NEW YORK (AP) – Ken Griffey Jr. is expected to be a first-year selection to the baseball Hall of Fame, possibly with a record vote, when results of the balloting are announced today. The 13-time All-Star seems to be a lock for induction at Cooperstown on July 24. The former Cincinnati and Seattle star appeared on all 166 ballots counted and could challenge the record of 98.84 percent set by Tom Seaver when he was picked by 425 of 430 voters in 1992. Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines also are also strong candidates to gain the 75 percent needed for baseball’s highest honor. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and other tainted stars of the Steroids Era appear likely to get a boost in Hall of Fame balloting by recent changes in voting, but not enough to enter Cooperstown this year. Last July, the Hall’s board of directors cut eligible voters from approximately 575 to roughly 475 by purging writers who had not been covering the game for more than a decade.
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