Veterans Committee

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- This may be the year that the baseball Hall of Fame veterans committee inflicted a mortal wound by shooting itself in the foot.There has been a growing concern that the committee has lost touch with the game -- and the people it is charged with reviewing. Certainly, the haphazard voting record of the past two years has done little to dispel the belief of many that the group has outlived its usefulness.A lot of people are upset that Earl Weaver, in his second year of eligibility, was passed over again.

Since the news broke that baseball union pioneer Marvin Miller passed away this week, there has been a growing media chorus advocating his induction in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It certainly is long overdue. Miller changed baseball for the better and made a sport full of enemies during the 1960s and '70s. He redistributed the wealth of a generation of stingy baseball owners, who were not forward-thinking enough to see the the avalanche of money that would bury everyone in the game after the reserve clause was overturned.

On the veterans committee failing to vote anyone into the Baseball Hall of Fame Nothing against [Ron] Santo, but I'm glad. Lately, it seems like the veterans committee's sole purpose was to lower the [Hall of Fame's] standards. How are they lowering the Hall's standards when they do not vote anyone in? Santo is not lowering the standards - he belongs.

Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo has been elected to the Hall of Fame, gaining 15 of 16 votes from the Hall's Golden Era Committee to gain induction after failing to get enough support on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot or from the previous versions of the Veterans Committee. Santo, whose combination of power and defensive savvy made him one of the best all-around infielders of his generation, benefitted from the Hall's decision to switch from a straight vote of the living Hall of Famers to a set of three committees covering different eras of the sport.

The day after inducting four new members, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced a major change in the way some players and all non-playing personnel will be selected for admission. The board of directors of the Hall of Fame announced yesterday that it had disbanded the veterans committee that had the power to induct players bypassed in the annual balloting of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The old veterans committee - which also was charged with choosing managers, umpires, Negro leagues players and executives - will be replaced with a new committee composed of Hall of Fame members (61 are living)

SARASOTA, Fla. -- In his first year of eligibility, ex-Orioles manager Earl Weaver has made the Veterans Committee's short list of candidates for nomination to the Baseball Hall of Fame.Weaver is one of 15 who will be considered in the non-playing category, which includes Negro League players. A like number of former players are on the ballot submitted by the screening committee.A complete list of those who survived the nomination process was unavailable, but a committee member confirmed that Weaver is included.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- In his first year of eligibility, ex-Orioles manager Earl Weaver has made the Veterans Committee's short list of candidates for nomination to the Baseball Hall of Fame.Weaver is one of 15 candidates who will be considered in the non-playing category, which includes Negro League players. A like number of former players are on the ballot submitted by the screening committee.A complete list of those who survived the nomination process was unavailable, but a committee member confirmed that Weaver is included.

Earl Weaver is trying to hide his jitters. When the Baseball Hall of Fame veterans committee votes today, candidate Weaver will be on the links.If Cooperstown calls, Weaver is out playing golf. If not, where better to be teed off?"If it happens, wonderful," said the Orioles' former manager. His election, said Weaver, would be "the ultimate tribute to a little guy from St. Louis who spent 20 years in the minor leagues and had some success in the majors."Weaver's fate rests with the veterans committee, which, having chosen a pool of 20 candidates for each of four categories, can name a single person from each for the Hall of Fame.

Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski, who engineered one of the greatest moments in sports history, finally was rewarded yesterday with a place in baseball's Hall of Fame. Mazeroski's dramatic game-winning home run against the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series nearly overshadowed a distinguished career as one of the game's best defensive infielders, but the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee decided yesterday that he deserved a plaque at Cooperstown.

It could still be a Baltimore Orioles year at the Hall of Fame, with orange and black colors decorating the storefronts of Main Street in Cooperstown. The names of Earl Weaver and Ned Hanlon, both offering imposing credentials, will be brought to the attention of the veterans committee -- which has the exclusive right and responsibility to decide on managers. Either acceptance or rejection, but if the vote is "no," it doesn't mean they're being abandoned.Another of the glorious old Orioles, outfielder Steve Brodie, also will be considered when the jury of 15 highly qualified selectors measures the credentials and cast its ballots.

