Two of my favorite players. Good guys who played for the love of the game. ESPN has the story.
Ripken was picked by 537 voters and appeared on 98.53 percent of ballots to finish with the third-highest percentage behind Tom Seaver (98.84) and Nolan Ryan (98.79).
The former Baltimore Orioles shortstop said he was both relieved and euphoric. If he had been picked by two of the eight voters who didn’t select him, he would have set the percentage record — but he didn’t mind.
“All I wanted to hear was, ‘You’re in,'” Ripken said during a conference call. “I really didn’t get caught up with wanting to be unanimous or wanting to be the most.”
Gwynn received 532 votes for 97.61 percent, the seventh-highest ever, also trailing Ty Cobb, George Brett and Hank Aaron.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to know that people think that what you did was worthy,” Gwynn said. “For me, it’s kind of validation. The type of player that I was doesn’t get a whole lot of credit in today’s game.”