Baseball Hall of Fame announces Classic Baseball Era Ballot

Some Hall of Fame candidates will get a second look.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has released the nominees for the Classic Baseball Era Ballot, which includes eight candidates whose primary contributions occurred before 1980. The candidates include Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker, and Luis Tiant. Candidates will have to appear on 75 percent of the ballots of the 16 voters, who have not yet been announced.

Dick Allen spent 15 years with the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox, and Athletics, smacking 351 career home runs. He won was named Rooke of the Year with the Phillies in 1964 when he led the league in runs scored, and was later named MVP in 1972 with the White Sox, one of the two years he led the league in home runs. He was a seven-time All-Star, but had a contentious relationship with the press and in his own clubhouse at times. He never received more than 20 percent of the vote from the BBWAA, and twice has fallen just one vote short of induction by a select committee. Allen died in 2020.

Ken Boyer, who was born in Liberty in the Kansas City area, was an 11-time All-Star with the Cardinals, also spending time later in his career with the Mets, White Sox and Dodgers. He was a five-time Gold Glover at third, and won MVP in 1964 when the Cardinals won the World Series over the Yankees. He finished with a .287 average, 2,143 hits and 282 home runs in his career. Boyer, who died in 1982, never received more than 25.5 percent of the vote among the BBWAA, and has been passed over five times by select committees.

John Donaldson, who was born in Glasgow, Missouri, was one of the first stars for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues, with some crediting him with coming up with their team name. He pitched, played centerfield, and managed the club, establishing the barnstorming model that made the Monarchs a success. He has been credited with over 400 wins and 5,000 strikeouts in his games, with 14 no-hitters and two perfect games, and Giants Hall of Fame manager John McGraw once called him the best pitcher he had ever seen.

Steve Garvey was a ten-time All-Star first baseman with the Dodgers and Padres, collecting 2,599 career hits. He won MVP for the Dodgers in 1974, and was considered one of the best fielding first baseman of his era with four Gold Gloves. He holds the National League record with 1,207 consecutive games played. He was named 1978 and 1984 NLCS MVP, with a walk-off home run in Game 4 of the ‘84 series against the Cubs. He enjoyed a terrific relationship with the media, but his squeaky clean image was sullied late in his career when he was hit with a paternity suit, revealing his infidelity. Garvey received 42.6 percent of the BBWAA vote in 1995, but has been passed over by select committees four times.

Vic Harris spent 18 years playing in the Negro Leagues, primarily as an outfielder with the Homestead Grays. “Vicious Vic” was considered an aggressive baserunner and .300 hitter. He later managed the Grays for 11 seasons and never had a losing season, winning seven pennants and the 1948 championships.

Tommy John was a four-time All-Star who pitched for 26 seasons, winning 288 games with the Indians, White Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, Angels, and Athletics. He has the eighth-most starts in baseball history, and the 20th-most innings. In 1974, he injured his ulnar collateral ligament, and Dr. Frank Jobe engineered a revolutionary surgical procedure to repair it, allowing John to resume his career, a procedure now known as “Tommy John surgery.” John topped out at 31.7 percent of the vote among BBWAA writers and was passed over by a select committee in 2020.

Dave Parker was a seven-time All-Star and integral hitter on the 1979 “We Are Family” champion Pirates. He won MVP with them in 1978, winning his second consecutive batting title. He smacked 339 career home runs with 2,712 hits with the Pirates, Reds, Athletics, Brewers, Angels, and Blue Jays. He was a seven-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and three-time Silver Slugger winner. Parker never received more than 24 percent of the vote from the BBWAA, and his reputation may have suffered from his involvement with the Pittsburgh drug scandal in the 1980s.

Luis Tiant was signed out of Cuba and enjoyed a 19-year career with the Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates, and Angels. He won 229 games with a 3.30 ERA and 2,416 career strikeouts. He twice led the league in ERA and was a three-time All-Star. He never received more than 30.9 percent of BBWAA votes, and was passed over on select committees three times. Tiant recently died last month at the age of 83.