The newest members are:
Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O'Neil, and David Ortiz. For a well written article and videos from
the induction ceremony, check out this article by Anthony Castrovince written for
MLB.com.
I was lucky enough to see four of them
play or manage in person during their careers.
Gil Hodges - I did not see Hodges play
in person because I was too young as he completed his playing career. But, I saw him manage the "Miracle Mets" of
1969. That team won the National League
pennant and then went on to upset a highly favored Baltimore Oriole team in the
World Series. I can remember watching a
St. Louis Cardinal - New York Mets doubleheader in July and not being impressed
so much by Hodges managerial skills, but the amount of talent the Mets had on
that team and pitching staff. But, in
looking back, I realize now that team was managed by a man who knew he had
talent and managed those young players to an NL Championship over a highly
regarded Chicago Cubs club that faded down the stretch in September. One other thing about Hodges, he died way
too young of a heart attack.
Jim Kaat - I had the opportunity to
watch Kaat play with the St. Louis Cardinals for four years at the end of his
career and saw him at Busch Stadium II eight or nine times in 1982 when the
Cardinals won the World Series. Kaat was
a pitcher at the end of his career. He
craftily changed speeds and locations to keep hitters off balance. In that 1982 season Kaat was 5-3 with an ERA
of 4.08. In his four years with Cards
Kaat was a work horse pitching in 176 games and over 290 innings. Kaat pitched a total of 25 years and ended
his career with 283 wins and a career ERA of 3.45. His selection is long overdue.
Minnie Miñoso - I believe I saw Miñoso play for St. Louis in 1962. (I was nine years old and my Dad took me to several games that year, but I can't say for certain it was before Miñoso got injured on May 11, when he collided head first into the concrete left field wall). His season was cut short by the skull fracture and wrist fracture from trying to chase down that Duke Snider line drive. He came back later in the season but got hit in his left arm on August 19th by a pitch from the Mets Craig Anderson. Two days later while playing left field he had to leave the game with a swollen arm. X-rays revealed a broken forearm. It was somewhat ironic that his career in St. Louis ended with being hit by a pitch. Miñoso had led the American League in being hit-by-pitches for ten years as a member of the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. Miñoso had a career that started when he was 25 with the Indians and stretched over five decades. Minnie played a game with the White Sox when he was 56 years old to be able to say he had played in those five decades. He amassed a total of 2113 hits, 195 homers and 216 stolen bases leading the American League in that category three times. To say Miñoso was fast during his prime, would be an understatement. He was selected to the Hall by the Old Timers committee.
David Ortiz - There's not much I can say about him that hasn't been written. I saw him and the Boston Red Sox play in person against the Cardinals in Game Three of the 2013 WorldSeries. The Redbirds won the game 5-4 on a bizarre play in the bottom of the ninth. But, Ortiz was on base three of four times he came to the plate. He had a single and two walks. In that series he hit .688 with a 1.948 OPS. It was a small sample but indicative of his whole career. I was also at Fenway Park on September 9, 2015 while on vacation; Ortiz's second to last active season. He came up in the third inning and hit a three run home run off of Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchinson. But, what was more impressive was his show of strength in batting practice. From my perch on top of the Green Monster, I watched him drive ball after ball into the outfield seats, including one that flew over our heads above the "Monster" and out of Fenway onto Lansdowne Street. He was a very strong man and a very good baseball player. He is deserving of his first ballot election.
