March 8, 2006

The Backlash Against Buck—And Clarifying The Rules

In the days since we’ve learned that Buck O’Neil would not be included in this year’s Hall of Fame class, an emotional debate has raged over whether he merits membership in Cooperstown. It’s brought out some petty and fairly irrelevant arguments from some Sabermetrically inclined folks who can’t reconcile O’Neil’s candidacy with the lack of supporting statistical data from the Negro Leagues. As part of the backlash, others have tried to minimize O’Neil’s abilities as a player, calling him mediocre or only a little above average. There’s also been a significant hue and cry about creating a new Hall of Fame category for “contributors”—i.e, those who did not excel in any one category, but who contributed to baseball through a number of different avenues. Some have suggested that this category be created specifically to accommodate Buck O’Neil.

Well, there’s no reason to create such a category. It’s already included in the Hall’s current Rules of Election. While there aren’t formal publicized rules for the special Negro Leagues committee, there are very specific rules of election for the Veterans Committee. And since the Negro Leagues committee is a subset of the Veterans Committee—and the closest thing to the Veterans Committee—the rules apply. So let’s reference Rule 6c, which lays out the criteria by which someone can be judged a Hall of Famer:

Eligible candidates must be selected from:
(C) Those whose careers entailed involvement as both players and managers/executives/umpires will be considered for their overall contribution to the game of Baseball.

Now Buck O’Neil was certainly a player and manager, and one could argue that he has also been an executive, based on his work with the Negro Leagues Museum, first as a member of the board of directors and now as the chairman of the museum. As I see it, the key words in Rule 6C are “overall contribution to the game.” Given that phrase, it seems to me that O’Neil’s work in promoting the Negro Leagues over the last 15 years can also be added to his list of contributions—and therefore his Hall of Fame resume.

I’ve also talked to Hall of Fame officials about this matter of “contributors,” as they pertain to the Veterans Committee and Negro Leagues elections, and the answer is pretty clear. Voters ARE allowed to consider the breadth of an individual’s career accomplishments in determining whether he or she is worthy of election to the Hall of Fame. This could apply to someone like Buck O’Neil (player, manager, coach, pioneer of sorts) or Joe Torre (player and manager), as the two most obvious examples. It could also apply to Billy Martin (player and manager) or Gil Hodges (also player and manager).

This brings us to one of the great myths about Hall of Fame elections, that voters can vote on someone as a player or as a manager, but not as both. This is a myth that has been promoted by too many writers who should know better, or who simply don’t take the time to read the rules. Once and for all, it’s pure bunk. Simply put, voters are not required to compartmentalize candidates into separate categories of players, managers, executives, and the like. They can, but they don’t have to do it. 

Given this option, as laid out by the Hall of Fame rules and Hall of Fame officials, I would consider someone’s entire career in baseball in casting a vote. That seems like the most sensible way to determine whether someone—be it Buck O’Neil or Gil Hodges—belong in the sport’s Hall of Fame.

Now if it were the players’ Hall of Fame or the managers’ Hall of Fame, that would be different. But it isn’t. Hopefully, the critics of Buck O’Neill will take note.

Election Day

On February 27, 17 legends of Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues baseball gained election to the Hall of Fame. Along with the recently elected Bruce Sutter, they’ll comprise the largest election class ever.  I had thought that the special Negro Leagues committee would elect somewhere between 15 and 20, including the following nine electees: catchers Biz Mackey and Lou Santop; infielders Mule Suttles, Frank Grant, Sol White, and Jud Wilson; outfielder Cristobal Torriente; and executives Cumberland Posey and J.L. Wilkinson.

Still, there were surprises. I thought that one of the two living candidates, Minnie Minoso or Buck O’Neil, would make it. Neither did, depriving the upcoming induction ceremony of some headline pizzazz. On the other hand, some relatively little known greats did win election, including left-hander Andy Cooper and first baseman Ben Taylor.

Here are capsules on each of the 17 newly elected Hall of Famers, from Ray Brown to Jud Wilson:

Ray Brown: Unlike many Negro Leagues stars, Brown enjoyed a stable, relatively low-traveled career. From 1932 to 1945, he pitched exclusively for the Homestead Grays, employing a variety of breaking pitches to compensate for his lack of an overpowering fastball.

