winn briefly played for St. Louis during the 2010 season, arriving from the Yankees.

And then there’s McGwire.

One of the most popular (and later controversial players) from the 1980’s to the early 2000’s. McGwire (along with Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa) both came to St. Louis from the Oakland Athletics. During his five seasons with the Cardinals, McGwire hit 220 of his 583 career home runs, including his 500th and most famously, his 62nd (seasonal) home run, which at the time, was the most hit in one season by a player.

He also was selected to 12 All-Star games.

While McGwire did receive 12.3% of the votes, this was his 10th year on the ballot, the maximum number of years allowed (originally, players could be on the ballot up to 15 years).

The two players that at some point played for the Cardinals that will remain on the ballot are pitcher Lee Smith and outfielder Larry Walker.