McGwire, Trammell fall short in final year on ballot

Mark McGwire and Alan Trammell may never get another chance to enter the Hall of Fame.

The 2016 class was announced on Wednesday and the pair were not included among the group of baseball legends entering Cooperstown, thus ending their chances of ever being inducted into the Hall by the Baseball Writers' Association of America with it being their last year on the ballot.

Along with McGwire and Trammell, Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garciaparra and several others fell off the ballot after receiving less than five percent of the vote.

Players can remain on the Hall of Fame ballot for a maximum of 10 years, although Trammell, who's on the ballot for a 15th time, was grandfathered in using the previous rule, which allowed for 15 years of eligibility.

The duo still have a slim chance of being voted in by the Veterans Committee, who provide an opportunity to enter the Hall to those eligible for induction, but ineligible for consideration by the BBWAA.

Trammell, who didn't expect to get in prior to the announcement, spent his entire career as a member of the Detroit Tigers, hitting .285/.352/.415 with 185 home runs, 1,003 RBIs, and 236 stolen bases in his 20 big-league seasons, which also included four Gold Glove awards.

The 1984 World Series MVP owned a career 70.4 WAR, which compared well to a number of Hall of Fame shortstops, including Honus Wagner and Cal Ripken Jr.

McGwire, who currently sits 10th all-time in home runs and famously broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record in 1998, confessed to using steroids on-and-off for close to a decade during his career, which tainted his chances of being inducted.

The current bench coach of the San Diego Padres and former hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers hit .263/.394/.588 with 583 home runs and 1,414 RBIs during his 16-year career with the Cardinals and Oakland Athletics, which included 12 All-Star appearances, three Silver Sluggers, and the Rookie of the Year award in 1987.