Newf
11-28-2009, 04:07 PM
Pat Hentgen listened to the names of the 15 first-time candidates on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, and could hardly believe his name was included on the list.
"I know I don't have a chance to get in there," the longtime Toronto Blue Jays ace said laughing Friday from his home in Shelby, Mich. "It's quite an honour just to be on that list."
The 1996 AL Cy Young Award winner wasn't kidding about the last part, and he was far more serious about how much former teammate Roberto Alomar belongs in the Hall.
The sensational second baseman, along with underappreciated first baseman Fred McGriff made it three longtime Blue Jays added to the ballot, along with such stalwarts as Edgar Martinez and Barry Larkin.
They join prominent holdovers like Mark McGwire, former Montreal Expos star Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven on the 26-man ballot. Those chosen for induction will be named Jan. 6 and honoured in Cooperstown, N.Y., next summer, and Hentgen is adamant Alomar should be among them.
"He was just so good at everything," said Hentgen. "He ran the bases well, he was a clutch hitter, he hit for power, he played tremendous defence, and he made everyone around him better defensively.
"Just a clutch performer. He always rose to the occassion."
There are four former Blue Jays in the hall -- Phil Niekro, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Rickey Henderson, who was inducted last year -- but none of them is wearing the team's cap on their plaque.
Alomar, a 12-time all-star and 10-time Gold Glover, has the potential to be the first given that his many of his best years came in Toronto.
He was instrumental in both of the Blue Jays' World Series victories in 1992 and '93, and his ninth-inning home run off Hall of Fame Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley in Game 4 of the 1992 AL Championship Series is among the most important hits in franchise history.
"That hit pretty much put us in the World Series for the first time," Hentgen recalled. "The team had come so close in '85, '87, '89, '91 -- what a run for the organization -- and to get put over that hump, that was huge.
"I would think that was his biggest hit, but he had many big hits."
For his career, Alomar batted .300 with 210 homers, 1,508 runs scored and 474 stolen bases steals in 17 big-league seasons.
McGriff, the quiet slugger virtually automatic for 30 homers and 100 RBIs over nearly two decades, is another legitimate candidate. He's tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th on the career home run list with 493 and had a .284 average in 19 seasons. He led the AL in homers for Toronto in 1989 and the NL for San Diego in 1992.
"He was tough man," Hentgen said of McGriff, who had been traded to San Diego in the blockbuster that brough Alomar and Joe Carter to Toronto by the time the pitcher broke into the majors in '91.
Hentgen himself was 131-112 with a 4.32 ERA over 14 big-league seasons mostly with Toronto. He went 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA and a league-leading 265 2-3 innings in '96 to earn the Cy Young.
"When I look back on it, I thought I had some really good years but I didn't think my career would be recognized on the ballot," said Hentgen. "It's really neat to be grouped with those names."
Also on the ballot for the first time are Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga (who spent seven strong seasons with the Expos), Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui (who briefly played for Montreal and Toronto), Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.
Other holdovers announced include Harold Baines, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris (the first 20-game winner in Blue Jays history), Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines (another longtime Expos star), Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.
Henderson and Jim Rice, on his 15th and final time on the ballot were inducted last year. Dawson, who spent 11 seasons with the Expos, fell 44 votes shy of the 75 per cent needed, while Blyleven was 67 short.
This year's voting will also be closely watched to see if McGwire, hired last month as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, is treated any differently now that he's back in the game.
The hulking slugger received 118 votes (22 per cent) in last year's vote, down from 128 in each of his first two tries, mostly as a result of his evasion of questions about steroids during a 2005 appearance before U.S. Congress.
McGwire hit 583 homers and is eighth on the career list.
Reporters who have been in the BBWAA for 10 or more consecutive years are eligible to vote, and inductions are scheduled for July 25.
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The complete ballot: Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile.
"I know I don't have a chance to get in there," the longtime Toronto Blue Jays ace said laughing Friday from his home in Shelby, Mich. "It's quite an honour just to be on that list."
The 1996 AL Cy Young Award winner wasn't kidding about the last part, and he was far more serious about how much former teammate Roberto Alomar belongs in the Hall.
The sensational second baseman, along with underappreciated first baseman Fred McGriff made it three longtime Blue Jays added to the ballot, along with such stalwarts as Edgar Martinez and Barry Larkin.
They join prominent holdovers like Mark McGwire, former Montreal Expos star Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven on the 26-man ballot. Those chosen for induction will be named Jan. 6 and honoured in Cooperstown, N.Y., next summer, and Hentgen is adamant Alomar should be among them.
"He was just so good at everything," said Hentgen. "He ran the bases well, he was a clutch hitter, he hit for power, he played tremendous defence, and he made everyone around him better defensively.
"Just a clutch performer. He always rose to the occassion."
There are four former Blue Jays in the hall -- Phil Niekro, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Rickey Henderson, who was inducted last year -- but none of them is wearing the team's cap on their plaque.
Alomar, a 12-time all-star and 10-time Gold Glover, has the potential to be the first given that his many of his best years came in Toronto.
He was instrumental in both of the Blue Jays' World Series victories in 1992 and '93, and his ninth-inning home run off Hall of Fame Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley in Game 4 of the 1992 AL Championship Series is among the most important hits in franchise history.
"That hit pretty much put us in the World Series for the first time," Hentgen recalled. "The team had come so close in '85, '87, '89, '91 -- what a run for the organization -- and to get put over that hump, that was huge.
"I would think that was his biggest hit, but he had many big hits."
For his career, Alomar batted .300 with 210 homers, 1,508 runs scored and 474 stolen bases steals in 17 big-league seasons.
McGriff, the quiet slugger virtually automatic for 30 homers and 100 RBIs over nearly two decades, is another legitimate candidate. He's tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th on the career home run list with 493 and had a .284 average in 19 seasons. He led the AL in homers for Toronto in 1989 and the NL for San Diego in 1992.
"He was tough man," Hentgen said of McGriff, who had been traded to San Diego in the blockbuster that brough Alomar and Joe Carter to Toronto by the time the pitcher broke into the majors in '91.
Hentgen himself was 131-112 with a 4.32 ERA over 14 big-league seasons mostly with Toronto. He went 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA and a league-leading 265 2-3 innings in '96 to earn the Cy Young.
"When I look back on it, I thought I had some really good years but I didn't think my career would be recognized on the ballot," said Hentgen. "It's really neat to be grouped with those names."
Also on the ballot for the first time are Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga (who spent seven strong seasons with the Expos), Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui (who briefly played for Montreal and Toronto), Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.
Other holdovers announced include Harold Baines, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris (the first 20-game winner in Blue Jays history), Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines (another longtime Expos star), Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.
Henderson and Jim Rice, on his 15th and final time on the ballot were inducted last year. Dawson, who spent 11 seasons with the Expos, fell 44 votes shy of the 75 per cent needed, while Blyleven was 67 short.
This year's voting will also be closely watched to see if McGwire, hired last month as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, is treated any differently now that he's back in the game.
The hulking slugger received 118 votes (22 per cent) in last year's vote, down from 128 in each of his first two tries, mostly as a result of his evasion of questions about steroids during a 2005 appearance before U.S. Congress.
McGwire hit 583 homers and is eighth on the career list.
Reporters who have been in the BBWAA for 10 or more consecutive years are eligible to vote, and inductions are scheduled for July 25.
------
The complete ballot: Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile.