NEW YORK _ Another year of Baseball Hall of Fame announcements ends without two of the game's biggest stars of their era, as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens each missed out on the honor once again on Tuesday night.
Over the past six Hall of Fame elections, Bonds and Clemens have made incremental gains with the voting body of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
But will they eventually get enough support to vault to the 75% needed for induction?
Probably not, as based on the voting trend.
Bonds received 60.7% and Clemens 61% on their eighth ballot, revealed on Tuesday night. That's up from last year, when Clemens received 59.5% and Bonds drew 59.1 percent.
Both players have two more years on the BBWAA ballot before their candidacies are handed off to a select committee that votes on modern-era players every three years.
The most prominent hitter and pitcher of their era, Bonds' and Clemens' links to performance enhancing drugs _ suspicions of use beginning in the middle of their careers _ has impacted their Hall of Fame chances throughout the process.
Bonds began with 36.2% of support, while Clemens was named on 37.6% of ballots in his first year of eligibility.
But in MLB history, Bonds' seven MVPs are the most ever awarded and Clemens' seven Cy Young awards are the most achieved by any pitcher.
A 14-time All-Star, Bonds is in the record books as MLB's all-time home run leader with 762, and his 1.051 OPS ranks him fourth behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.
Clemens made 11 All-Star teams, compiled a 354-184 record with a 3.12 ERA and pitched on six pennant winners, winning the World Series with the 1999 and 2000 Yankees.
