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Gil Hodges, Buck O'Neil among 6 voted into Hall of Fame as Dick Allen finishes 1 vote short ... again

jack baer
Staff writer
·3 min read

The Baseball Hall of Fame will officially have six more members via its committee voting, even as one of its best candidates missed the honor by the narrowest of margins. For a second time.

Here are the names, with a quick resume, announced by Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch on Sunday via MLB Network:

  • Minnie Miñoso: A nine-time MLB All-Star and former Negro Leagues All-Star who became known as Mr. White Sox for his years with the team.

  • Gil Hodges: A longtime Dodgers (first Brooklyn then Los Angeles) first baseman who won two World Series with the team and also oversaw the Miracle Mets 1969 championship as manager.

  • Jim Kaat: A Minnesota Twins southpaw known for his longevity and fielding, both evidenced by his 16 career Gold Glove awards, tied for second-most overall behind Greg Maddux.

  • Tony Oliva: Another Twins star who became the first rookie to win a batting title (which only Ichiro Suzuki has done since) and also earned a Rookie of the Year award, two more titles and eight All-Star nods, plus two World Series titles as a coach.

  • Buck O'Neil: A Negro Leagues player and manager who became the first Black coach in AL/NL history and helped create the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

  • Bud Fowler: The earliest known African-American player in professional baseball.

Kaat and Oliva are the only players who are not receiving the honor posthumously.

The first four players were elected via the Golden Days Era ballot, while the latter two were picked by the Early Baseball Era Ballot. Each committee featured 16 voters with up to four votes each. Candidates needed at least 12 votes to receive enshrinement.

Dick Allen misses Hall of Fame once again

Unfortunately, that format meant bitter disappointment for Philadelphia Phillies star Dick Allen.

Allen, a seven-time All-Star who died last December, has long been considered one of the best players currently not in the Hall. He missed out on enshrinement by just one vote in the committee election in 2014, and the same fate befell him this year.

He missed out with only 11 votes, via the Hall of Fame's vote tabulations:

Results of the Golden Days Era Ballot (12 votes needed for election): Minnie Miñoso (14 votes, 87.5%); Gil Hodges (12 votes, 75%); Jim Kaat (12 votes, 75%); Tony Oliva (12 votes, 75%); Dick Allen (11 votes, 68.8%); Ken Boyer, Roger Maris, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Pierce and Maury Wills each received three or fewer votes.

Results of the Early Baseball Era Ballot (12 votes needed for election): Buck O’Neil (13 votes, 81.3%); Bud Fowler (12 votes, 75%); Vic Harris (10 votes, 62.5%); John Donaldson (8 votes, 50%); Allie Reynolds (6 votes, 37.4%); Lefty O’Doul (5 votes, 31.3%); George Scales (4 votes, 25%); Bill Dahlen, Grant Johnson and Dick Redding each received three or fewer votes.

Making the situation even more frustrating is that some of the five voters who didn't pick Allen probably did think he was worthy. They just had only four votes, so they were limited in a fairly competitive year of selections.