MLB legend Tommy John claims he's not in Hall of Fame because he voted for Donald Trump

MLB icon Tommy John is not a member of baseball's Hall of Fame - and he believes it's because of his political choices.

The pitcher racked up 288 wins and four All-Star appearances over 26 seasons, and is perhaps best known for the elbow surgery named after him.

And when asked on the Michael Kay Show why he hadn't been enshrined into Cooperstown, he gave a surprising answer. 

'Maybe because I voted for Donald Trump,' he said.

'You think that's it?,' Kay shot back. 

'Probably... I don't know. I have no idea. If I knew and I could do something, I would do it. But I can't.'

John's claim seems dubious judging by the time period in which he was on the ballot: from 1995-2009.

In that span, which was well before Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, 2020 and 2024, he never received higher than 31.7 percent of the vote (75 percent is needed for induction).

He also was eligible to be inducted by Veterans Committee electorates in 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2020 (Trump was in office in '18 and '20), but he was not selected.

A common argument against John is that he was a 'compiler' who racked up his impressive numbers over a long career - rather than ever being truly dominant.

As pointed out in a 2019 piece from MLB.com, he never led his league in wins, ERA, strikeouts or innings pitched.

At the same time, only six pitchers - Steve Carlton, Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry and Nolan Ryan - won more games than John during his career, and they are all in the Hall.

Regardless, it doesn't seem that John is likely to be inducted anytime soon.