Five elected to Hall by Vets Committee

[Lil Bit Special]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071203&content_id=2315723&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

NASHVILLE -- Five managers and executives were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday under revamped rules that created separate Veterans Committee ballots.

World Series-winning managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams will be joined in the Class of 2008 on July 29 at Cooperstown, N.Y., by former Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and owners Walter O'Malley and Barney Dreyfuss.

Williams, who won the World Series in Oakland and pennants with Boston and San Diego, and Southworth, who won the Series twice with St. Louis, were on a ballot of 10 that combined umpires and managers and included former managers Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, Billy Martin and Gene Mauch, plus umpire Doug Harvey.

On the ballot of 10 executives, O'Malley, the Dodgers owner who moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles 50 years ago; Kuhn, the commissioner from 1969 to 1984; and Dreyfuss, a turn-of-the-century pioneer from the Pirates, headed a list that also included Marvin Miller, the former executive director of the Players Association, and Buzzie Bavasi, who was one of O'Malley's general managers.

A maximum of four inductees could have been elected in each of those two categories. As is the case on all Hall elections, a candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote to be elected. Williams, 78, is the only living electee. Kuhn is the third commissioner elected.

Former players who are no longer eligible for the annual Baseball Writers Association of America ballot won't come to a vote again until late next year. And that will be broken down into two ballots: One for those who played prior to 1943 and another those who played from 1943 and afterward. From that point on, players whose careers ended in 1943 will be up for election every five years, while those who played after 1943 will be nominated every other year. The managers/umpires and executives/pioneers now will be voted upon every other year.

It should be noted that no player had been elected by any permutation of the Veterans Committee since Bill Mazeroski in 2001. Previous to Monday, the last manager to be elected was Sparky Anderson in 2000, and the last Major League executive was Lee MacPhail Jr. in 1998.

During elections held by the re-constituted Veterans Committee in 2003, 2005 and earlier this year, no one was elected, prompting the changes in the committee setup.

The committee assembled to elect managers/umpires included 16 people: 10 Hall of Fame players, three current and former Major League executives, and three veteran media members. The Hall of Famers were Hank Aaron, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins, Al Kaline, Tommy Lasorda, Phil Niekro, Tony Perez, Earl Weaver and Billy Williams.

The committee now assembled to elect executives was made up of 12 members: Two Hall of Fame players, seven former or current Major League executives and three veteran media members. Monte Irvin and Harmon Killebrew were the Hall of Fame players.

As in the recent past, all of the 63 living Hall of Fame players make up the bulk of the committee to elect their brethren. But, except those 12 selected for the other two committees, they will no longer have a hand in electing managers/umpires or executives.

[Bob]

WTF? How does Billy Martin not get in? I'd even make the reach to say the White Rat belongs there, too.

Dick Williams deserves to be in just for saying in an interview that Charles O. Finley was actually going to Hell.

[mbn007]

WTF? How does Billy Martin not get in? I'd even make the reach to say the White Rat belongs there, too.

Dick Williams deserves to be in just for saying in an interview that Charles O. Finley was actually going to Hell.

Oh, are you bringing back memories.

Remember when the Yankees did not offer their "crown jewels" as compensation for Williams to be Manager? The "jewels" were Scott McGregor and or Otto Velez. Shows what our farm system was in those days, although Scott was a solid prospect, and did have his moments in the sun in the Majors.

[Thai Jet]

WTF? How does Billy Martin not get in? I'd even make the reach to say the White Rat belongs there, too.

Dick Williams deserves to be in just for saying in an interview that Charles O. Finley was actually going to Hell.

LOL