Boggs, Sandberg Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=545&ncid=755&e=1&u=/ap/20050104/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_hall_of_fame ^ | Tue, Jan 04, 2005 | RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer

[IndyTiger]

Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try.

Boggs, a five-time American League batting champion for the Boston Red Sox (news), was selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance.

Sandberg, the 1984 National League MVP for the Chicago Cubs (news), was picked by 393 voters. He appeared on 76.2 percent of ballots, just above the 75 percent cutoff (387). Sandberg received 49.2 percent of votes in 2003 and got 61.1 percent last year, falling 71 votes short.

Results of voting by the Veterans Committee will be released March 2. Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva and Ron Santo were among the 25 candidates on that ballot.

[Guillermo]

Some people might add Saberhagen to that list.

[Labyrinthos]

Good point, although Ryne did play 7 games at SS, 133 games at 3B, and 1 game as a the DH.

[LdSentinal]

True, and Orel I believe still has that scoreless innings streak as well; however, one season does not justify him into the HOF . . . IMO

[wireman]

Sandberg had 282 career home runs, of which 277 were hit while playing second base.

[Our man in washington]

I'd put Tim Raines in on first ballot. Seven time all-star. Excellent on-base percentage. Over 800 stolen bases, and only 146 times caught. In terms of success rate, Raines was better at base stealing that Ricky Henderson or Lou Brock.

[baseballfanjm]

I can't see Tony Gwynn getting a lower percentage than Boggs. And and won't he get in the same year as Ripkin? That'll be nice.

[Rodney King]

Sandberg, the 1984 National League MVP for the Chicago Cubs (news), was picked by 393 voters. He appeared on 76.2 percent of ballots, just above the 75 percent cutoff (387). Sandberg received 49.2 percent of votes in 2003 and got 61.1 percent last year, falling 71 votes short.

What explains this other than the baseball players being jerks who like to haze the new guys? is sandberg better now than he was last year? No. So why the big change? Most likely the writers like people taking them out to dinner and begging them to vote their guy in.

[Labyrinthos]

Ryne Sandberg is not an "elite" second baseman, good yes, great maybe, but not elite.

Here's a list of the other 2B HOFers:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/hofst2b.shtml

He looks pretty elite to me.

[MikefromOhio]

Neither can I...

both are first ballot hall of famers, but I think Cal will pull down probably 98% or so....

that @$$ that complains about the Iditarod every year has said he wont vote for CAl, but thats about it...

[Tigercap]

Alan Trammell was better than both of them. Great hitter, great fielder, awesome leader, and stayed on the same team for 19 years - very rare loyalty. Should have won the 1987 MVP (robbed), won several Gold Gloves, and was on the most dominant baseball team in 40 years during 1984 WS year.


If he had been a Yank he'd be in by now.

[general_re]

He hit 100 RBIs or more exactly twice, in 1990 and '91, when he had exactly 100 both years, and that was despite having 40 home runs in the juiceball year of 1990. Compare that to, say, Ernie Banks, who had 100 or more RBIs eight times, had twice as many career home runs as Ryno and 600 more RBIs, had a career slugging pct. of .500 versus Ryno's .452. And Ernie had a fielding pct of .986 to boot. Banks was the complete package - Ryno wasn't. IMO, of course ;)

[IndyTiger]

Most likely the writers like people taking them out to dinner and begging them to vote their guy in.

There are 516 voters casting ballots in the HOF election! Way too many...I'd bet a lot know next-to-nothing about the game. I remember when Willie Mays was elected...he was not unanimous either...how could you not vote for Willie Mays!

[Labyrinthos]

Who would you consider to be the elite second basemen of Sandberg's era?

That's easy: Carew and Morgan. They are the only two other 2B's from that era who are qualified to stand on the same stage as Sandberg. I'm not saying who was better, but the three of them are in a class by themselves.

[Rodney King]

No way! 200 wins don't get it on the first ballot.

OK, but why then the second or third or fourth? Either they belong in or they don't. I don't get this third and fourth ballot stuff.

[Hand em their arse]

Dwight Gooden without Darrell Strawberry???? OHHH the humanity!!!! Who'll bring the blow to the after-party, party???

[baseballfanjm]

Ridiculous. He was the best second baseman of his time. He won 9 gold gloves and held the record for homers by a second baseman. He played in the 80's, which is a decade of baseball that often looks lackluster when compared to the homer-happy 90's.

And the Hall of Fame isn't meant to honor just "the elite"; guys like Ruth, Aaron, Mays, Cobb, Williams, etc.

There are plenty of great players worthy of the Hall who didn't reach THAT status, but were great.

[MikefromOhio]

LOL

sorry dude Trammell was not better than Ripken. NO way...

Ripken was just as loyal, hit more homers and not only fielded the position well, he revolutionized the position.....

[BlackRazor]

He hit 100 RBIs or more exactly twice, in 1990 and '91, when he had exactly 100 both years, and that was despite having 40 home runs in the juiceball year of 1990. Compare that to, say, Ernie Banks

Oh, OK, you're comparing him to guys in the 500 HR Club! When you called him a "lightweight", I didn't realize you were using so high a frame of reference!

[Mannaggia l'America]

Sandberg was the extra player the Phillies tossed in to the Larry Bowa-Ivan DeJesus trade.

Judging talent is an imperfect science.

Unfortunately for the Phils, the talent was judged perfectly. Dallas Green went to the Cubs as GM in 82 and made the trade.

Before Green became the Phils manager in '79, he was the director of their farm system and knew all about their young players (and the Phils had a good farm system in the late 70's and early 80's).

Green as GM and Lee Elia (former Phils coach) as manager of the Cubs got the Phils to throw in Sandberg.

[Alberta's Child]

Ripken hung around for a long time, so his career numbers suffered somewhat. He hit only .276 for his career, which is not a great batting average for a guy who averaged 20-25 home runs per season and wasn't a great fielder.

Gwynn may have had a reputation as a "singles hitter," but his sheer numbers were unbelievable. His .338 career batting average ranks him among the top 20 of all time, and was ten points better than any other player in the post-1967 era (Rod Carew and Wade Boggs both hit around .328 for their careers). From his first full season in 1983 to his retirement in 2001, his lowest batting average was .309 -- that includes a five-year stretch from 1993-97 when he hit better than .350 every year.

He also may have had the best season nobody ever remembers -- in 1987, he won the batting title with a .370 average, scored 119 runs, stole 56 bases, and won the 2nd of his 5 Gold Glove awards in the outfield.

If Tony Gwynn had played in New York, they'd have a burial plot set aside for him in Monument Park beyond the left field wall.