NEW YORK — Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were voted into the Hall of Fame Tuesday, the biggest class of first-time candidates since Babe Ruth and four others were chosen in the original election of 1936.
Ryan, the greatest power pitcher ever with a record 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters, was named on 98.79 percent of the ballots — one vote short of beating former teammate Tom Seaver’s 98.84 in 1992 for the highest total in history.
“It’s certainly an honor that I was thought of on that level,” Ryan said. “Tom was obviously one of the best pitchers I ever saw throw the baseball.”
Brett, 13th on the career hits list with 3,154, made it with 98.19 percent, the fourth-highest total. Yount, with 3,142 hits and two AL MVP awards, was elected with 77.46 percent.
“I was flabbergasted. It just knocked me on the floor,” Brett said of his vote total. “Obviously, I was very, very pleased. But in all honesty, I was just as pleased for Robin.”
“Of all the guys I played against,” he said on a conference call, his voice cracking, “probably Robin is the guy I enjoyed playing against the most.”
To gain election, players had to be placed on 75 percent of the ballots cast by 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. There were a record 497 ballots cast — Ryan was named on a record 491, Brett 488 and Yount 385.
“I’m not one that ever takes this kind of stuff too seriously, but my stomach’s kind of been in knots for three or four days, so maybe somebody’s telling me this is pretty good stuff,” Yount said.
Carlton Fisk, another first-time candidate, fell 43 votes shy of the required 373 with 66.40 percent. Tony Perez missed in his eighth try with 302 (60.76 percent).
Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson were taken in the first election ever. Since then, never more than two first-timers had been taken, the last time in 1990 when Jim Palmer and Joe Morgan made it.
In all, 29 rookie candidates have been taken since that first election. Mike Schmidt had been the last to do it in 1995.
Joe DiMaggio, Roy Campanella and Harmon Killebrew were among the players who did not get elected on the first try.
The last time the BBWAA voted in three players overall was 1991 — Rod Carew, Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry.
Induction ceremonies at Cooperstown are scheduled for July 25. The Hall of Fame exhibition will be the next day, and it seems fitting that Ryan’s Texas Rangers will take on Brett’s Kansas City Royals.
The Hall’s membership of 240 probably will increase again on March 2 when the Veterans Committee votes in Tampa, Fla. Former manager Dick Williams, Bill Mazeroski, Orlando Cepeda and Dom DiMaggio figure to draw support.
Ryan held or shared 53 major league records when he retired in 1993 after a 27-year career.
Ryan went 324-292 for the New York Mets, California, Houston and Texas, tying him with Don Sutton for 12th in victories. He said his Hall plaque would likely depict him in a Rangers hat.
Though he never won a Cy Young Award, and despite his .526 winning percentage ranking the lowest among all 300-game winners, Ryan’s sheer domination landed him a place in the Hall.
Brett was a 13-time All-Star. The third baseman hit .305 in a 21-year career spent entirely with the Royals.
Yount played his whole 20-year career with Milwaukee and won MVP awards at shortstop and center field. He was a three-time All-Star and batted .285.
Not since that 1936 election has a player with 3,000 hits failed to be elected in his first year of eligibility.
Fisk (376 HRs) holds baseball’s record for most home runs by a catcher. In 24 seasons, his most memorable homer was the one that won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park.
Perez, who got 68 percent last year, had 1,652 RBIs, most among eligible players not already in the Hall.
Dale Murphy, another first-timer, received 96 votes. The seven-time All-Star hit 398 home runs and won five straight Gold Gloves in center field.
Other players falling short included Gary Carter (168 votes), Steve Garvey (150), Jim Rice (146), Bruce Sutter (121) and Jim Kaat (100).
Mickey Lolich, 217-191 and MVP of the 1968 World Series, and Minnie Minoso, a .298 career hitter, missed in their 15th and final time on the ballot. Minoso got 73 votes and Lolich got 26.