Gillick best choice Juan Carlos Rodriguez Sun Sentinel Neither Marvin Miller nor George Steinbrenner was a better choice for the Hall of Fame. Were they as deserving as Pat Gillick? Absolutely. This discussion is not about the merits of Gillick's candidacy as a longtime general manager. His record as one of the game's preeminent team architects is well founded. Why the Veterans Committee did not give Miller or Steinbrenner the necessary votes is the issue.

Cowboys' Phillips comes to Barber's defense nfl Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips yesterday denied that the team ever questioned the toughness of running back Marion Barber, which became an issue because owner Jerry Jones brought it up after Sunday's 20-13 loss at Pittsburgh. Asked about the fact Barber didn't make the trip to Pittsburgh because of a dislocated pinkie toe on his right foot, Jones said, "He can play with that injured toe. ... I see nothing that would have led us to believe that he couldn't."

Francis Nash "Ike" Iglehart Jr., an Army veteran and attorney who dedicated much of his life to racial equality and environmental preservation, died Friday at his home in Monkton of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 82. Mr. Iglehart graduated from St. Paul's School in New Hampshire in 1943. At age 18, he was drafted into the Army and was assigned to the now-defunct Army Specialized Training Program. In 1946, he was discharged from the military after being wounded in the Battle of the Bulge.

On the veterans committee failing to vote anyone into the Baseball Hall of Fame Nothing against [Ron] Santo, but I'm glad. Lately, it seems like the veterans committee's sole purpose was to lower the [Hall of Fame's] standards. How are they lowering the Hall's standards when they do not vote anyone in? Santo is not lowering the standards - he belongs.

Blair E. Cross Jr., a Korean War combat veteran and a founder of the Maryland Homeless Veterans Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore, died of a heart attack Sunday at his Port Deposit home. He was 72. Mr. Cross was born and raised in Cockeysville and attended Towson High School until 1949, when he dropped out during his senior year to work for Acme Markets. "He was impatient and just wanted to get out into the world and go to work," said his wife of 51 years, the former Jane Leeson, a retired secretary.

The day after inducting four new members, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced a major change in the way some players and all non-playing personnel will be selected for admission. The board of directors of the Hall of Fame announced yesterday that it had disbanded the veterans committee that had the power to induct players bypassed in the annual balloting of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The old veterans committee - which also was charged with choosing managers, umpires, Negro leagues players and executives - will be replaced with a new committee composed of Hall of Fame members (61 are living)

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Baby Bull finally found his way into baseball's china shop.Orlando Cepeda, whose productive bat and aggressive playing style made him one of the best players of the 1960s, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday along with turn-of-the-century manager Frank Selee, umpire Nestor Chylak and Negro leagues pitching great Smokey Joe Williams.The Hall of Fame veterans committee chose Cepeda over a list of other players that also included Dom DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Mel Harder and Bill Mazeroski, even though his career was tarnished by a 1974 arrest and subsequent imprisonment for trafficking marijuana.

Don SuttonBorn: Donald Howard Sutton on April 2, 1945, in Clio, Ala.Highlights: Went 324-256, tied with Nolan Ryan for 12th place on the career victory list. Struck out 3,574, ranking fifth lifetime. Key member of Dodgers staff from 1966 to 1980. Pitched in rotation with Sandy Koufax and Fernando Valenzuela. Only player elected by Baseball Writers' Association of America in January. Received 81.6 percent of vote after falling just nine votes short of required 75 percent the previous year.

Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski, who engineered one of the greatest moments in sports history, finally was rewarded yesterday with a place in baseball's Hall of Fame. Mazeroski's dramatic game-winning home run against the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series nearly overshadowed a distinguished career as one of the game's best defensive infielders, but the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee decided yesterday that he deserved a plaque at Cooperstown.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Baby Bull finally found his way into baseball's china shop.Orlando Cepeda, whose productive bat and aggressive playing style made him one of the best players of the 1960s, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday along with turn-of-the-century manager Frank Selee, umpire Nestor Chylak and Negro leagues pitching great Smokey Joe Williams.The Hall of Fame veterans committee chose Cepeda over a list of other players that also included Dom DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Mel Harder and Bill Mazeroski, even though his career was tarnished by a 1974 arrest and subsequent imprisonment for trafficking marijuana.