Veterans Committee Vote Extremely Disappointing

The results of the Veterans Committee vote for entrance into the MLB Hall of Fame on Tuesday was not one that was welcomed by anyone. Numerous worthy candidates were once again wrongfully kept from being enshrined in the Hall and as each year goes by, more and more of these men pass on without being given the highest honor in baseball.

The 84 eligible voters (only 82 participated this year) have yet to vote anyone in in the three elections held since there was a revamp of the voting process following unfounded charges of cronyism with the election of career .260 hitter Bill Mazeroski in 2001.

Among the players missing being elected include 3B Ron Santo of the Chicago Cubs; 283-game winner Jim Kaat, who primarily pitched for Minnesota; Gil Hodges, who hit 370 career home runs while catching for Brooklyn and who managed the NY Mets to the World Series title in 1969; Tony Oliva, a three-time AL Batting Champion; Maury Wills, a prolific base stealer who held the season record for steals from 1962 until Rickey Henderson broke it; Joe Torre , a perennial All-Star Catcher with the Braves and Cardinals with an MVP and batting title; Don Newcombe, a longtime pitching great with Brooklyn who was one of the first black pitchers after the color barrier was broken; Roger Maris, who set the home run season record in 1961; Curt Flood, who historical significance as a player in the game is almost unmatched; Luis Tiant, the left-handed screwballer who led the White Sox and Red Sox pitching staffs during the late 1960s and 1970s; Lefty O'Doul, a career .349 hitter with four batting titles; and Mickey Vernon, a seven-time All-Star with two batting titles whose career spanned across 4 decades.

Others who contributed to the game who deserve recognition and enshrinement into the Hall include long-time highly respected veteran umpire Doug Harvey; Players Representative Marvin Miller, who had the greatest impact on the business of the game as anyone ever has; Walter O'Malley, the longtime Dodger owner; as well as several other contributers: Whitey Herzog, Bill White, Dick Williams, Charles Finley, Harry Dalton, Phil Wrigley, and Paul Richards.

Lets hope these long overdue enshrinements of these men occur in the immediate coming years and before more of them pass on.

Visitors to My Blog from Around the Globe!

The number of places that the visitors to my blog come from only continues to grow. This week the list expands to include Taiwan, Japan, France, Finland, Latvia, Belguim, Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Visitors from American states are from Oregon, Utah, Illinois, California, Maryland, Arizona, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Canadian visitors are from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.