The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will induct at least two new members next summer. On Sunday night, the Hall of Fame announced that groundbreaking union leader Marvin Miller and eight-time All-Star Ted Simmons were voted into Cooperstown by the 16-person Modern Baseball Era Committee.
Induction into the Hall of Fame required being named on 75 percent of the ballots, so twelve votes are needed for induction. Simmons got 13 votes and Miller received 12. Dwight Evans (eight), Dave Parker (seven), Steve Garvey (six) and Lou Whitaker (six) all got at least six votes but fell short of the 12-vote threshold. Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson and Dale Murphy were also on this year's Modern Era ballot.
Miller, who died at 95 in November 2012, was the executive director of Major League Baseball's players association from 1966 to 1982. As the first chief executive of the MLBPA, Miller's significance in baseball can't be overlooked. He helped to negotiate MLBPA's first collective bargaining agreement with the owners in 1968, and worked to increase the average player's salary during his time as the union chief. Miller was previously on the ballot six other times, and he fell two votes short of the necessary twelve in 2009.
Simmons, 70, was the St. Louis Cardinals longtime catcher, spending 13 of his 21 MLB seasons with the Cards. Simmons carried a career .285/.348/.437 slash, with a 118 OPS+. In his first seven full seasons in the big leagues, Simmons hit above .300 in each of his first three full seasons in the majors and received MVP votes in six seasons. Simmons recorded 193 hits during the 1973 season, the most of any MLB catcher who caught at least 150 games in a season. A switch-hitter, Simmons also played for the Brewers and Braves.
The Modern Era Committee is one of the four era committees that replaced the old Veterans Committee. The four committees meet every few years to vote on players and other baseball personnel from specific eras. Here's the schedule for the next round of committee Hall of Fame voting:
- Golden Days (1950-69): Meets next in December of 2020.
- Early Baseball (1887-1949): Meets next in December of 2020.
- Today's Game (1988 to present): Meets next in December of 2021.
The 16-person Modern Baseball Era Committee consisted of Hall of Famers George Brett, Rod Carew, Dennis Eckersley, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount; major league executives Sandy Alderson, Dave Dombrowski, David Glass, Walt Jocketty, Doug Melvin, Terry Ryan; and media members/baseball historians Bill Center, Steve Hirdt, Jack O'Connell and Tracy Ringolsby.
Results of the Baseball Writers' Association of America portion of the Hall of Fame voting, the main Hall of Fame voting process that takes place each year, will be announced in January. Here is the BBWAA ballot, which is headlined by Derek Jeter.
Hall of Fame induction weekend takes place each July in Cooperstown, N.Y.. The 2020 Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, July 26.
