MLB

Former Mets 2B Alomar named to Hall of Fame

The two newest members of baseball’s Hall of Fame took very different routes to get to Cooperstown. Pitcher Bert Blyleven waited until his 14th try, while former Mets second baseman Roberto Alomar got elected in his second time on the ballot.

It also became increasingly clear that players whose legacies are tarnished by alleged steroid use won’t be getting in anytime soon, with Rafael Palmeiro (11 percent) and Mark McGwire (19 percent) coming nowhere close to enshrinement.

“It’s been 14 years of praying and waiting,” Blyleven, 59, said in a conference call after appearing on 79 percent of the ballots cast. “I’d like to thank the Baseball Writers of America for, I’d like to say, finally getting it right.”

Alomar, 42, was somewhat surprisingly passed over a year ago, falling eight votes short of the 75 percent required and this year received 90 percent of the vote.

“It was something out of my hands,” he said. “Last year, I was so close. This year, I expected to make it, but not with that many votes.”

Along with executive Pat Gillick, Alomar and Blyleven will be inducted on July 24. Gillick was picked last month by the Veterans Committee.

Alomar’s failure to get in last year was largely attributed to the infamous incident when he spit in umpire John Hirschbeck’s face while arguing a call in 1996.

Alomar apologized and later became friends with the umpire.

“I regret every bit of it. I apologized many times to John,” said Alomar, a career .300 hitter who won a pair of World Series titles with Toronto. “I feel good I’ve had a good relationship with John.”

Hirschbeck was unequivocal in his support for Alomar.

“I’m very, very happy for him. It’s overdue,” Hirschbeck told the AP. “I’m not going to comment on why he didn’t get elected the first time. But I forgave him. Maybe the rest of the world has.”

Alomar was a 12-time All Star and won a record 10 Gold Gloves at second base, but his brief time with the Mets (2002-03) didn’t help his Hall-of-Fame cause, either. The criticism he took for his subpar performance still stings him.

“A lot of people say I never cared . . . and that I was dogging it in New York,” Alomar said of his swift downfall after he came to the Mets from Cleveland. “I really cared when I played in New York. I love the New York Mets. They were great to me. The team didn’t click together, didn’t play good together. Maybe we tried too much. We tried to win games. We didn’t do as good as we wanted to.”

Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said Alomar’s election was “well deserved.”

Blyleven, who built his success with his curveball, won 287 games, threw 60 shutouts and ranks fifth in league history with 3,701 strikeouts.

Former Reds Barry Larkin finished third in balloting, receiving 62 percent.

dan.martin@nypost.com