Ripken, Gwynn swept into Hall

At one time, the criticism of Cal Ripken was that he should take a seat and end his consecutive-game streak for the good of the team. At one time, the criticism of Tony Gwynn was that he was a singles hitter. If being critical of a guy who wanted to play every day and another guy who wanted to get a hit every time up was the worst you could say, that's probably why Ripken and Gwynn became Hall of Famers yesterday.

Not the case with Mark McGwire.

The criticism of McGwire is that he was suspected of using steroids. That criticism showed up in the small percentage of ballots -- 23.5 percent of 545 cast -- that had McGwire's name on them, far short of the 75 percent required for election. The voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America made their point loud and clear on how they will handle suspected steroid users.

Meanwhile, Red Sox slugger Jim Rice didn't get in on his 13th attempt, leaving him two more chances before his name is submitted for consideration to the Veterans Committee.

Many felt Rice's vote total would increase, and it did, but only by nine votes from 337 to 346, but his percentage went down to 63.5 from 64.8 percent. Rice's best chance could be next season when the highest-profile new names on the ballot will be Tim Raines and David Justice. Rice again will be up against Goose Gossage, who missed by 21 votes this time (he had 388, 71.2 percent) and Andre Dawson, who lost a little ground, going from 317 to 309 votes (56.7 percent).

Efforts to reach Rice last night were unsuccessful.

"There are a lot of guys on that ballot, including Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven, and Steve Garvey, who probably felt they should be in," said Gwynn. "Hopefully they will have their day."

The number of total ballots cast, 545, was a record, and Ripken was named on a record 537, breaking the mark of 491 set by Nolan Ryan in 1999. Tom Seaver's percentage of 98.83 remains the record, but Ripken moved up to third with 98.53 percent of the vote. Gwynn received 532 votes, good for 97.6 percent.

In his first time on the ballot, Jose Canseco, who admitted using steroids and implicated McGwire, among others, received only six votes and thus no longer will appear on the ballot; a minimum of 5 percent is required to stay on. Of the 15 players other than Gwynn and Ripken who appeared on the ballot for the first time, only McGwire and Harold Baines (5.3 percent) met the requirement to stay on. Albert Belle was one of the players disqualified despite the big numbers he put up in his career.

Former Dodgers first baseman Garvey was on the ballot for the 15th and final time, getting only 115 votes. His candidacy now will be in the hands of the Veterans Committee, and he will be eligible for its vote in 2009. The 2007 Veterans Committee vote is Feb. 27, but Garvey won't be eligible for that.

As for vote totals and record percentages, Ripken didn't care about them.

"All I wanted to hear was, 'You're in,' " said Ripken on his conference call. "Although everybody around you says you are a shoo-in and that it is a no-brainer and it is a foregone conclusion, I don't really think that way. I don't really believe that.

"And so when I was sitting there waiting at the appropriate time, waiting for the phone to ring, there was a sense of anxiety, a little sense of nervousness, and I certainly was very happy and euphoric when I got the call, but I was relieved at the same time."

Ripken, a kid from Aberdeen, Md., was drafted in the second round by the Orioles in 1978. His late father, Cal Sr., was an Orioles coach then and later the manager. Ripken started his 2,632-game streak May 30, 1982, and played until Sept. 20, 1998, surpassing Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 games Sept. 6, 1995. He was a Rookie of the Year, a two-time MVP, won two Gold Gloves at shortstop, made 19 All-Star teams, and just believed that a ballplayer is supposed to play ball.

Gwynn, who is now baseball coach at San Diego State, also got to play near his hometown, Long Beach, Calif., during a 20-year career spent entirely with the San Diego Padres. He amassed eight National League batting titles -- tying Honus Wagner's NL record -- 3,141 hits, five Gold Gloves, and had a .338 lifetime batting average.

"We know hitting the ball out of the park isn't what got me in the Hall of Fame," said Gwynn on the conference call. "Being consistent year in and year out is what got me in. We put so much emphasis on guys hitting home runs and throwing 96-98 m.p.h.

"There's a place in the game for guys like me, and guys like Juan Pierre and Ichiro [Suzuki]. I'm getting the ultimate compliment now, and I can raise the flag a little for the little guy, the contact guy. If I can be a punch-and-judy spokesman, I'm more than willing to do that."

Both players said they were overwhelmed with emotion when Jack O'Connell, secretary-treasurer of the BBWAA, called to inform them. Both players thought of their late fathers, and how proud they would have been.

"When I got the call and he said, 'You made the Hall of Fame,' I lost it," said Gwynn. "I was thinking about my father, my family, about all the hard work."

Ripken said he tried to alleviate the stress in the morning by taking a shower, only to find out the water heater was on the blink, so he got a cold shower.

"I was listening to my brother Billy, who was a guest on a [radio program] this morning," said Ripken. "The question was asked to him, 'Do you think of your dad at these moments?' I was in the car coming back from carpool, and he made me well up. I started to cry, because he took me down the same path I've been down a few times.

"Even though Dad's not with us, he certainly is celebrating in the moment in many ways in our family."

It was their day in the spotlight, but it was also a day when McGwire's omission was just as newsworthy. The newest Hall of Famers were both asked about the steroid issue and McGwire's candidacy.

"Unfortunately, all the stories haven't been told yet," said Ripken. "I'm for the stories being told."

Said Gwynn, "We knew it, y'all knew it, but we didn't say anything about it. Whether that chance comes in a year, I don't know. I hope one day he'll get into the Hall."

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.