Overview
- Rodriguez made the remarks during a Stephen A. Smith radio interview while promoting his HBO docuseries.
- Selig entered Cooperstown in 2017 via the 16-person Today's Game Era Committee, a separate electorate from the BBWAA that votes on players.
- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rodriguez remain out as PED-linked candidates continue to fall short on the writers' ballot.
- Rodriguez is on the ballot for a fifth time this cycle and has never topped 40% support, far below the 75% needed for induction.
- Analysts note MLB celebrated the late-1990s home run boom before drug testing began in 2004, sharpening questions about institutional accountability for the era.