Ripken, Gwynn will waltz in Hall
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The five-year wait for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame has been a mere formality for Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.
So when the Baseball Writers Association of America vote is revealed Tuesday, the top two vote-getters will shock no one. It’s the next three or four positions, however, that hold some intrigue in the 2007 election.
The most anticipated Hall election this decade will be a victory lap for Ripken and Gwynn, who will both likely receive at least 90 percent of the vote. Barring a colossal upset – every eligible player with 3,000-plus hits, such as Ripken and Gwynn, is enshrined in Cooperstown – Ripken and Gwynn will be inducted July 29.
Ripken, a shortstop with Baltimore from 1981-2001, holds the all-time consecutive games played record with 2,632 and was named to 19 All-Star Games. Gwynn, a career .338 hitter who spent his entire 20-year career with San Diego, was named to 15 All-Star Games.
But whether Ripken and Gwynn will have company in Cooperstown is not clear. Former single-season home run king Mark McGwire makes his ballot debut this year, but McGwire’s candidacy has been scarred by his 2005 testimony in front of Congress where he refused to say whether he had taken steroids.
McGwire has 583 career homers, seventh on the career list. But some Hall of Famers think the performance-enhancing drug issues that hound McGwire could prevent him from receiving the necessary 75 percent of the vote.
“(McGwire’s) statistics on the field surely warrant Hall of Fame election,” said Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt, who hit 548 home runs from 1972-89 with Philadelphia. “He never failed a drug test, but there are incriminating circumstances out there. We’ll wait and see.”
No other first-year player on the ballot is likely to garner a significant percentage of the vote. But three holdovers from previous elections, Jim Rice, Goose Gossage and Andre Dawson, could come close to induction.
Rice had the most votes of anyone not elected last year, falling short by just 53 votes with 64.8 percent. Gossage was right behind Rice with 64.6 percent of the vote, falling 54 votes shy. Dawson got 61 percent of the 2006 vote, 73 votes shy.
Only one player – former Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges – has received at least 60 percent of the BBWAA vote and not been eventually elected to the Hall.
The last time the BBWAA elected more than two players at once was 1999, when Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were enshrined. The last time the BBWAA elected four was 1955.
Gossage and Rice – and perhaps McGwire – might have a better chance in 2008, when the top new candidate will be Tim Raines.
“The first year on the ballot, if you feel like you merited being there and you don’t get the call, it’s the hardest,” said Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, who was elected to Cooperstown in his fifth year of eligibility in 1998. “Then after a while, you don’t think about it so much. But when you finally get it, you’re just so appreciative.”
The BBWAA electees will be joined in Cooperstown this summer by any candidates elected by the Veterans Committee on Feb. 27. Leading player candidates include Hodges, Tony Oliva, Ron Santo and ballot newcomer Jim Kaat.
The composite ballot, consisting of managers, umpires and executives, will also be voted on this year. Leading candidates on the composite ballot include managers Dick Williams and Whitey Herzog, umpire Doug Harvey and former union president Marvin Miller.