Pete Rose, still off on the Hall ballot because of his ban from baseball, got 16 write-in votes.
Gunderson/Pavlik News
Left-hander Eric Gunderson and the Texas Rangers agreed Friday to a $450,000, one-year contract with up to $100,000 in performance bonuses for games pitched. Gunderson, 32, made $510,000 in salary and bonuses last year, going 0-3 with a 5.19 ERA in a club-high 68 games, including one start.
Right-handed pitcher Roger Pavlik also told the Rangers on Friday he was rejecting their offer of salary arbitration. Pavlik, 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five relief appearances before season-ending injuries, became a free agent after the World Series and can negotiate with Texas through Jan. 8.
Rangers acquire Ricky Williams
ARLINGTON, Texas –The Texas Rangers acquired the best tailback in baseball, Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams (shown to the left from the Dec 18th Press Conference announcing him as a Ranger).
Texas purchased Williams’ contract from the Expos on Tuesday, a day after Montreal took him from the Philadelphia Phillies with the fourth pick of the major-league draft for players left off 40-man rosters.
Rangers owner Tom Hicks, a University of Texas regent, would love to see the Longhorns star playing in his organization, even though it’s likely Williams’ future is in football.
“I still want to play baseball, but I’ll have to wait and see what happens,” Williams said Monday in New York. “But I’m a football player first. Bo Jackson was definitely a much better baseball player than I am, but I’d still like to give it a shot.”
Texas paid Montreal about $100,000, allowing the cash-strapped Expos to more than make up for the $50,000 draft price. Williams, an outfielder, must be on Texas’ 25-man opening day roster or be offered back to Philadelphia for $25,000.
The Phillies picked Williams in the eighth round of the 1995 amateur draft and paid for his tuition at Texas. Technically, he was a walk-on in football.
In four minor-league seasons, Williams hit .211 with four home runs and 40 RBI in 170 games.
Williams, a cousin of Cecil Fielder, hit .283 with six stolen bases in 53 at-bats for Class-A Batavia of the New York-Penn League last season before leaving the team to begin preparing for his senior year at Texas.
His football numbers are more impressive. He set NCAA Division I-A records for rushing yards (6,279), scoring (452 points), touchdowns (75) and all-purpose yards (7,206).
He ran for 2,124 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, leading the Longhorns to the Cotton Bowl. He won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday.
To make room for Williams on the 40-man roster, the Rangers designated infielder Scott Sheldon for assignment.
NOTE: There is an additional story about the signing here.
Bill Haselman signs with Tigers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Catcher Bill Haselman and the Detroit Tigers agreed Monday to a $1.75 million, two-year contract.
Haselman, 32, hit .314 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 40 games for Texas last season as the backup to Ivan Rodriguez.
He gets $650,000 next season and $1.1 million in 2000, when Detroit moves into its new ballpark. In addition, he would get $50,000 if he plays in more games than any other Tigers catcher next year and $100,000 if he has the most games among Detroit catchers in 2000.
Xavier Hernandez signs with Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles reportedly have filled a vacancy in their bullpen by signing veteran reliever Xavier Hernandez to a two-year, $2.75 million contract.
Citing unidentified agent sources, ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago is reporting that the Orioles have signed the 33-year-old right-hander but are not expected to announce it until after the winter meetings conclude Tuesday.
However, Orioles spokesman John Maroon said the club has yet to reach a deal.
“I know they are talking, but nothing is imminent,” Maroon said.
The Orioles are in the market for bullpen help after trading Armando Benitez to the New York Mets and losing Alan Mills to Los Angeles via free agency.
Hernandez was 6-6 with a 3.57 ERA and one save in 46 games for the Rangers last season, striking out 41 in 58 innings. The middle reliever also has pitched for Houston, the New York Yankees and Cincinnati in a major-league career that began in 1990.
Winter Meetings in Dallas in 2000
Baseball’s winter meetings are returning to Dallas. Baseball officials and the Anatole Hotel confirmed Friday that convention space has been reserved for the 2000 winter meetings, Dec. 3-13.
