Steinbrenner, Torre, and Martin on Hall of Fame’s Expansion Era ballot

November 4, 2013 by Mike Axisa 12 Comments

George Steinbrenner, Joe Torre, and Billy Martin are part of the 12-man Hall of Fame ballot to be voted on by the 16-member Expansion Era Veterans Committee next month. Marvin Miller and former Yankee Tommy John are also on the ballot, which you can see right here. Twelve votes are required for induction. Electees will be announced on December 9th, the first day of the Winter Meetings in Orlando. The Boss should be a lock, but who really knows with this stuff.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadgeek Roadgeek Adam

Steinbrenner, La Russa, Cox, Miller and Torre for me personally.
- Pat D
  
  That’s probably what it should be.
  
  But I highly doubt that’s what it will be.
  
  The managers are locks. Miller might get in now that he’s passed on (see: Santo, Ron). Steinbrenner still won’t go in for a while. He received “less than 8” votes last time around, and I’m not sure the voters would be more sympathetic to him this time around.
  
  Martin has no chance, even though he was a better manager than, say, Whitey Herzog. Among the players, I think only Concepcion and maybe Parker have much of a chance. Concepcion got the most votes of any of the players from this ballot the last time, and Joe Morgan is on the voting committee, so… Parker might get some sympathy votes because of his health issues.
  
  The results will be interesting.
  - http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadgeek Roadgeek Adam
    
    I don’t think there isn’t a situation where Marvin Miller isn’t a lock. We wouldn’t have the great offseason we have in this era without this man’s hard work (of course Kurt Flood deserves the rest of the credit.)
    - Pat D
      
      He’s been close before and they didn’t induct him. That’s because the non-player voters haven’t embraced his candidacy. Remember, there are four executives who vote on this committee. All it takes is all of them plus one of the media members to vote against him, which is probably what happened last time, and he’s not getting in.
Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)

Yeah, I don’t know if the Boss is a lock. A LOT of people hate him. Hell, a lot of our more intelligent commenters bash him fairly often.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  Well… he was a scumbag who consorted with gangsters and got kicked out of the game for an extended period. It’s not like the hatred was born out of thin air.
  - Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
    
    Whatever. Not even remotely my point. But, while we’re on this subject then, the man rebuilt the Yankees into a championship caliber team regardless. People forget, but despite the circus his teams really did win. The 77′ and 78′ series were his babies in a big way and despite no championships they were the winningest team of the 80’s.
    
    People often forget that. It’s not like they sucked for a really extended period, just a few years. So they lost in the World Series they played in, unfortunately it happens. They still made it and had every chance to win a couple of times if I remember correctly.
David Brown

I think Cox, LaRussa & Torre should all be elected, but Three Managers chosen will not be that easy. Of the three, LaRussa is a mortal lock. His choice should be as simple as voting for Greg Maddox. Miller and Steinbrenner are both controversial choices. I will say LaRussa and Torre get elected (Cox losing two World Series must be a blemish on his record, and may come up short). None of the players are Hall worthy.
- Pat D
  
  Who is Greg Maddox?
  
  Cox lost four World Series.
  
  You could make semi-decent cases for John, Parker and Simmons.
  - David brown
    
    I should have specified Cox lost two head to head versus Torre. I was a Tommy John fan, and he would not get my vote. Simmons I did not see enough to to be fair. As for Parker, boy did Pittsburgh Fans dislike him. They love Barry Bonds compared to him. In fact, there is not a more despised Athlete to ever play for a “Burgh” team in my lifetime except possibly Luc Robitaille. As a Steeler and Nittany Lion fan (I would pick Tony Dorsett. Of course,it goes without saying I hate the Pitt Panthers & above all the Dallas Cowboys)), then Bonds. But trust me, Parker would get limited support from Pirate fans.
http://b-rar.tumblr.com b-rar

Marvin Miller will probably, finally, make it in this year, and that they didn’t have the decency to honor him while he was still alive just shows what petty bastards comprise the HOF voting committees.

Torre, LaRussa, and Tommy John deserve to be voted in with Miller. Steinbrenner’s name doesn’t belong anywhere near Cooperstown.
RetroRob

Martin was a true game changer as a manager, yet he was his own worst enemy. A HOF talent as a manager, just as Dwight Gooden was a HOF talent as a pitcher, yet the longevity wasn’t there to be a HOFer.

Torre, LaRussa and Cox will all be elected eventually, but will they this year? The problem each person can only vote a maximum of five people, so even if someone wanted to vote for Torre, LaRussa, Cox, Miller and Steinbrenner, which they could, but it would preclude voting for position players, and the players on the committee will want to vote for some players.

Steinbrenner will get in one day, but I don’t see it on this ballot. Be interesting to see if Miller’s death can sway one voter to switch sides. I’m not convinced.

Torre and LaRussa get elected this time around and that’s it, meaning that’s my guess.