Gillick elected to Hall

Pat Gillick, who built World Series championship teams in Toronto and Philadelphia, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Expansion Era Committee.

Gillick was the only candidate among 12 that received the necessary 75 percent vote from the 16-member committee, which considered a ballot of eight former players, three executives and one manager whose contributions to the game were most significant from 1973 through the present. He received 13 votes, one more than the required 12 for induction.

George Steinbrenner, who bought the New York Yankees in 1973 and died July 13, was also on the ballot. He received less than eight votes.

Former union head Marvin Miller came up just short with 11 votes, while former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Dave Concepcion received eight votes. Ted Simmons, Vida Blue, Steve Garvey, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Billy Martin, Al Oliver and Rusty Staub also received fewer than eight votes.

Gillick will be the 32nd executive inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and was just the fourth individual elected whose career has been defined nearly exclusively as a team architect, joining Ed Barrow, Branch Rickey and George Weiss in Cooperstown. Gillick will be joined by any electees who emerge from the Baseball Writers' Association of America voting, which will be announced on January 5, 2011.

"We are thrilled to have Pat as the newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and we welcome him into the Hall of Fame family," said Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark. "Pat's consistent excellence as a talent evaluator and team builder has been evident at every step throughout his brilliant career, constructing three World Series champions with his teams making 11 postseason appearances."

Gillick has spent nearly 50 years in Major League Baseball, including 27 as a general manager. He built the Blue Jay teams that won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and '93, and was the architect of the 2008 World Series champion Phillies.

Baltimore and Seattle also earned playoff berths under Gillick's guidance. He began his big league front office career with the Houston Colt .45s/Astros in 1963 and left after the 1973 season to join the New York Yankees as scouting director. He took over the expansion Blue Jays in 1977, worked with the Orioles from 1996-98 and the Mariners from 2000-03 before taking over the Phillies in 2006.

Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies are set for Sunday, July 24, 2011.