Johnson’s success strengthens Hall of Fame credentials
With his success with the Nationals in 2012, Davey Johnson has made it nearly impossible to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Hasn’t he?
With his success with the Nationals in 2012, Davey Johnson has made it nearly impossible to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Hasn’t he?
These members of the Hall of Fame are the worst to have a plaque.
These players deserve to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
With the Hall of Fame ballot cleared of top-heavy candidates, Barry Larkin bolted to the top of the voting ranks and was elected to Cooperstown today. The
After serving a “time out” of sorts for his behavior during his playing career, which included an umpire spitting incident, Roberto Alomar was elected to the National
Pat Gillick has always liked to have Roberto Alomar around. This summer, he’ll get another chance to spend time with Alomar, when both are part of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2011.
For the first time since 1999, the Baseball Hall of Fame will induct a starting pitcher this summer, but it won’t be Jack Morris. Morris, who won more games (by far) than any other pitcher in the 1980s, and who pitched one of the greatest games in baseball history in Game Seven of the 1991 World Series, is still waiting for his Cooperstown call. With Blyleven now off the ballot, Morris’s candidacy will take center stage over the next three years – his final three chances via the Baseball Writers.
Normally, trading a future Hall of Fame player is the death knell for a major league general manager. But when Pat Gillick did it he laid the groundwork for historic success. In 1999, Gillick, with impressive credentials on his resume, replaced Woody Woodward as General Manager of the Seattle Mariners. The team’s superstar center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. was grumbling about the lack of support on the roster and issued a trade demand. Woodward had famously told reporters, “I don’t want to be the guy remembered for trading Ken Griffey Jr. away from the Mariners.” Gillick had no such fear.
In one of the the worst cases of Hall of Fame voting in the history of that wonderful organization, Ron Santo failed to earn induction despite his obvious qualifications. It was puzzling to many who saw him in his prime. His detractors, whom apparently numbered enough to keep the Baseball Writers and Hall of Fame Veterans Committee from electing him, claimed his career was too short to have reached major statistical milestones, he never played on a winner, or that his career batting average was too unimpressive.
Next week the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results of a veterans committee election that considers 12 candidates from the Expansion Era. It’s the first election in the new Hall of Fame balloting process that has the voting separated into three ballots based on era: Expansion (1973-present), Golden (1947-1972), and Pre-Integration (1871-1946). Every year one of the ballots will be addressed. A small group (16) will vote in seclusion during the winter meetings. Any candidate receiving 12 votes will be elected.
From 1903-1989, every World Series winning team except two have boasted at least one future Hall of Famer on their roster. In most of the cases, the winning team has had more than one player who have gone on to be immortalized in Cooperstown.
Throughout baseball history, great players have produced great moments in dramatic games, and Hall of Fame members are no exception, providing numerous memorable moments in a winner-take-all contests of the Fall Classic.
When Juan Marichal stepped on the mound for the first time as a big leaguer, it was the first major league game he had ever seen. Nine innings later, he had made one of the most spectacular debuts in baseball history, and launched a career that would land him in Cooperstown.