Veterans Committee doesn't add to 2005 Hall inductees
New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, a former NL MVP, was fifth with 36 votes, an increase of seven. Maury Wills was next with 26, followed by Vada Pinson (23), Luis Tiant (20) and Roger Maris (19). Thurman Munson and old-time pitcher Smoky Joe Wood each received only two votes.
Voters averaged 5.7 players on their ballots, up from 5.3 in 2003. Clark said in her view the vote was not "static" because figures fluctuated
While 102 members of the Hall have been elected by the BBWAA, 149 by the Veterans Committee and nine by the Negro Leagues Committee, Hall president Dale Petrosky pointed out that the veterans group put in many 19th century players. Of the 60 living Hall of Famers, only 12 were elected by the Veterans Committee, just seven of them players.
"With 75 percent of the vote required, it's a very, very tough situation and it's more difficult than it used to be," said retired Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, a members of the current and previous Veterans Committee, which met annually. "When I looked at the list this year, I saw so many deserving candidates that are on the same level, and I think that's why so many votes got split."
The current Veterans Committee votes every two years on players, every four years on a "composite" ballot of managers, umpires and executives. In 2003, former NL umpire Doug Harvey led that category with 48 votes, followed by former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley (38) and former players association head Marvin Miller (35).
"Marvin Miller should be in the Hall of Fame, that's my feeling, for how he affected the game," Torre said in a thought endorsed by Seaver.
Oliva said the committee should have to wait until 2007 to vote again.
"I think Bud Selig has to do something about it," he said, referring to the baseball commissioner. "Two years is too much to wait."
Seaver said he voted for three or four players and thought the process was working.
"Will somebody make it out of this committee one day? Absolutely. I'm convinced they will," he said.
Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
