"Did the surgery affect his brain?"; "Just another maga idiot" - Fans react as Tommy John claims HOF snub tied to his Donald Trump vote

Former MLB pitcher Tommy John believes he should be in the Hall of Fame and has tied his snub from Cooperstown to his support for Donald Trump. John was on the HOF ballot from 1995 to 2009 but never received more than 31.7% of the votes in the ballot. This is not even half of what's required, i.e., 75%.

The former LA Dodgers pitcher claims his vote in the presidential election to Donald Trump is the reason.

“Maybe because I voted for Donald Trump,” John said Wednesday on The Michael Kay Show.

The host further asked if that's what he thinks.

“Probably,” John added. “I don’t know. I have no idea. If I knew and I could do something, I would do it. But I can’t.”

This elicited varied reactions from fans, mostly against the pitcher for his wild accusation.

"Just another maga idiot, looking to blame someone else for there problems 🤦‍♂️" one fan commented.

"Did the surgery affect his brain?" one fan posted.

"Tommy John is a Trumper? 🤦‍♂️" another added.

"Is all maga so whiny?" another asked.

Some fans gave their reasons why he's not in the Hall of Fame.

"LOL believe Tommy John was on the ballot from from 1995-2009. Not hall of fame material, whether he's a sub-human trump voter or not," another wrote.

"Tommy John regardless of a surgical procedure being named after him...doesn't have the numbers. Solid pitcher, but his rebuttal is elementary," another said.

While voters have known to not allow players with a history of cheating, PEDs and suspensions in the Hall of Fame, support for Donald Trump is a unique accusation.

Tommy John's Donald Trump reason is good enough?

Though Tommy John believes his vote for Donald Trump might be the reason why he's not among all baseball greats, there are some discrepancies.

First John was on the ballot from 1995 to 2009. Meanwhile, Trump didn't run for president until 2016. So the point of him saying so is sort of moot. But there's a catch. The Veteran Committee skipped him in both 2011 and 2014 and again in 2018 and 2020. So maybe the final two skippings are what John might be indicating at.

Tommy John, also the name behind famous pitching surgery, played 26 seasons in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels and Oakland Athletics between 1963 and 1989.

Also known as "the Bionic Man," John has 288 wins, second most by any pitcher since 1900 not in the Hall of Fame. His career record is 288-231, 3.34 ERA and 2,245 strikeouts.