Willard Brown: One of the few players on the ballot to have appeared in the major leagues, Brown flopped as an American Leaguer, but no t before establishing himself as one of the greatest all-round sluggers in Negro Leagues history. Nicknamed “Home Run” for obvious reasons, Brown batted .351, with a slugging percentage of .576 and a more than respectable on-base percentage of .374 during his 15-year tenure in the Negro Leagues. And thought it shouldn’t count toward his Hall of Fame resume, Brown did play 10 seasons in the Puerto Rican Winter League and five others in the minor leagues.

Andy “Lefty” Cooper: He’s a controversial selection, one that was not anticipated by many Negro Leagues historians. In the Hall of Fame’s comprehensive new book about the Negro Leagues, Cooper is not mentioned at all—not even in passing.

Most of those associated with pitching greatness in black baseball were right-handed pitchers (Leon Day, Smokey Joe Williams, and Satchel Paige), but there were a few left-handers of note, too. One of them was Cooper, who lasted 19 seasons in black ball. Working during the Negro Leagues’ truncated seasons, Cooper won 10 or more games seven times. Effective as both a starter and reliever, he also emerged as the Negro Leagues all-time leader in saves, albeit with only 29. Why such a low total of saves? With smaller rosters than their major league counterparts, Negro Leagues teams had little opportunity for specialization. Non-pitchers often played several positions, and pitchers had to perform any role for a shorthanded staff, from starter to long man to relief ace.

Frank Grant: According to a consensus of baseball historians, Grant was the greatest black player of the 19th century. A terrific defensive second baseman and a dangerous hitter, Grant played in white minor leagues for a significant portion of his career, often facing the most vitriolic forms of racism from opponents and fans. The five-foot, seven-inch Grant encountered so much violence during games that he created a special shin guard that he wore in the field, allowing him to fend off the spikes of hateful opposing baserunners.

Pete Hill: Playing at the turn of the century, the six-foot, one-inch Hill didn’t look like a center fielder but had tremendous range. He was also a diverse hitter, capable of hitting for power and average. He reached the .300 mark eight times and the .400 mark two times during his career.

Biz Mackey: The greatest defensive catcher in the Negro Leagues, the switch-hitting Mackey was also a lifetime .318 batter in league competition. The strong-armed Mackey was remarkably athletic, nimble enough to play shortstop from time to time. There’s little doubt that Josh Gibson was the greatest all-round catcher in Negro Leagues history. There’s also little doubt that Mackey ranks second.

Effa Manley: Manley not only becomes the first woman to win election to the Hall of Fame; she was the first to even make a ballot or a list of final nominees. Along with husband Abe, Manley served as owner of the Newark Eagles, one of the Negro Leagues’ most dominant teams of the 1930s and forties. While Abe stayed in the background, Effa took a more active role and called most of the shots, with regard to both the business side and the player personnel sides of the franchise. Regarded as a tough negotiator, Manley also helped establish an important historical precedent in the relationship between the Negro Leagues and the major leagues. After the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson away from the Kansas City Monarchs, Manley criticized Branch Rickey for failing to properly compensate the Monarchs. When the Cleveland Indians sought permission to negotiate with Larry Doby, she insisted that Bill Veeck provide financial compensation. Veeck did so, setting a precedent for Negro Leagues teams to receive anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 (or more) per player on future transactions.

Jose Mendez: He was built a little like Oil Can Boyd, but threw the ball even harder, belying his wispy stature. Pitching in the first two decades of the 20th century, the five-foot, eight-inch, 170-pound right-hander emerged as an intimidating pitcher with the Cuban Stars and the team known as All Nations.

Alex Pompez: Pompez might be the most controversial of all the choices, if only because of his ties to organized crime in the 1930s, specifically mobster Dutch Schultz. On a more positive note, as one of the most prominent early owners in the Negro Leagues, Pompez helped internationalize black baseball by signing the first Dominican, Panamanian, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan players. His signings included Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo and would-be Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso. Pompez later joined the New York Giants, becoming a highly respected scout of Latin American talent.

