Griffey makes Hall of Fame clean, so what about those connected to steroids?

The two biggest stories coming out of Wednesday's Hall of Fame election were Ken Griffey Jr. missing a unanimous selection by three votes and the ramifications of Mike Piazza opening the door for Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, two players that have been tied to performance-enhancing drugs.

"It's not how many votes you get, as long as you get in,'' Griffey said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Griffey is the first No. 1 draft pick to make the Hall of Fame, which is almost hard to believe given the draft started in 1965. His career began as a teenager in 1989 and he played his first game with Seattle at old Comiskey Park in Chicago with his parents, Ken Sr. and Birdie, in the stands. He retired in June 2010 at Kingdome after enduring a miserable season.

His former Mariners teammate, Jay Buhner, raised a flag with Griffey's No. 24 above the Space Needle in Seattle Wednesday.

Griffey was a baseball icon - he even had a candy bar named after him - who was known for his bright smile, fun-loving personality and, of course, his beautiful, graceful style of play, defensively and with the bat. His trademark was wearing his cap backward during batting practice.

He's easily Seattle's most recognizable athlete. He was on baseball's All-Century Team.

And he always had fun. There were times when he'd play a game at the Kingdome and then, when he got back home, he'd play Whiffle ball with kids in the neighborhood.

He called his mom six or seven times a week. He was constantly showing anyone who would stop by his locker pictures of his kids. He ribbed everybody.

He was teammates with Ken Sr. in 1990 and 1991.

"My dad always had better skills,'' Griffey says.

Griffey was never associated with steroids accusations during his career. He finished with 630 home runs, 1,836 RBIs and a .284 career average. He had seven seasons of hitting better than .300.

He won four home run titles, 10 Gold Gloves and was the 1997 AL MVP.

His most memorable play was scoring from first on a double to left by Edgar Martinez to give the Mariners a walk-off victory in Game 5 of a 1995 American League Division Series against the Yankees at a Kingdome that was deafening with noise.

Griffey - known as "June-jer'' to his teammates - slid into home with the winning run. The Mariners were beaten by Cleveland in the American League Championship Series. Griffey never made the World Series.

"I got to have that playoff slide,'' Griffey said. "I've pretty much done all you can do in baseball.''

Griffey is the first Mariner in the Hall of Fame. Randy Johnson is in the Hall of Fame, but he's wearing an Arizona cap.

Edgar Martinez should be the second Mariner to make the Hall of Fame.

About those steroid users: There have been whispers that Piazza, the best power-hitting catcher of all time, used steroids, but never any concrete evidence. Clemens and Bonds have been accused of taking steroids, but have never been convicted in the courts.

Mark McGwire, an admitted steroids user and now a bench coach with San Diego, was on the ballot for the final time this year, so that story is complete.

But should Bonds and Clemens get in?

Clemens' vote total rose eight points to 45 percent. Bonds' went from 36.8 to 44.3 percent. Still, I can't imagine them on the same stage as, say, Rod Carew and Cal Ripken Jr.

Bonds, who will be Miami's batting coach this season, and Clemens will each be on the ballot six more times.

Bonds, the all-time home run king with 762 home runs, testified under oath that he never knowingly took steroids and was cleared of all charges of a federal investigation. Clemens, who won seven Cy Young Awards and 354 games, was acquitted on charges that he lied to Congress regarding PED usage.

The argument that they were good enough for the Hall of Fame before they used performance-enhancing drugs is bogus. The Hall vote is for an entire career, not part of a player's career. And the argument that Clemens and Bonds should get votes because we don't know who did and who didn't use steroids doesn't make any sense, either.

Was Clemens' National League Cy Young Award season with Houston, thanks to a 2.98 ERA at age 41, the real deal? Were Bonds' 73 home runs when he was 36 in 2001 legitimate, given that he was hitting baseballs where no other baseballs have ever been hit?

Is a vote for these guys an endorsement for using steroids?

The issue will be a constant in Hall of Fame debate for years, given that catcher Ivan Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, who was suspended twice for PED use, will be on the ballot next year. And then there's Alex Rodriguez, who was suspended for all of 2014, the longest PED suspension in history. A-Rod might not get the required 5 percent to stay on the ballot when he finally appears.

Ramirez had 555 home runs and a .313 career average, but he was suspended twice for PED use, so his chances of getting in are small. Ivan Rodriguez was accused by Jose Canseco of taking steroids, but there's no hard-core evidence that Pudge took steroids.

He's going to make it next year after winning 13 Gold Gloves and 2,844 career hits.

Another first-time player on the ballot is Vladimir Guerrero, who finished with a .318 average and 449 home runs while leading the league in intentional walks in five different seasons. He'll get strong consideration.

Other thoughts on Hall of Fame voting:

* It is too bad that the Detroit Tigers of the 1980s - especially the 1984 World Series champion Tigers - are not adequately represented in the Hall now that shortstop Alan Trammell will not be on the ballot any more. Trammell had 40.9 percent of the vote on his 15th and final time on the ballot. With 2,365 career hits, Trammell, the AL version of Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, should be in. So should second baseman Lou Whitaker (2,369 hits) and pitcher Jack Morris (254 wins, 3.90 ERA), two other players that defined the Tigers during that era. Morris' biggest percentage was 67.7 percent in 2013. The Veterans Committee in 2000 elected Tigers manager Sparky Anderson, who also won a World Series managing the Reds. The Veterans Committee will consider Trammell and Whitaker in 2019, and that's a couple of mistakes that should be corrected.

* Another injustice seems to be first baseman Fred McGriff, who was on 20 percent of the ballots. His statistics are similar to Jeff Bagwell, who was 15 votes short of election. McGriff was one of the most feared power hitters of his time. He won two home run titles, one in each league, and finished with 2,490 hits, 493 home runs and 1,550 RBIs. Each of those numbers are better than Bagwell, who had 2,314 hits, 449 home runs and 1,401 RBIs. The difference? Bagwell was a one-team superstar who had more versatility (202 steals) while winning an NL MVP and finishing second another time.

* Former Oriole Mike Mussina is picking up steam. He got 43 percent of the vote, and considering that he was ranked in the top five in strikeouts six times and ERA seven times, Mussina deserves to be in. Also, 270 wins while pitching in the AL East makes him worthy. Also, Mussina is only 7-8 in the postseason, but he had a 3.42 ERA in October and pitched some great games. In 1997, he had 25 strikeouts in 15 innings for the Orioles against Cleveland. In Game 5 of the World Series for the Yankees against Arizona, Mussina struck out 10 in eight innings as the Yankees won 3-2 in 12 innings. In 2001, Mussina for the Yankees pitched seven shutout innings in a must-win game in the Division Series against Oakland. The Yankees were down 2-0. They won that game and the series.

* Outfielder Tim Raines, who had 2,605 hits and 808 stolen bases, received 69.8 percent of the vote. Next year will be his final year. If he does make it, he'll be the third player to wear a cap from the defunct Montreal Expos on his plaque in Cooperstown. The other two are Gary Carter and Andre Dawson.

* Jeff Kent isn't anywhere close to enshrinement, but he should make it. His 351 home runs as a second baseman are the most all-time. He was an MVP, five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner. His slugging percentage (.500), OPS (.855) and RBIs (1,158) are the best marks for his position in the post-1960 expansion era.