Dick Allen and Dave Parker were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as revealed by the Classic Baseball Era committee tonight. Parker (14 votes) and Allen (13) each received more than the minimum 12 of 16 votes necessary for induction. Tommy John was the next-closest candidate with seven votes, and Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and Luis Tiant each received fewer than five votes.
Allen and Parker will be officially inducted to Cooperstown on July 27, along with any players inducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The results of the writers’ ballot will be announced on January 21.
Known in the past as the “veterans committee,” the Era Committee is a rotating panel of former players, managers, executives, team owners, media members, and historians who meet annually to determine which (if any) candidates from the past deserve election to Cooperstown. Candidates include former players who weren’t elected or considered on the normal BBWAA ballot, or non-playing personnel that aren’t part of the writers’ ballot. This year’s ballot looked at candidates whose biggest contributions to the game came in the pre-1980 “Classic Baseball Era,” though obviously a few of the candidates also had significant moments in their careers after the 1980 season.
This year’s 16-person Classic Baseball Era committee was comprised of HOF members Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith, and Joe Torre; MLB owners and executives Sandy Alderson, Terry McGuirk, Dayton Moore, Arte Moreno and Brian Sabean; media members/historians Bob Elliott, Leslie Heaphy, Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel and Larry Lester.
More to come….
