Molitor, Eckersley elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian · 01-06-2004, 03:42 PM

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne..._mlb&fext=.jsp

NEW YORK -- They were both unique, helping define an entire baseball era in their inimitable ways.
Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley now share a heady layer of distinction, as the newest electees for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The results of voting by 506 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, announced exclusively Tuesday afternoon on MLB.com by Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey, confirmed the immortal eminence of two men who took the long road to their places among the game's greatest.

With 380 votes the threshold for the 75-percent plurality needed for election, Molitor was named on 431, or 85.2 percent, of the ballots. Eckersley drew 421 votes, or 83.2 percent.

Molitor spent 21 years accumulating 3,319 hits and 504 stolen bases. The only others in history to combine 3,000 hits with 500 steals are Lou Brock, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins and Honus Wagner, who are in the Hall of Fame, and Rickey Henderson, who remains active.

Final voting results

The complete vote (506 ballots, 380 to gain election, 26 to remain on ballot):
Player Votes %
Paul Molitor 431 85.2

Dennis Eckersley 421 83.2
Ryne Sandberg 309 61.1
Bruce Sutter 301 59.5
Jim Rice 276 54.5
Andre Dawson 253 50
"Goose" Gossage 206 40.7
Lee Smith 185 36.6
Bert Blyleven 179 35.4
Jack Morris 133 26.3
Steve Garvey 123 24.3
Tommy John 111 21.9
Alan Trammell 70 13.8
Don Mattingly 65 12.8
Dave Concepcion 57 11.3
Dave Parker 53 10.5
Dale Murphy 43 8.5
Keith Hernandez 22 4.3
Joe Carter 19 3.8
Fernando Valenzuela 19 3.8
Dennis Martinez 16 3.2
Dave Stieb 7 1.4
Jim Eisenreich 3 0
Jimmy Key 3 0
Doug Drabek 2 0
Kevin Mitchell 2 0
Juan Samuel 2 0
Cecil Fielder 1 0
Randy Myers 1 0
Terry Pendleton 1 0
Danny Darwin 0 0
Bob Tewksbury 0 0

Eckersley squeezed two careers into his 24 seasons, highly respected as an often-dominant right-handed starter with 145 wins for three different teams before he found true dominance with a fourth -- anchoring Oakland's fabled bullpen relays with 256 saves in his first six full seasons as a closer.

Because he is best remembered for slamming doors for Oakland teams that appeared in three consecutive World Series (1988-90), Eckersley is expected to enter the Hall as an Athletic -- the team with which he played for nine years, longer than any other. The mustachioed right-hander with the whip-like delivery and stunning control also pitched for the Indians (three seasons), Red Sox (7 1/2 in two separate stints), Cubs (2 1/2) and Cardinals (two).

Similarly, Molitor likely will be inducted as a Milwaukee Brewer, the team with which he spent his first 15 seasons before three years in Toronto, where he earned his only World Series ring, and three in Minnesota, where the St. Paul native enjoyed a homecoming in the twilight of his career.

Petroskey will solicit Molitor's and Eckersley's opinions on their preferred induction garb, but, as ordained for the first time last year, the ultimate decision rests with the Hall of Fame.

Molitor and Eckersley, teammates as 1988 and 1992 American League All-Stars who met often as adversaries, will meet as soul brothers in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 25 when they will be inducted into the Hall, bringing to an even 100 the number enshrined in 68 years by the BBWAA.

This marks only the sixth time, since the charter group of 1936, that multiple first-year candidates have been elected to the Hall.

Most recently, both Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett gained entrance in 2001 in their first shots.

While several long-time aspirants made strong moves that bode well for their eventual election, an uncommon number of candidates didn't meet the five-percent minimum and thus will not be included in subsequent BBWAA ballots.

Former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, after attracting less than 50-percent support in his first year of eligibility in 2003, leaped to 61.1 percent with 309 votes. In his 11th year on the ballot, Bruce Sutter scored 59.5 percent, while Jim Rice continued his slow climb up the ranks with 54.5 percent.

Conversely, 15 candidates fell short of the 26 votes, or five percent, required to remain on the ballot. They included 13 first-time eligibles -- among them Joe Carter, who despite dominating the game for a decade drew only 19 votes -- and a pair of holdovers: ninth-time candidate Keith Hernandez, whose vote peaked at 10.8 percent in 1998, and Fernando Valenzuela.

