Four of the players who will be inducted into the Major League Hall of Fame this year, first baseman Gil Hodges, Cuban outfielders Orestes Miñoso and Tony Oliva, and pitcher Jim Kaat, had once been among the hopefuls to enter the Cooperstown through the usual system of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
There will be no shortage of people wondering why they had to wait so long for their recognition. Even Hodges and Miñoso have already passed away.
Ultimately, what it is about is how the committee is an unavoidable example of “imperfection”. How the opinion of its members is influenced by their particular point of view, as well as the merits or not that the applicant possesses. It could not be otherwise.
It would be worth reviewing all four cases but space does not allow to go into detail. However, the case of Hodges is emblematic, without intending to detract from the other three chosen by the Veterans Committee.
Hodges played eighteen seasons in the major leagues, between 1943 and 1963, with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, and then with the New York Mets. He was also manager from 1961 to 1971, of the Washington Senators and the Mets.
His name appeared fifteen times among the applicants, between 1969 and 1983. A time when one could be among the applicants up to fifteen times. Today the number is reduced to a maximum of ten. It was capped at 63% of the vote, not forgetting that you need at least 75 percent to gain immortality.
What made Hodges an undoubted candidate, as his followers often cite?
A right-handed hitter who defended first base, Hodges closed out his career with a 273 batting average, 370 home runs, and 1,274 RBIs. It must be agreed that these are not figures as dazzling as those of many of his contemporaries, but he played a vital role in the success of the most outstanding team in the National League. With Hodges, the Dodgers became champions in the 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956 and 1959 campaigns, winning two World Series.
In that span, he drove in at least 100 runs seven times, hit more than 30 home runs on six and scored more than a hundred runs on three. He participated in nine All-Star Games and won three “Gold Gloves”. As is often the case, perhaps the media didn’t give him the honors his teammates received, catcher Roy Campanella, shortstop Pee Wee Reese, infielder Jackie Robinson and outfielder Duke Snider.
As valuable to the Dogers as Hodges, but with one notable difference, they’ve long had a plaque in Cooperstown.
