Ryan, Brett and Yount?
Hall of Fame could elect 3 rookies for 1st time since '36
Posted: Friday January 01, 1999 04:32 PM
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Ryan (right) and Brett should zoom past the 75 percent of votes required for election AP |
NEW YORK (AP) -- On the final day of the 1993 season, before the final
game of their major league careers, Nolan Ryan and George Brett met at home
plate to exchange lineup cards and handshakes.
That afternoon in Texas, the talk was already about their futures. As
in, it sure would be nice to see baseball's career strikeout leader and one
of its greatest hitters replay that scene at the Hall of Fame.
"I'd love it if it worked out that way," Ryan said at the time. "I
don't think there's any doubt George is going to be inducted and I hope it
works out that way for me."
No need to worry, Nolan. The call from Cooperstown is certainly coming
Tuesday when results from one of the most eagerly anticipated elections in
Hall history are announced.
In a ballot studded with standout rookie candidates, Ryan and Brett
figure to be shoo-ins. Robin Yount may also make it, with Carlton Fisk and
Dale Murphy expected to do well in the voting.
Even the list of holdover hopefuls is outstanding, led by Tony Perez,
Jim Rice, Tommy John, Gary Carter and Bruce Sutter.
Not since the initial election in 1936, when Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb,
Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson were chosen, have three
first-timers been picked.
In fact, the last time 10-year members of the Baseball Writers'
Association of America voted in three players at all was 1991 - Rod Carew,
Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry.
And the last time the BBWAA took four new members was 1955 - Joe
DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Dazzy Vance and Ted Lyons.
Overall, the BBWAA has been rather stingy in recent elections. Its
members have selected a total of just five players in the last six years,
with Don Sutton making it last January.
That's likely to change as Ryan and Brett should zoom past the 75
percent required for election and increase the current Hall membership of
237.
Induction ceremonies are set for July 25, with an appropriate Hall of
Fame exhibition game the following day - Ryan's Texas Rangers vs.
Brett's Kansas City
Royals.
The Veterans Committee will meet March 2 in Tampa, Fla., and can
choose up to four more new members. Bill Mazeroski, Dick Williams and Gil
Hodges will be among the candidates.
Ryan and Brett already are well-represented at Cooperstown. Brett's
pine-tar bat is on display at the shrine, as are balls and caps from each
of Ryan's record seven no-hitters - by late July, their plaques will likely
be hanging in the Hall, too.
Ryan struck out 5,714 in a 27-year spanning 1965-93 with the New York Mets,
California, Houston and Texas. He went 324-292, tying him with Sutton for
12th in victories.
When Ryan threw his final pitch at age 46 - he was forced to leave
after tearing a ligament in his right elbow in a game two weeks before that
farewell meeting with Brett - he held or shared more than 50 major league
records.
Up until the final few years of his career, Ryan had his critics. They
claimed he was too wild (2,795 walks in 5,387 innings), never won a Cy
Young Award and did not win enough - but he finished with a .526 winning
percentage, compared to the .503 of his teams.
By the way, Big Tex will wear a Texas Rangers cap on his plaque.
Brett, a 13-time All-Star, ranks 13th on the career hits list with
3,154. The third baseman hit .305 in a 21-year career spent entirely with
the Royals, and was a .337 lifetime hitter in the postseason.
Yount, a three-time All-Star, had 3,142 hits in 20 seasons, all with
Milwaukee. He won AL MVP awards at shortstop and center field. His .285
average, however, may hold him back this time.
Brett (317 HRs, 1,595 RBIs) and Yount (251 HRs, 1,406 RBIs) both got
their 3,000th hits in September 1992, plus they share this rare
distinction: They both are their franchise leader in home runs, triples,
doubles and singles. In the modern era, only Willie Mays (Giants) and Stan
Musial (Cardinals) can claim the same honor.
Fisk holds the AL record for catchers with 24 seasons and hit 376 home
runs. His most famous homer, and one of the most memorable ever, won Game 6
of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park.
Murphy was a two-time NL MVP with Atlanta and hit 398 home runs. He
was a seven-time All-Star and won five straight Gold Gloves in center
field.
Perez, a key member of the Big Red Machine, came close to election
last year when he was picked on 67.9 percent of the ballots. He had 1,652
RBIs - every eligible player ahead of him is in the Hall.
"I'm proud of my RBIs, because a lot of them helped win games for us,"
he said.
John (288 wins), Bert Blyleven (287), Jim Kaat (283) and Sutter (300
saves) also appear on the 28-member ballot. So do Rice (.298, 382 HRs,
1,451 RBIs), Carter (11 All-Star teams), Dwight Evans (385 HRs, eight Gold
Gloves).
Mickey Lolich, 217-191 and MVP of the 1968 World Series, and Minnie
Minoso, a .298 career hitter, are on the ballot for the 15th and final
time.
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