Ron Santo misses Hall of Fame election by five votes

[maddash]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2781628

Santo misses Hall of Fame election by five votes
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Hall of Fame pitched another shutout.

Ron Santo, Jim Kaat, Marvin Miller and all the other candidates were left out Tuesday when the Veterans Committee admitted no new members for the third straight election.

The blank slate could lead to changes before the next vote in 2009.

"We're being blamed because something hasn't happened," Hall member and vice chairman Joe Morgan said. "If you're asking me, 'Do we lower our standards to get more people in?' my answer would be no."

Santo came the closest to the required 75 percent. A nine-time All-Star, the former Cubs third baseman was picked on 57 of 82 ballots (70 percent).

Kaat, a 283-game winner and strongly backed by Hall member Mike Schmidt, drew 52 votes. Gil Hodges, who hit 370 home runs, got 50 votes and three-time AL batting champion Tony Oliva had 47. Players needed 62 for election.

Umpire Doug Harvey received 52 of the necessary 81 votes on the ballot for managers, umpires and executives. Miller, the union head who led players to free-agent riches, showed a strong increase in getting 51.

The vets committee was revamped after charges of cronyism when it elected Bill Mazeroski in 2001. That marked the eighth straight year the 15-member panel sent someone to Cooperstown.

After that, the panel was expanded to include all living Hall of Famers. The new committee votes every other year for players and every four years for the others.

"We are disappointed that no one has been elected in the three voting cycles," Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said. "We will be evaluating this process and its trends at our next meeting, which is March 13, and discussing whether there should be any changes."

"The board may decide that the trends are not what we thought they were going to be. Perhaps this hasn't worked as well as some of the board members thought it would and maybe it needs a little bit of change," she said.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were elected to the Hall by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in January. They will stand alone at the induction ceremonies July 29 in Cooperstown.

The 84 eligible voters on the vets committee included 61 Hall members, 14 broadcasters, eight writers and one holdover from the previous panel.

Morgan said he voted for the maximum 10 players.

"I feel there are some guys out there that belong in the Hall of Fame," he said. "The writers voted on these people for 15 years and they weren't elected. Why are we being criticized because we haven't elected someone?"

Maury Wills, Joe Torre, Roger Maris, Luis Tiant and Bobby Bonds were among the 27 candidates on the players ballot.

"Noboby got in? That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that," Torre said. "I'm not exactly sure what process they use. Don't forget, you've got the old guard and the young guard. People with different interests."

Torre drew 32 percent of the votes based on his playing career. The New York Yankees manager -- and former NL MVP -- is expected to be elected when his time in the dugout is considered.

"Joe Torre, when he retires and he has 8,000 wins or whatever, I think that people would vote for him," Morgan said.

Dick Williams, Whitey Herzog, Walter O'Malley and Charlie O. Finley also were among the 15 names on the composite ballot. Morgan said it was hard to pick from those candidates.

"It is difficult for some of the players or me to evaluate their performance on a Hall of Fame level. It is much easier for me to evaluate the players," Morgan said.

Miller received 63 percent, moving up from 44 percent in the previous election.

"Personally, I would love to see him get in," Torre said at the Yankees' spring camp in Tampa, Fla. "He's made such an impact on this modern player and the game itself."

Two years ago, Santo and Hodges each came within eight votes of election in drawing 65 percent.

Santo was a five-time Gold Glove winner and hit 342 home runs. Hall member Billy Williams was rooting hard for his old Cubs teammate.

"I kind of felt sorry for him because he was so looking forward to getting the call," he said. "I really thought the credentials that he has, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[TabascoElvis]

NEW YORK -- The Hall of Fame pitched another shutout.

Ron Santo, Jim Kaat, Marvin Miller and all the other candidates were left out Tuesday when the Veterans Committee admitted no new members for the third straight election.

The blank slate could lead to changes before the next vote in 2009.

"We're being blamed because something hasn't happened," Hall member and vice chairman Joe Morgan said. "If you're asking me, 'Do we lower our standards to get more people in?' my answer would be no."

[edit - skip]

"We are disappointed that no one has been elected in the three voting cycles," Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said. "We will be evaluating this process and its trends at our next meeting, which is March 13, and discussing whether there should be any changes."