The exclusivity of Cooperstown's hallowed turf was hammered home once again by the meager support of several icons of their day, most notably Carter.

A five-time All-Star who appeared in three consecutive postseasons with the Blue Jays, winning back-to-back World Series titles in 1992-93, Carter had 10 seasons of 100-plus RBIs, in six of which he also posted 30-plus homers. But he was named on only 3.8 percent of the ballots. Carter also exceeded 100 strikeouts seven times and had a lifetime average of .259.

Also failing to meet the five-percent minimum were 245-game winner Dennis Martinez, two-time home-run king Cecil Fielder and Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Pedantic · 01-06-2004, 08:45 PM

'Bout time RPs got some love. Congrats to the Eck.

Swimfan85 · 01-06-2004, 10:48 PM

woohoow to Eck! I would love to see Jim Rice get in it, but I dont know if he will...

passionsfan79 · 01-06-2004, 10:55 PM

im happy for paul molitor,i saw his last game against white sox i beleive when he was with the twins. and they won in 10 innings i remember that far back lol

EricIdlefan · 01-07-2004, 01:16 PM

Congrads to both men and I tip my hat off to them!!

Kitt · 01-09-2004, 02:01 PM

I've been a huge fan of both Molitor and Eckersley for years. I attended lots of Athletics games during Eck's prime relief years with the A's. I watched Paul Molitor play against them at the Oakland Coliseum, and watched him on TV many-a-time. He was a Hall of Fame shoe-in, for sure. They both were.

I don't know if this quote that I found on a website is true or not. It probably is. It's funny!

Brent Gates was the Athletics' young second baseman at the time of the quote.

Brent Gates of the Oakland A's heard his teammates talking before Dennis Eckersley recorded his 300th save and asked:
"Do you think they'll stop the game for it?"

01-06-2004, 03:42 PM	#1
Brian Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Jun 23, 2001 Posts: 20,451	Molitor, Eckersley elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne..._mlb&fext=.jsp NEW YORK -- They were both unique, helping define an entire baseball era in their inimitable ways. Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley now share a heady layer of distinction, as the newest electees for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The results of voting by 506 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, announced exclusively Tuesday afternoon on MLB.com by Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey, confirmed the immortal eminence of two men who took the long road to their places among the game's greatest. With 380 votes the threshold for the 75-percent plurality needed for election, Molitor was named on 431, or 85.2 percent, of the ballots. Eckersley drew 421 votes, or 83.2 percent. Molitor spent 21 years accumulating 3,319 hits and 504 stolen bases. The only others in history to combine 3,000 hits with 500 steals are Lou Brock, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins and Honus Wagner, who are in the Hall of Fame, and Rickey Henderson, who remains active. Final voting results The complete vote (506 ballots, 380 to gain election, 26 to remain on ballot): Player Votes % Paul Molitor 431 85.2 Dennis Eckersley 421 83.2 Ryne Sandberg 309 61.1 Bruce Sutter 301 59.5 Jim Rice 276 54.5 Andre Dawson 253 50 "Goose" Gossage 206 40.7 Lee Smith 185 36.6 Bert Blyleven 179 35.4 Jack Morris 133 26.3 Steve Garvey 123 24.3 Tommy John 111 21.9 Alan Trammell 70 13.8 Don Mattingly 65 12.8 Dave Concepcion 57 11.3 Dave Parker 53 10.5 Dale Murphy 43 8.5 Keith Hernandez 22 4.3 Joe Carter 19 3.8 Fernando Valenzuela 19 3.8 Dennis Martinez 16 3.2 Dave Stieb 7 1.4 Jim Eisenreich 3 0 Jimmy Key 3 0 Doug Drabek 2 0 Kevin Mitchell 2 0 Juan Samuel 2 0 Cecil Fielder 1 0 Randy Myers 1 0 Terry Pendleton 1 0 Danny Darwin 0 0 Bob Tewksbury 0 0 Eckersley squeezed two careers into his 24 seasons, highly respected as an often-dominant right-handed starter with 145 wins for three different teams before he found true dominance with a fourth -- anchoring Oakland's fabled bullpen relays with 256 saves in his first six full seasons as a closer. Because he is best remembered for slamming doors for Oakland teams that appeared in three consecutive World Series (1988-90), Eckersley is expected to enter the Hall as an Athletic -- the team with which he played for nine years, longer than any other. The mustachioed right-hander with the whip-like delivery and stunning control also pitched for the Indians (three seasons), Red Sox (7 1/2 in two separate stints), Cubs (2 1/2) and Cardinals (two). Similarly, Molitor likely will be inducted as a Milwaukee Brewer, the team with which he spent his first 15 seasons before three years in Toronto, where he earned his only World Series ring, and three in Minnesota, where the St. Paul native enjoyed a homecoming in the twilight of his career. Petroskey will solicit Molitor's and Eckersley's opinions on their preferred induction garb, but, as ordained for the first time last year, the ultimate decision rests with the Hall of Fame. Molitor and Eckersley, teammates as 1988 and 1992 American League All-Stars who met often as adversaries, will meet as soul brothers in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 25 when they will be inducted into the Hall, bringing to an even 100 the number enshrined in 68 years by the BBWAA. This marks only the sixth time, since the charter group of 1936, that multiple first-year candidates have been elected to the Hall. Most recently, both Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett gained entrance in 2001 in their first shots. While several long-time aspirants made strong moves that bode well for their eventual election, an uncommon number of candidates didn't meet the five-percent minimum and thus will not be included in subsequent BBWAA ballots. Former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, after attracting less than 50-percent support in his first year of eligibility in 2003, leaped to 61.1 percent with 309 votes. In his 11th year on the ballot, Bruce Sutter scored 59.5 percent, while Jim Rice continued his slow climb up the ranks with 54.5 percent. Conversely, 15 candidates fell short of the 26 votes, or five percent, required to remain on the ballot. They included 13 first-time eligibles -- among them Joe Carter, who despite dominating the game for a decade drew only 19 votes -- and a pair of holdovers: ninth-time candidate Keith Hernandez, whose vote peaked at 10.8 percent in 1998, and Fernando Valenzuela. The exclusivity of Cooperstown's hallowed turf was hammered home once again by the meager support of several icons of their day, most notably Carter. A five-time All-Star who appeared in three consecutive postseasons with the Blue Jays, winning back-to-back World Series titles in 1992-93, Carter had 10 seasons of 100-plus RBIs, in six of which he also posted 30-plus homers. But he was named on only 3.8 percent of the ballots. Carter also exceeded 100 strikeouts seven times and had a lifetime average of .259. Also failing to meet the five-percent minimum were 245-game winner Dennis Martinez, two-time home-run king Cecil Fielder and Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek. Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.

