KEY POINTS:
Mark McGwire, whose home run exploits have been tainted by doping suspicions, was snubbed by Baseball Hall of Fame voters as Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn were elected in their first year of eligibility.
McGwire received just 128 votes out of 545 ballots from the Baseball Writers Association of America for the class of 2007.
Retired Baltimore legend Ripken, who set a Major League Baseball record by playing 2632 consecutive games, won entry with 537 votes or 98.5 per cent, and San Diego's eight-time batting champion Gwynn received 532 votes or 97.6 per cent.
