Sandberg, Boggs want Rose in Hall

NEW YORK – New Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg have their own list of candidates to join them in Cooperstown, and it includes Pete Rose.

Boggs and Sandberg celebrated baseball’s ultimate honor Wednesday, and talked about players they thought belonged in the Hall of Fame with them, mentioning sluggers Jim Rice and Andre Dawson, and relievers Bruce Sutter and Rich Gossage.

Rose, the career hits leader, remains on baseball’s ineligible list after admitting he bet on games while managing Cincinnati in the late 1980s. Unless Commissioner Bud Selig reinstates him by late November, there is no plan by the Hall of Fame to place him on the 2006 ballot, which would be his final chance for consideration by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Rose, who agreed to the ban in 1989, applied for reinstatement in 1997 but Selig has not ruled and refuses to say when or if he will.

“I patterned my game after Pete,” said Boggs, who had a .328 career average and 3,010 hits. “When you look at what he accomplished – he’s the hit king. Without him, there’s a void in the Hall of Fame. He needs to be there.”

Sandberg, whose .989 fielding percentage is the highest for a second baseman, also supports Rose.

“I understand the situation, with all he’s gone through,” Sandberg said. “It’s a matter of time before baseball excuses him, and he gets in with 4,000-plus hits.”

Boggs easily gained election in his first year of eligibility, receiving 474 of the 516 votes cast, at 91.86 percent well over the 75 percent required. Sandberg made it in his third year on the ballot, getting 393 votes, six more than the 387 needed.

Both did a little electioneering.

“Jim Rice,” Boggs began, “In my opinion, there was not a more feared hitter in baseball. When he walked to the plate and stared at the pitcher, you knew he was going to hit the ball hard and drive in important runs for us.”

Rice, who had 382 homers and 1,451 RBIs in 18 years with the Boston Red Sox, finished fourth in the balloting with 307 votes, also trailing Sutter (344).

Sandberg mentioned Dawson, a teammate with the Chicago Cubs.

“Dawson was in the same category as Rice,” he said. “Four hundred home runs, gold gloves, the ultimate professional and a class act.

“Lee Smith, Sutter, Goose Gossage. I’d like to see more closers,” he added. “There’s nothing better on a team than a big closer.”

Boggs also mentioned Bert Blyleven, who won 287 games in 22 seasons.

“Facing him … he had the greatest curveball of all time. You look at statistics – 3,000 hits, 300 wins, 500 home runs,” he said. “When you fall a little short, it takes a little longer. Eventually, they get in.”