For the decade of the 1990s, there was surely no baseball player more popular across America than Ken Griffey Jr.. His smooth swing, graceful defense, infectious smile and backwards cap made him a athletic and pop culture icon, and on Wednesday, that combination of overwhelming popularity and remarkable talent left him with the largest percentage of Hall of Fame votes in history.

Griffey and Mike Piazza were announced this week as the latest superstars to be enshrined in Cooperstown. Griffey set a record with more than 99 percent of the vote, while Piazza overcame steroid speculation to enter the Hall as perhaps the game’s greatest offensive catcher.

Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines had 71.6 percent and 69.8 percent of the vote respectively, suggesting each is likely to reach the necessary 75 percent next winter. Trevor Hoffman, at 67.3 percent, also came very close.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens each received less than 50 percent, meaning their support increased only slightly in a year when the electorate was significantly smaller (suggesting their support might not be trending upward at all). Mark McGwire and Alan Trammell each fell off the ballot after reaching their maximum number of years. Jim Edmonds also fell off the ballot due to lack of support (surprising for a guy with a decent Hall of Fame case).

Jorge Posada, Vladimir Guerrero, Ivan Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez are the most notable first-timers for next year’s Hall of Fame ballot.

—

• Needing to add more infield depth, the Yankees added two more versatile players on minor league contracts. Donovan Solano and Jonathan Diaz can each play second, third and shortstop, and each has some big league experience as utility players. Those two seem to round out a Triple-A infield that likely also includes Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder and early free agent signing Pete Kozma. The Yankees also added Double-A reliever Tyler Jones on a minor league deal.

• The Yankees made a relatively small trade, acquiring hard-throwing reliever Kirby Yates from the Indians for cash considerations. Yates has pitched in the big leagues for parts of the past two seasons. Think of him as this year’s version of Chris Martin, a guy with a big fastball who might be able to earn some big league innings if he can stay under control and keep the ball in the park.

• While the Yankees were making relatively small deals, the free agent position player market began to move again with Alex Gordon getting a four-year, $72-million deal with the Royals (for comparison, Brett Gardner is in the second year of a four-year, $52-million deal). After the Gordon deal, Denard Span signed a three-year deal with the Giants. Still a lot of free agent talent available, especially for this time of year.

• With things surprisingly quiet around Upton, his agent clarified that he has no plans of resorting to a short-term contract in hopes of taking advantage of a weaker free agent market in the near future. For now, it just seems a lot of big names are either having a hard time finding a big contract or having a hard time deciding on a place to play. Still waiting to see if the market develops in a way that lets the Yankees get involved.

• Manager Al Pedrique is moving up from Double-A to lead an overhauled Triple-A coaching staff that includes new pitching coach Tommy Phelps and new hitting coach Tommy Wilson. The Yankees also officially announced the coaching staffs for their other full-season affiliates. Notable that Patrick Osborn and Tim Norton have moved up to the High-A staff, that Bobby Mitchell has joined the organization to manage Trenton, and that Greg Colbrunn is back as the hitting coach in Charleston.

• Former Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang signed a minor league deal with the Royals. Still wondering if the Yankees might sign someone similar to add a veteran presence to their Triple-A rotation.

Associated Press photos