Cumberland Posey: The versatile Posey was a player, manager, and owner during a diversified Negro Leagues career that stretched from 1911 until his death in 1946. As the owner of the Homestead Grays, Posey oversaw teams that won nine consecutive league pennants from 1937 to 1945.

Louis Santop: Like Redding, Santop’s name was often brought up during Veterans Committee discussions, but he always fell short. A powerfully-built, strong-armed catcher, Santop emerged as one of the earliest stars in black baseball. After Josh Gibson and Biz Mackey, he was arguably the third greatest catcher in Negro Leagues history.

Mule Suttles: Narrowly missing election by the old Veterans Committee, he’s a lead-pipe cinch to be elected by this committee. Along with a group that includes Hall of Famers Josh Gibson and Turkey Stearnes, The Mule was likely one of the five greatest pure power hitters in Negro Leagues history. Though limited in range at first base, the 230-pound Suttles was deceptively fast, once leading the Negro National League with 19 triples.

Ben Taylor: Arguably the most controversial selection, Taylor had rarely been mentioned as a candidate by the Veterans Committee in past years. Playing for Indianapolis, he established a reputation for clutch hitting and deft fielding, but little about his statistical record has been publicized.

Cristobal Torriente: As with Suttles, there’s no doubt about the case for Torriente’s election. The native Cuban was a dynamic outfielder who had power and speed, described by some as an early version of Roberto Clemente but with far more capacity for the long ball. Like Martin Dihigo, Torriente was one of a number of dark-skinned Latinos who were denied entrance into the major leagues prior to 1947.

Sol White: Another lead-pipe cinch selection. Not only a star second baseman for several outstanding Negro Leagues teams, White was a brilliant man who founded the powerhouse Philadelphia Giants team of the early 1900s and later wrote the first history of the early years of the Negro Leagues. The pioneering White was so highly regarded for his intellect and wisdom that he was called “King Solomon.” White also had a knack for making teams better, often leading Negro Leagues clubs to championships shortly after joining them.

J.L. Wilkinson (owner): He was a pioneer among Negro Leagues owners, staging night games well before his major league counterparts came up with a similar idea. During his long tenure as owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, ten Hall of Famers played for him, including Cool Papa Bell, Jackie Robinson, and Satchel Paige.

(Like a number of Negro Leagues owners, Wilkinson was white, as was Effa Manley. Cumberland Posey was African American.)

Jud Wilson: One of the most intense players in early black baseball, Wilson developed a reputation as one of the greatest hitting third basemen of the Negro Leagues—and also one of its most feared fighters. Hitting for both average and power, the determined Wilson became part of the Baltimore Black Sox’ famed “million dollar infield” and participated in three East-West All-Star games.

Pastime Passings

Curt Gowdy (Died on February 20 in West Palm Beach, Florida; age 86; leukemia): Though diversely talented and capable of broadcasting both football and basketball, Gowdy gained his greatest fame for his two most prominent jobs in baseball: as a local broadcaster with the Boston Red Sox from and as a national broadcaster for NBC-TV’s coverage of major league baseball. After a brief stint with the New York Yankees, Gowdy worked for the Red Sox from 1951 to 1966. He then left Boston for NBC, where he served as the No. 1 announcer on the network’s Game of the Week and postseason coverage. During his long career, Gowdy broadcast 13 World Series, 16 All-Star games, and numerous milestone events, including the 521st and final home run of Ted Williams’ career. Known for his friendly, inviting style of broadcasting, Gowdy also called the sixth game of the 1969 World Series, when the New York Mets pulled off their stunning upset of the Baltimore Orioles. In 1984, the National Baseball Hall of Fame honored Gowdy for his work in the sport by naming him the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award.

Bill Abernathie (Died on February 19 in Yucaipa, California; age 77): Abernathie pitched two innings for the Cleveland Indians in 1952. After a later stint with the minor league San Francisco Seals, his professional career was cut short by a shoulder injury. He later gained notoriety as a sheriff’s deputy in San Bernardino.

Bruce Markusen is the author of the forthcoming book, The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, which is scheduled for release in May by Westholme Publishing. Markusen can be heard periodically on ESPNews’ Hot List with Brian Kenny and every Wednesday morning at 10:00 am on WHAM Radio (1180 AM) in Rochester, New York, discussing the latest issues in baseball.