Meet your newest members of the Hall of Fame.
Manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey got the call Monday, elected to the baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
Herzog and Harvey missed by one vote in their previous tries. This time, they easily drew enough support to reach Cooperstown.
“I don’t think I would’ve had my heart broken if I’d missed by another vote or two. But I’m damn happy it’s over,” Herzog said at Busch Stadium.
“It was just in the last few years when I was only missing by a few votes that I thought, maybe I do deserve it,” he said.
He did, and I’m glad to see the Veterans Committee get this right. It’s just a shame that they didn’t get the even more glaring matter of Marvin Miller right as well.
A separate 12-person committee that reviewed 10 executives didn’t elect anyone. John Fetzer, who owned the Detroit Tigers from 1956-83, got eight votes and fell one vote short.
Miller, who became head of the players’ association in 1966 and built the union into a powerful force, drew seven votes. Jacob Ruppert, who owned the Yankees when they acquired Babe Ruth, also drew seven.
All due respect here, but what exactly are John Fetzer’s qualifications? In the 27 years he owned the team, they won one World Series (1968) and one division title (1972). That’s it. The Yankees (11), Orioles (6), Athletics (3), and Red Sox (2) all won more pennants in that time frame. I’m a pretty knowledgeable fan, but I’d never heard his name before now. Checking his Wikipedia page, the only thing I can see that would suggest an extra reason to vote for him is “[Fetzer] was active in negotiating broadcast packages for Major League Baseball.” How in the world did this guy almost get elected to the Hall? Am I missing something?
And for goodness’ sake, voting in any executive over Miller, let alone one as seemingly undistinguished as Fetzer, would be a farce. I realize the deck is stacked against Miller, to the point where’s he’s told the VC to shove it, but did they have to rub salt in it, too? Was the election of Bowie freaking Kuhn not insult enough?