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Ken Griffey Jr. elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame with highest percentage ever, Mike Piazza will join

FILE - This is an Oct. 3, 2009, file photo showing Seattle Mariners' Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a solo home run on a pitch from Texas Rangers' Tommy Hunter during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. seems assured of election to the Baseball hall of Fame on the first try Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, possibly with a record vote of close to 100 percent. Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines also were strong candidates to gain the 75 percent needed for baseball's highest honor. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
FILE - This is an Oct. 3, 2009, file photo showing Seattle Mariners' Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a solo home run on a pitch from Texas Rangers' Tommy Hunter during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. seems assured of election to the Baseball hall of Fame on the first try Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, possibly with a record vote of close to 100 percent. Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines also were strong candidates to gain the 75 percent needed for baseball's highest honor. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File) FILE - This is an Oct. 3, 2009, file photo showing Seattle Mariners' Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a solo home run on a pitch from Texas Rangers' Tommy Hunter during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. seems assured of election to the Baseball hall of Fame on the first try Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, possibly with a record vote of close to 100 percent. Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines also were strong candidates to gain the 75 percent needed for baseball's highest honor. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Ken Griffey Jr. was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday with the highest voting percentage ever, and Mike Piazza will join him in Cooperstown this summer.

A star slugger of the Steroids Era never tainted by accusations of drug use, Griffey was on 437 of 440 votes in his first appearance on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. His 99.3 percentage topped the previous mark of 98.84, set when Tom Seaver appeared on 425 of 430 ballots in 1992.

There had been speculation Griffey could become the first unanimous selection.

“I can’t be upset. It’s just an honor to be elected and to have the highest percentage is definitely a shock,” Griffey said on a conference call.

After falling 28 shy last year, Piazza received 365 votes in his fourth time on the ballot and will be inducted along with Griffey on July 24.