Two ballots, each consisting of 10 candidates, are being considered by two separate voting committees. Seven managers and three umpires comprise the managers/umpires ballot and will be considered by a 16-member electorate of Hall of Fame members, current and former executives and veteran media members. Ten executives comprise a separate ballot to be considered by a 12-member panel of Hall of Famers, current and former executives and veteran media members.
Any candidate receiving 75% of the vote on either ballot will earn election and will be inducted as part of the 2008 National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony next July 27.
Electors are asked to vote for zero to four candidates on each ballot.
The 10 managers and umpires eligible for election:
MANAGERS
Whitey Herzog
Davey Johnson
Billy Martin
Gene Mauch
Danny Murtaugh
Billy Southworth
Dick Williams
UMPIRES
Doug Harvey
Hank O’Day
Cy Rigler
The 10 executives eligible for election:
Buzzie Bavasi
Barney Dreyfuss
John Fetzer
Bob Howsam
Ewing Kauffmann
Bowie Kuhn
John McHale
Marvin Miller
Walter O’Malley
Gabe Paul
The 16-member electorate charged with reviewing the managers/umpires ballot features Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins, Al Kaline, Tom Lasorda, Phil Niekro, Tony Perez, Earl Weaver and Billy Williams; former executive Jim Frey; current executives Roland Hemond (Diamondbacks) and Bob Watson (Major League Baseball); and veteran media members Jack O’Connell (MLB.com), Tim Kurkjian (ESPN) and Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated).
The 12-member electorate that with review the executives ballot includes Hall of Famers Monte Irvin and Harmon Killebrew; former executives Bobby Brown (American League) and John Harrington (Red Sox); current executives Jerry Bell (Twins), Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), Bill Giles (Phillies), David Glass (Royals) and Andy MacPhail (Orioles); and veteran media members Paul Hagen (Philadelphia Daily News), Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) and Hal McCoy (Dayton Daily News).
The final managers/umpires ballot was developed by a Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) appointed Historical Overview Committee, comprised of 11 veteran members: Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune); Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau); Moss Klein (Newark Star-Ledger); Bill Madden (New York Daily News); Ken Nigro, (formerly Baltimore Sun); Jack O’Connell (MLB.com); Nick Peters (Sacramento Bee); Tracy Ringolsby (Rocky Mountain News); and Mark Whicker (Orange County Register).
The final executives ballot was developed by the executive voting committee, which considered both retired executives and active executives age 65 or older.
The Baseball Hall of Fame Committee on Baseball Veterans now has four ballots. The managers/umpires ballot and executives ballot are considered every other year starting with 2008.
Players whose careers spanned a period beginning in 1943 will be considered every other year starting with the 2009 induction year.
Players whose careers began before 1943 will be considered every five years, beginning with the 2009 induction year.
All Hall of Fame members will vote on 1943-and-beyond players in late 2008 for the 2009 induction. A special 12-member committee, yet to be appointed, will vote on players whose careers began to prior to 1943, at the Winter Meetings in December 2008 for the 2009 induction. Ballots for both the pre-1943 and 1943-and-beyond elections will be crafted and released in the fall of 2008.
At its July meeting, the Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted to restructure the Committee on Baseball Veterans and its procedures for electing long-retired players, managers, umpires and executives.
"Historically, the Veterans Committee has continually evolved since its inception in 1936,” said Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the board for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "These newest changes uphold our belief that players should have a Veterans Committee review, while also recognizing the unique analysis needed for managers, executives and umpires.
"We believe that these new procedures and restructured committees will allow for more open dialogue among those who vote, promoting a more intensive study of player candidacies. The Board has always maintained that the standards for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame must remain very high."
Paul, who died at age 88 in 1998, spent nearly 60 years in baseball, starting his career at age 16 with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League as a publicity and ticket manager in 1926.
He began working in the Cincinnati Reds' front office in 1937 and became the team's general manager in 1951. During this time, he signed some incredible talent in the days before the amateur draft, including Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Tommy Harper, Jim Maloney, Jim O'Toole and Curt Flood.
He became the first GM of the Houston Colt 45s expansion team in 1961, but lasted only a couple of months before replacing Frank Lane as GM in Cleveland.
Paul's wheeling and dealing for the next dozen years usually was predicated on the lack of resources available to him. In order to meet payrolls, he often dealt away established players to bring in less-expensive talent.
In 1965, however, faced with the possibility of the Indians moving to New Orleans or Seattle, he put together a bundle of prospects to re-acquire fan favorite Rocky Colavito in a complicated three-team trade. The move sparked attendance and helped keep the club in Cleveland -- but its effects cost the team on the field.
Colavito, after leading the American League in RBI his first year back in town, faded fast. Meanwhile, two of the prospects dealt away, outfielder Tommie Agee and left-hander Tommy John, went on to become all-stars for a number of years.
In 1973, Paul left the Indians to join new Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in New York. Given solid financial backing for the first time, Paul helped turn the Yankees from a second-division team into a perennial power once again. In a series of trades, he acquired four of Cleveland's prized young prospects -- Graig Nettles, Dick Tidrow, Chris Chambliss and Oscar Gamble. All flourished in New York, while the Indians were left with a conglomeration of players such as Charlie Spikes, Jerry Kenney, Rusty Torres, John Ellis, Fred Beene, Tom Buskey, Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, and Pat Dobson in return.
Paul returned to the Indians as team president in 1978 and once again presided over an organization that never seemed to have enough finances. He retired in 1984.
While never being able to make the Indians a viable contender, Paul did help formulate some progressive changes in the game itself.
* While with the Reds in 1953, he put through a rule change that requires fielders to bring their gloves in off the field after each half-inning. Before that, players just left their gloves on the grass in the general vicinity of their positions and went to the dugout when their clubs were at bat.
* Later, Paul was responsible for changing the draft system from drawing numbers out of a hat to drafting in reverse order of the finish in the standings.
* In 1965, he helped pushed through the free agent drafting of players.
* He also led the fight to split each major league into two divisions in 1969.
* He was among the most vociferous supporters of the designated hitter rule, which went into effect in 1973.
|