Hall of Fame Candidates Don't Measure Up To Santo

This is another post about Ron Santo getting into the Hall of Fame, but it admittedly takes me awhile to get there.The Baseball Hall of Fame announced today that 12 individuals are up for election to the Hall by the new Expansion Era Committee and any winners will be announced at the baseball winter meetings in Orlando on December 6. The Hall has done away with the panel of all living HOF members doing the Veterans voting. Instead, this year the new panel votes on a group selected from 1973-present. Next year, the panel will look at Golden Era nominees from 1947-72, and the following year the pre-Integration nominees (1871-1946) get their shot, then they continue to rotate going forward.The 16-member panel consists of Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Whitey Herzog, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Tony Perez, Frank Robinson, Ryne Sandberg, and Ozzie Smith, as well as executives Bill Giles (Phillies), David Glass (Royals), Andy MacPhail (Orioles), and Jerry Reinsdorf (Sox). Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun), Tim Kurkjian (ESPN), Tom Verducci (SI), and Ross Newhan (retired LA Times) round out the panel.They will fix the travesty of Marvin Miller's absence from the Hall and also vote on Billy Martin (don't care), George Steinbrenner (yes for the impact he had on the game), and Pat Gillick (don't think so).� They will also discuss the following players, nice careers all, but none of which in my opinion ever established a period of sustained excellence that qualifies for the Hall of Fame.Al Oliver - noTommy John - noRusty Staub - no (Le Grande Orange belongs in the Nickname HOF)Ted Simmons - no (loved you as part of Harvey's Wallbangers Simba, but no)Vida Blue - noRon Guidry - noDave Concepcion - no (enough of the Big Red Machine already)And Steve Garvey. Maybe, and believe me, it's hard to type even that. In my crowd, any time there is the slightest chance of anything bad happening, the quick advice offered is. Remove all doubt. Stay away from danger. Walk Garvey. October 6, 1984. Sigh. Where was I?Oh yeah, Steve Garvey in the Hall of Fame. The ironman streak (National League record at 1,207) and his post-season body of work should be considered. He was a ten-time All-Star and won an MVP. Maybe I could stomach it, because if Garvey gets in, it would mean Ron Santo should be a lock. Santo's numbers trump Garvey's across the board: HR (342-272), RBI (1331-1308), OBP (.362-.329), OPS (.826-.775), OPS+ (125-116), Gold Gloves (5-4). Garvey has a slim edge in batting average (.294-.272), runs (1143-1138), and All-Star Games (10-9).� I could live with a Hall of Fame with Steve Garvey in it if it means that Ron Santo gets in, too.I didn't say I'd watch his speech.Santo is a Hall of Famer by the numbers, especially when compared to others of his time. He should get credit for playing with diabetes throughout his career and for all the good he's done for baseball through his work on WGN Radio. He shouldn't be penalized for the thought that a team that didn't win anything shouldn't have four Hall of Famers, but believe me, that sentiment is huge among his peers who are already enshrined. You didn't like the heel click? Get over it.So for Ronnie it's wait till next year and it's not like he's ever heard that one before. I'm going on the assumption the experts panel puts him on the 2011 ballot, a no-brainer if ever there was one. Here's hoping sanity and common sense prevails and he goes in then, along with Gil Hodges. That one was hard to type, too. I guess I'm ripping off all my Cub scabs today my stumping for the manager of the '69 Mets, but Hodges belongs in the Hall for his Dodger playing career alone. My pal Willie gave me this one at breakfast yesterday. Did you know that when Hodges retired, he was the most prolific right-handed home run hitter in National League history with 370?I don't believe the committee stays the same next year, but if it did, Ronnie would have Sandberg and MacPhail in his corner and would Jerry Reinsdorf help out an old Cub? Santo did play for the White Sox for one year...So c'mon blue ribbon committee. Get it right. Especially next year.

Blog News