Henderson, Rice elected to Hall of Fame

Left fielders Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today. They played the same position, but were very different players who took different paths to Cooperstown, N.Y.

The outspoken Henderson, probably the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time, was elected on the first ballot. The all-time stolen base leader - a record that may never be touched, as he's more than 400 stolen bases ahead of everybody else - received 94.8 percent of the vote. He changed teams 13 times in his 25-year career.

The powerful, soft-spoken Rice was in his 15th and final year of eligibility and squeaked in with 76.4 percent of the vote. Rice, with a career batting average of .298 and 382 home runs, played his entire 16-year career for the Red Sox.

The ceremony will take place July 26.

Players need 75 percent of the vote from the baseball writers to qualify. And, as usual, there are a few curiosities. (Two people voted for Jay Bell? And Mark McGwire's vote total went down from 2008.) Aside from Henderson, none of the other nine players on the first ballot received enough votes (5 percent) to remain in consideration.

The voting breakdown:

Elected

• Rickey Henderson 511 (94.8 percent)
• Jim Rice 412 (76.4 percent, up from 72.2 in 2008)

Also considered

• Andre Dawson 361 (67.0 percent, up from 65.9)
• Bert Blyleven 338 (62.7 percent, up from 61.9)
• Lee Smith 240 (44.5 percent, up from 43.3)
• Jack Morris 237 (44.0 percent, up from 42.9)
• Tommy John 171 (31.7 percent, up from 29.1) - 15th year, no longer eligible
• Tim Raines 122 (22.6 percent, down from 24.3)
• Mark McGwire 118 (21.9 percent, down from 23.6)
• Alan Trammell 94 (17.4 percent, down from 18.2)
• Dave Parker 81 (15.0 percent, down from 15.1)
• Don Mattingly 64 (11.9 percent, down from 15.8)
• Dale Murphy 62 (11.5 percent, down from 13.8)
• Harold Baines 32 (5.9 percent, up from 5.2)

No longer eligible

• Mark Grace 22 (4.1 percent)
• David Cone 21 (3.9 percent)
• Matt Williams 7 (1.3 percent)
• Mo Vaughn 6 (1.1 percent)
• Jay Bell 2 (0.4 percent)
• Jesse Orosco 1 (0.2 percent)
• Ron Gant 0
• Dan Plesac 0
• Greg Vaughn 0

Read more about the careers of Henderson and Rice.