In an announcement that rocked the baseball world in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar has been banned from baseball for alleged sexual misconduct.

Alomar, now 53, was elected to Cooperstown with 90 per cent of the vote in 2011, three years before the incident that prompted his placement on the permanently ineligible list Friday.

He had been working as a consultant for Major League Baseball and ambassador for the Toronto Blue Jays, whom he led to world championships in 1992 and 1993.

The Jays said they were cutting all ties with the 12-time All-Star, whose name will be stricken from the team’s Level of Excellence at Rogers Centre, where the banner featuring his retired No. 12 will also be removed.

Ironically, the Jays have been relegated to playing home games in Buffalo, home of their Triple-A team, and Dunedin, FL, where they hold spring training, because of Ontario’s strict Covid-19 restrictions. Toronto has not played at Rogers Centre since 2019, the last uninterrupted season.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, in a special statement issued Friday, said, “An independent investigation was conducted by an external legal firm to review an allegation of sexual misconduct reported by a baseball industry employee earlier this year involving Mr. Alomar in 2014.

“Having reviewed all of the available evidence from the now-completed investigation, I have concluded that Mr. Alomar violated MLB’s policies and that termination of his consultant contract and placement on MLB’s Ineligible List are warranted.

“We are grateful for the courage of the individual who came forward. MLB will continue to strive to create environments in which people feel comfortable speaking up without fear of recrimination, retaliation, or exclusion.”

While the Baseball Hall of Fame has no plans to remove Alomar’s plaque, chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark joined Manfred in expressing extreme disappointment.

“The National Baseball Hall of Fame was shocked and saddened to learn of the news being shared today about Roberto Alomar,” she said in a statement. “When he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in the Class of 2011, Alomar was an eligible candidate in good standing. His plaque will remain on display in the Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments in the game, and his enshrinement reflects his eligibility and the perspective of the BBWAA voters at that time.”

Alomar was the first Hall of Famer to wear a Blue Jays logo on his plaque. But that didn’t stop the ballclub from cutting ties with their former hero.

“The Blue Jays are committed to advancing respect and equity in baseball in baseball and are taking further action by removing Alomar from the Level of Excellence and taking down his banner at Rogers Centre.”

Alomar, who played for the Jays from 1991-95 and for six other clubs, issued his own statement, insisting the punishment didn’t fit the crime.

“I am disappointed, surprised, and upset with today’s news,” said the erstwhile star second baseman, who won 10 Gold Gloves and batted .300 with 210 home runs and 474 stolen bases. He concluded by suggesting the “current social climate” contributed to the condemnations and punishments that accompanied the commissioner’s announcement.

No player has ever had his plaque removed from the Hall of Fame gallery or had his retired number reinstated as the result of objectionable personal behavior. On the other hand, Major League Baseball has been quick to fine and suspend players because of alleged sexual misconduct.

Major League Baseball, in a landmark agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association, initiated a domestic violence policy on August 21, 2015. Of the 15 players punished since, the most prominent was All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, though fellow Yankees pitcher Domingo German incurred an 81-game suspension that started in September 2019 and kept him out for the virus-shortened 2020 campaign. German is back but free-agent pitcher Sam Dyson is banned this season for violating the policy. Chapman was suspended for 30 games in 2016.

Alomar’s behavior has gotten him into hot water previously. He was suspended for five games late in the 1996 season by Gene Budig, then president of the American League, after spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck following his ejection for arguing a strike-three call during a game between the Orioles and Blue Jays. Alomar played for Baltimore at the time.

He has also played for San Diego, where he started his career in 1988, as well as Cleveland, Arizona, the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Mets.

At the time of his election to Cooperstown, Alomar joined Roberto Clemente as the only Puerto Ricans in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He now joins Pete Rose, among others, on MLB’s permanently ineligible list.

Alomar would be able to apply for reinstatement, as Rose has many times, but there is no guarantee of success.

Alomar is the most prominent member of a baseball family that also includes his father Sandy Alomar, an infielder, and brother Sandy Alomar, Jr., a star catcher. Both Alomar brothers won All-Star Game MVP awards.