2013 Baseball Hall of Fame Results: Joe DiMaggio Didn't Get in the First Time Either

The 1991 Topps 40th anniversary set featured players who were shut out
in the 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame voting, including Roger Clemens, 
Barry Bonds and Craig Biggio.

by +Dean Hanley
Now that the verdict from the baseball writers is in, it appears they wanted to punish anybody who played in the so-called steroid era of baseball in the 1990s.

The voters have never denied so many players at the same time with obvious Hall of Fame credentials. And there is a question whether Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will ever gain entry -- even though the Hall of Fame already has exhibits honoring their accomplishments.

But history shows that voters also have made some questionable decisions in the past in denying players entry into the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Yogi Berra, considered the greatest living Yankee, didn't make it on his first try.

Click to see the 1953 Topps Yogi Berra card

And Joe DiMaggio didn't make it in his first year of eligibility either.

Click to see Joe DiMaggio on the cover of the 1948 Street & Smith's baseball yearbook

In fact, since the first Hall of Fame election in 1936, only 32 players have been elected in their first year of eligibility. And other than the inaugural Hall of Fame election, only once have three first-year candidates been elected in the same year -- Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount in 1999.

And no player has ever been a unanimous choice for admission to the Hall of Fame. Who came closest? Tom Seaver with close to 99 percent of the total vote in 1992.

Click to see the 1967 Tom Seaver rookie card.

Other famous baseball players who didn't gain first year admission to the Hall of Fame include Rogers Hornsby, Roy Campanella, Jimmie Foxx, Carl Hubbell, Harmon Killebrew, Eddie Mathews and Mel Ott.

Players eligible for the first time in 2014 include 300-game winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine -- and it will be Jack Morris' last year of eligibility. So will Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza make it in? Baseball fans will be anxiously waiting for those results.

And that brings us to today's Dean's Cards survey question: