The Golden Days Committee named 4 new inductees to the Hall of Fame. I’m pretty happy about it—3 were on my mythical ballot yesterday and I listed the 4th as also deserving. The four are: Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso, and Gil Hodges.
To be elected, 12 members of the 16-person committee has to vote for the individual. There was a lot of consensus on the Golden Days committee. Minoso got in unanimously; the other three elected players each got 12. The 4th player I would have voted for, Dick Allen, fell just short again with 11 votes.
It’s great that two inductees, Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva, are still alive to enjoy it. It will also be a special day for Twins fans as two of their greats are finally given an honor they’ve long deserved. It’s also great that Gil Hodges’ 96-year-old widow got to receive the call for her late husband. Most of all, I’ve bored anyone who would listen to me about it that Minnie Minoso’s absence from the HoF was one of its most glaring omissions.
I will continue stumping for Dick Allen, but overall the Golden Days Committee gets an A.
The Early Baseball Committee (same 16 people as the Golden Days committee) selected two more. One was Bud Fowler, considered to be the first black man in pro ball. The other elicited a loud “It’s about time!” as they FINALLY announced that Buck O’Neil is a Hall of Famer. In 2006 the HoF had a special committee that named 17 Negro Leaguers to the HoF…it was a horrible oversight that O’Neil was not one of them. However, always gracious, he was one of the key speakers at that class’s induction ceremony. Sadly, he passed away a few months later. He has many fans and loved ones who know, though, and are happy today. A solid B for the Early Baseball Committee.
Fan Interference 
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Out of curiosity, I checked out Minoso’s stats and he was a sabermetric dream come true as he had a very good OBP and high OPS. Probably didn’t get respect because he didn’t have the power numbers and was a terrible base stealer, but I got no problems with the induction.
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