Jeter, Walker into baseball Hall of Fame

New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter was voted into baseball's Hall of Fame on Tuesday, coming within one vote of being a unanimous pick to enter the sport's pantheon of greats. Jeter was chosen on 396 out of 397 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America, just missing out on matching the achievement of former team-mate and unanimous pick Mariano Rivera last year. Jeter's 99.7% total votes was the second highest in history after Rivera, and comfortably eclipsed the 75% threshold required to enter the Hall of Fame. Former Expos, Rockies and Cardinals right fielder Larry Walker joined Jeter in the Hall of Fame voting. The duo will be inducted at a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York on July 26. Jeter was widely expected to be a first ballot inductee in recognition of a 20-season career that included five World Series victories. "Every accolade that has been bestowed on Derek throughout his career has been earned and deserved," Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said. "He was a captain and champion in every sense of the word, a man who embodied our traditions and expectations with an unmistakable grace and dignified resolve." But there was more disappointment for several players who have been held over from previous years after failing to meet the 75% threshold. Pitcher Curt Schilling earned 278 votes (70%) in his eighth ballot appearance while home run king Barry Bonds and Boston Red Sox pitching ace Roger Clemens also missed out. Both Bonds and Clemens were implicated in doping during baseball's drug-tainted era of the late 1990s, a likely reason for their failure to make the Hall of Fame. Derek Jeter won five World Series with the New York Yankees during 20 seasons, propelling him into baseball's Hall of Fame at the first attempt