01-06-2004, 08:45 PM	#2
Pedantic It is inevitable Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 10, 2003 Location: Nowhere important Posts: 208	'Bout time RPs got some love. Congrats to the Eck.
	__________________ "The Mariners are just like our beer: They're ice cold and go down easy."

01-06-2004, 10:55 PM	#4
passionsfan79 Proud to be Sara fan Senior Member Join Date: Sep 13, 2002 Location: MN Posts: 2,265	im happy for paul molitor,i saw his last game against white sox i beleive when he was with the twins. and they won in 10 innings i remember that far back lol
	__________________ Americas band The Beach Boys Member of the Sara Evans fan club since Dec 05 2005 forever

01-07-2004, 01:16 PM	#5
EricIdlefan USA 250th! Forum Addict Join Date: Oct 12, 2003 Location: East TN Posts: 68,236	Congrads to both men and I tip my hat off to them!!
	__________________ JUSA 250th Anniversary!

01-06-2004, 10:48 PM	#3
Swimfan85 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 04, 2001 Posts: 7,030	woohoow to Eck! I would love to see Jim Rice get in it, but I dont know if he will...

01-09-2004, 02:01 PM	#6
Kitt James Dean Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 16, 2001 Location: California Dreamin' Posts: 6,115	I've been a huge fan of both Molitor and Eckersley for years. I attended lots of Athletics games during Eck's prime relief years with the A's. I watched Paul Molitor play against them at the Oakland Coliseum, and watched him on TV many-a-time. He was a Hall of Fame shoe-in, for sure. They both were. I don't know if this quote that I found on a website is true or not. It probably is. It's funny! Brent Gates was the Athletics' young second baseman at the time of the quote. Brent Gates of the Oakland A's heard his teammates talking before Dennis Eckersley recorded his 300th save and asked: "Do you think they'll stop the game for it?"