Sandler: Will Gaston be a Hall of Fame candidate as a manager?

Dunno…I mean, Tex Rubinowitz isn’t in the dopey Rock and Roll HOF yet. So you just never know.

Gaston won two World Series and made the playoffs four times in his first 12 years. The 65-year-old currently sits 70th with 809 wins and will likely finish the 2010 season between 65th and 67th among the nearly 700 men to have managed in the big leagues. He is also trailblazer of sorts as the first, and only, African-American manager to win a World Series.

In terms of winning percentage, Herzog’s .532 mark is better than Gaston’s .516, but it is not as though that has been the measure of managers over the years. Connie Mack, the all-time wins leader among managers, was a sub-.500 manager and Casey Stengel, The Old Perfessor, barely won more games than he lost. Wilbert Robinson managed the Brooklyn Robins to two pennants and no titles in 18 years, finished with a record of 1,399-1,398 and gained election by the Veterans Committee in 1945.

Veterans Committee voting is historically an esoteric exercise and figuring which way the winds will blow for a particular candidate is nearly impossible.

However, based on some of the other managers already honoured at Cooperstown, Gaston’s credentials merit debate.