The meetings include the annual gathering of major league teams and executives, along with the even larger assembly of National Association minor league clubs from throughout the country. The meetings also include a baseball trade show and a job fair that attracts thousands of applicants for employment in the industry.
It promises to be a boon for Dallas hotels and restaurants as well. Of the 2,900 rooms at Nashville’s sprawling Opryland Hotel, site of this week’s meetings, more than 2,000 are occupied by meetings attendees. Several hundred more are staying at other area hotels.
The 1999 winter meetings are set for Anaheim, California.
Rangers wave Domingo Cedeno
Not a whole lot to say about this news story, except the title. Dammit. I liked him. Oh well.
Rangers sign Rich Robertson
Pitcher Rangers sign Mark Clark
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) — One day after he was refused salary arbitration by the Chicago Cubs, right-hander Mark Clark agreed to terms today on a two-year, $9 million contract with the American League West champion Texas Rangers.
Clark, whose $5.05 million salary last season ranked second on the Cubs, will be paid $4 million in 1999 and $5 million in 2000. The deal includes a $5 million club option for 2001.
Clark fills a void left by Todd Stottlemyre, who two weeks ago signed with Arizona, and joins a staff dominated by right-handers, including John Burkett, Rick Helling, Aaron Sele and Esteban Loaiza.
The 30-year-old Clark had a disappointing season in 1998 for the wild card-winning Cubs, going 9-14 in 33 starts with a 4.83 ERA.
“They went a lot better than my wins and losses showed,” he explained. “I pitched deep into a lot of ball games … but came out without a lot to show for it.”
Clark still reached the 200-inning plateau for the third straight season, allowing 236 hits while walking 48 and striking out 161 in 213 2/3 innings.
“Staying healthy is the main key,” he said. “I’ve been out there every fifth day for the last three years. I do a lot of working out between my starts and try to stay healthy for the season.”
Clark admitted that the Cubs, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Boston all showed interest but he decided to join a team that led the league in batting average and ranked second in runs scored.
“My agent and I had talked to some other clubs but talking to the Rangers we had some converstions with them and they worked out pretty good,” he said. “I think they led all the major leagues in run scoring. The runs they scored like that can lead to a lot of wins.”
Acquired from the New York Mets on August 11th, 1997 as part of a six-player deal, Clark won eight of his first nine decisions for Chicago, including his first two starts last season. Over parts of two seasons for the Cubs, he was 15-15 with a 4.36 ERA in 42 starts.
Clark returns to the American League. After making 27 appearances for St. Louis from 1991-92 in his first two major-league seasons, he was dealt to Cleveland for outfielder Mark Whiten. He has a 68-59 career record and a 4.21 ERA in parts of eight seasons with the Cardinals, Indians, Mets and Cubs.
His only appearance at the Ballpark at Arlington ended in disaster. On his first start of the 1998 season, he allowed nine runs and six hits while recording just four outs.
“Every time I’ve been in Texas, I’ve enjoyed it down there,” he said. “I like pitching in the heat and I know it gets awful hot down there. The Ballpark and the fans are great so I’m really looking forward to coming down.”
Today’s agreement is the third significant signing by the Rangers in the offseason. They re-signed shortstop Royce Clayton and inked free agent first baseman Rafael Palmeiro to a five-year pact.
“They’ve got a pretty awesome defense out there,” Clark said. “They signed Palmeiro and Clayton. … Being a ground ball pitcher, you have to have a good defense out there. As long as I can keep the ball on the ground and with the runs they can produce, it’s going to be a lot of fun, I think.”
Texas won the AL West last season before losing to the New York Yankees in the Division Series.
Juan Gonzalez gets marrried. Again
Juan Gonzalez got married today (for the fourth time) today to singer Olga Tanon. They got married in San Juan, Puerto Rico. No info on where they are honeymooning or anything like that.
