The Baseball Hall of Shame?
What a shameful day for that screwed up world known as "Major League Baseball.""Buck O'Neil and Minnie Minoso, the only living members among the 39 candidates on the ballot, were not elected by the 12-person panel."
Ridicuous. Two of the utterly greatest African-American players of all-time AND two of the greatest ambassadors of the game!
"The election was the culmination of a Hall of Fame project to compile a complete history of blacks in the game from 1860 to 1960. More than 50 historians, authors and researchers spent four years sifting through box scores in 128 newspapers of sanctioned league games from 1920-54. The result was the most complete collection of Negro Leagues statistics ever compiled, according to the Hall, and a database that includes 3,000 day-by-day records and career leaders."
Why put all that effort into compling all those statistics and then ignore many of them?
"What we're proudest of is the broadening of knowledge," Petroskey said. "When we started five years ago, we had 20 percent of the stats. We've got 90 percent of the stats now."
Apparently O'Neil's and Minoso's are amongst that other 10% still missing.
"Candidates needed nine of 12 votes -- 75 percent -- from the committee of researchers, professors and baseball historians for election. Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent chaired the committee, which voted by secret ballot. Vote totals were not released."
Well, I used to have some regard for Vincent. This omission of O'Neil and Minoso is incomprehensible and unforgivable. What a pathetic day for baseball.
"I know that baseball fans have me in their own Hall of Fame -- the one in their hearts," the 83-year-old Minoso said. "That matters more to me than any official recognition."
Just makes me want to cry.
posted by TheOldMan @ 12:48 AM
