In his first attempt to join the MLB Hall of Fame, former Padre Roberto Alomar fell just short of the required 75 percent to make the Hall.

From mlb.com:

In the tightest finish in Hall of Fame voting history, Bert Blyleven finished just five votes short with 74.2 percent of the vote, and Roberto Alomar registered the most votes ever for a first-year candidate without getting elected with 73.7 percent, finishing eight votes short with 397.

Alomar was a 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove second baseman, who batted .300 with 2,724 hits during a 17-year career for seven teams. He came up in San Diego with the Padres in 1988 and played three seasons there before being traded to the Blue Jays where he played another five, winning the World Series in 1992 and '93.

The amount of votes for a first year candidate is encouraging.  With the recent backing of infamous umpire John Hirschbeck, Alomar figures to be a lock in 2011.  MLB Network's Perter Gammons recently called Alomar one of the 7-8 best second baseman of all time.  It appears to be a case of when and not if for Roberto Alomar, a well deserved honor.

One interesting note is that if officials chose for him to wear the Blue Jays cap, he would be the first player to be inducted for that organization.

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