"The board may decide that the trends are not what we thought they were going to be. Perhaps this hasn't worked as well as some of the board members thought it would and maybe it needs a little bit of change," she said.

[edit - skip]

The vets committee was revamped after charges of cronyism when it elected Bill Mazeroski in 2001. That marked the eighth straight year the 15-member panel sent someone to Cooperstown.

[edit - skip]

"I feel there are some guys out there that belong in the Hall of Fame," he said. "The writers voted on these people for 15 years and they weren't elected. Why are we being criticized because we haven't elected someone?"

[edit - skip Torre feeling sorry for Santo because he really wants in]
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Much as it pains me to say it, I have to agree with Morgan on this. Especially given the fact that one of the reasons they revamped the process in the first place is because of cronyism.

[Redbirdruss]

I think he should blame Bartman...

IMHO, he was a very good player but I don't think he qualifies as a HoF'er.

[thrill]

I think his work as a broadcaster and player merits induction.

If Brooks Robinson is a hof'er, so is Ron Santo.

[planet planet]

His stats are above average for current HOF 3rd basemen and he played during the 60's when runs were hard to come by. I also agree with thrill that the HOF needs to find a way to look at a candidate's contribution to baseball as a whole. That way omissions like O'Neil won't continue to happen.

[Phyrkrakr]

Any word on what happened with Kenny Boyer? Obviously he didn't get in, but I'm curious as to whether support for him is increasing or decreasing.

[thrill]

What I think is most important is that the HOF voters don't understand how much he means to millions of Cubs fans.

Think about it Cards fans: If Mike Shannon not only had the stats to merit induction, but also continued to broadcast Cardinals baseball with a genuine passion all the while battling diabetes and having two legs amputated, wouldn't you be outraged?

Think of how much we all love the moon man and how much that would tick us off.

Now realize that Santo is more revered to Cub's fans than Mike is to us.

[Phyrkrakr]

Any word on what happened with Kenny Boyer? Obviously he didn't get in, but I'm curious as to whether support for him is increasing or decreasing.

Bad form replying to yourself, I know, but I found out, and here's the word on former Cards who received votes:

Whitey: 29 votes
Torre: 26 votes
Maris: 15 votes
Flood: 14 votes
Auggie 2: 13 votes
Boyer: 9 votes

What I want to know is how Ron Santo gets 57 votes and Kenny Boyer only gets 9. They weren't that far apart in ability, and Boyer won a championship. AVG, SLG, OBP are all within a few points of each other for their careers. They both had 5 Gold Gloves, Boyer had one more All Star appearance, and Santo had 60 more HR.

The HR difference isn't enough to make that much of a difference, in my opinion.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

What I want to know is how Ron Santo gets 57 votes and Kenny Boyer only gets 9. They weren't that far apart in ability, and Boyer won a championship. AVG, SLG, OBP are all within a few points of each other for their careers. They both had 5 Gold Gloves, Boyer had one more All Star appearance, and Santo had 60 more HR.

The HR difference isn't enough to make that much of a difference, in my opinion.

Using a popular method from the Greatest player tourney....

Santo: 115.1 WARP, 13.6 career high, 6 seasons (consecutively too) over 10.0
Boyer: 95.9 WARP, 10.5 career high, 2 seasons over 10.0

Santo's prime was significantly better.

[Richie Allen]

Any word on what happened with Kenny Boyer? Obviously he didn't get in, but I'm curious as to whether support for him is increasing or decreasing.

Bad form replying to yourself, I know, but I found out, and here's the word on former Cards who received votes:

Whitey: 29 votes
Torre: 26 votes
Maris: 15 votes
Flood: 14 votes
Auggie 2: 13 votes
Boyer: 9 votes

What I want to know is how Ron Santo gets 57 votes and Kenny Boyer only gets 9. They weren't that far apart in ability, and Boyer won a championship. AVG, SLG, OBP are all within a few points of each other for their careers. They both had 5 Gold Gloves, Boyer had one more All Star appearance, and Santo had 60 more HR.

The HR difference isn't enough to make that much of a difference, in my opinion.

Hey, don't forget this former Cardinal. Easily the most deserving of any of the folks mentioned!