CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa received enough votes to stay on the Hall of Fame ballot but was far short of the 75 percent needed to be elected into Cooperstown.
Sosa received 38 votes (8.6 percent) in the balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, announced on Wednesday. Players need to appear on 75 percent of the ballots cast to earn election into the Hall.
:: 2017 Hall of Fame election results ::
In Sosa's first year on the ballot in 2013, he received 12.5 percent of the vote, and his support had dipped since then to 7.2 percent in 2014, 6.6 percent in 2015, and 7 percent last year.
The slugger, who tapped his heart and blew kisses to his mother after hitting home runs, played 18 seasons, including 13 with the Cubs, and finished with 609 home runs and 1,667 RBIs.
The 1998 National League Most Valuable Player, Sosa is the only player to hit at least 60 home runs in three seasons, doing so in 1998, '99 and 2001. He led the NL in RBIs in '98 (158) and also in '01 (160).
While Sosa topped the 5 percent needed to remain on the ballot next year, first baseman Derrek Lee, who played 15 seasons, including seven with the Cubs, did not receive a single vote in his first year on the ballot and will not be included in future Hall of Fame voting.