There Is Plenty to Learn From an Election, Even if No One Wins

David Ortiz could be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, but there will be trends worth noting even if he, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others fall short.

The vast collection of artifacts at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., includes dozens of items from the careers of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. There are bats and helmets used by Bonds, spikes and caps used by Clemens, and much more. Those players are essential to the history of baseball, and the hallowed museum tells their stories.

The plaque gallery does not, because neither Bonds nor Clemens has collected 75 percent of the votes in their first nine appearances on the baseball writers’ ballots. The results of the latest election, the last for Bonds and Clemens, will be announced on Tuesday. It is not looking good for either player.

More than 160 writers — roughly 45 percent of the expected electorate — have publicly revealed their ballots. A Twitter account that compiles the results, run by Ryan Thibodaux, has counted slightly less than 75 percent of ballots for both Bonds and Clemens.