The 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame voting results were officially tallied this week and no new members reached the necessary 75 percent threshold to receive induction.

Curt Schilling came the closest with 71.1 percent of the vote in his ninth year of eligibility, but only Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Marvin Miller and Ted Simmons will be celebrated when ceremonies are planned to resume on July 25 in Cooperstown, New York.

Hall of Fame Weekend was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic last summer, but the 2020 class of inductees will still get their moment of glory this year even if the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) threw a voting shutout for the first time since 2013.

Now, as baseball fans and writers look ahead to next year’s class of eligible Hall of Fame candidates, things will really start to get interesting. Voters will have to keep in mind the Hall’s "character clause," which states that: “Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

Not only has Schilling requested to be left off the ballot for 2022, it will also mark the final years of eligibility for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two players who rank among the all-time baseball greats in career wins above replacement. Bonds (162.8 WAR) ranks fourth all-time, and Clemens (139.2 WAR) ranks eighth.

Of course, both of these players have histories connected with performance-enhancing drug use, which is the only reason voters have left them off their ballots over the years. There’s no questioning Bonds’ seven career MVP Awards or Clemens’ seven Cy Youngs, but voters understandably take PED accusations very seriously.

Also joining the contenders on the 2022 ballot is another all-time performer with a PED history, Alex Rodriguez.

A-Rod also ranks among the best of the best in career WAR with 117.5, the 16th-highest mark in MLB history, but even though he has enthusiastically voiced his regrets about his past actions, it will likely be a long uphill climb before the PED stigma is ignored by Hall of Fame voters.

Rodriguez will also be joined by fellow first-time balloters David Ortiz, Mark Teixeira, Jimmy Rollins, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Tim Lincecum next year, to name just a few, but the conversation and discourse will no doubt center around whether players with sure-fire Hall of Fame résumés deserve enshrinement in spite of their PED past.

For more on the 2021 Hall of Fame class and induction weekend, visit the link here, and tune in to the latest edition of Yankees Hot Stove on YES Network for more on this year’s Hall of Fame results.