Santo shut out of Hall of Fame again

By John McMullen

For the third consecutive time, the Veterans Committee did not elect any candidates to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Two ballots -- one featuring 27 players and another featuring 15 managers, umpires and executives -- were considered by the 84-voting member Committee.

Former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo and pitcher Jim Kaat, who spent most of his playing career with the Minnesota Twins, came close on the player side. Santo was named on 69.5 percent of the ballots and came up just five votes shy of entry with 57. Kaat received 52 votes and was named on 63.4 percent of the ballots. A total of 75 percent, or 62 votes, were needed to gain entry.

Umpire Doug Harvey led all composite ballot nominees with 52 votes, 64.2 percent of the tally. A total of 61 votes were needed on the composite side.

"The current Veterans Committee provides a peer review of players previously considered by the BBWAA, for as many as 15 years, while also considering the candidacies of managers, umpires and executives," said Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark. "The process was not designed with the goal to necessarily elect someone, but to give everyone on the ballot an opportunity to be elected through a fair and open process. "

Some of the other players who were left out of the Hall were Gil Hodges (50 votes), Tony Oliva (47 votes), Maury Wills (33), Joe Torre (26), Don Newcombe (17), Vada Pinson (16) and Roger Maris (15).

Players are reviewed for election into the Hall of Fame via the veterans committee every two years. The Committee did not elect any new members to the Hall in 2005. The top vote-getters that year were Hodges and Santo with 65 percent apiece, followed by Oliva with 56.3 percent. The next vote will come in 2009.