Managers, Executives and Umpires

Every once in a while, they restructure the voting process for the Baseball Hall of Fame Eras Committees (what used to be known as the Veterans Committee).  The most recent update saw them splitting the "Contemporary Baseball Era" into two separate ballots--one for players, one for managers, executives and umpires.  The Contemporary Baseball Player ballot last year saw Fred McGriff get his long-overdue election to the Hall of Fame.  Now, the Contemporary Baseball Managers/Executives/Umpires committee will meet for the first time.

Next year, it'll be "Classic Baseball," which includes all four groups (players, managers, executives, umpires) whose career was pre-1980, as well as Negro Leaguers and pre-Negro Leaguers.  Then in 2025 (for the 2026 induction), it rotates back to Contemporary Baseball Player, with the three-year cycle repeating itself from 2026-28 (unless they change it again before that).  So, those who don't get in this year won't be up for election again until the 2026 Winter Meetings (for induction in 2027).

There are eight men on the ballot--four managers, two executives and two umpires.  I'll be very curious to see how the vote turns out and if we'll have any new Hall of Famers to join whoever the writers select at the induction ceremony in July.  The voters can select up to four, and each candidate needs 75 percent of the vote (12 of 16) to be elected.

With the writers' vote, I rank my choices 1-10.  That's what I'll do again here.  Although, since voters can only select a maximum of four, the top four are the only ones who get my hypothetical "votes."

1. Lou Piniella: Piniella was a good player for 18 years, even if he wasn't quite Hall of Fame-caliber.  He then almost immediately embarked on a 23-year managerial career that saw him win a World Series in his first season with the Reds in 1990.  Piniella then spent a decade in Seattle, winning an MLB-record 116 games in 2001.  He also managed the Yankees, Devil Rays and Cubs and was named Manager of the Year three times.  Overall, Piniella tallied 1,835 victories.

2. Jim Leyland: After Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa all went in together in 2014, it left Jim Leyland as the manager who seemed most likely to be elected to the Hall of Fame next.  He took three different teams to the postseason and won pennants in both leagues with the Marlins and Tigers.  Leyland was also Manager of the Year in both leagues.  In 1997, he led the Marlins to the championship, and he finished with 1,769 regular season wins.

3. Joe West: Joe West is one of the best-known officials ever in any sport.  He umpired more games than anyone else in history--5,460--in a career that started in 1976 and didn't end until 2021.  Over those 43 years, he called six World Series, 10 LCSes, eight Division Series, four Wild Card Games, and three All*Star Games.  West obviously had his detractors, but you don't get that many high-profile postseason assignments if you aren't one of the absolute best!

4. Hank Peters: I'll admit to not being super familiar with Hank Peters until I saw his name on the ballot.  His role as an architect in winning eras of three different franchises can't be ignored, though.  Peters helped build the core of the A's dynasty in the 70s, then won two pennants and a World Series in Baltimore before taking over as President of the Indians, setting up their long run of success in the 90s.

5. Ed Montague: Ed Montague is one of only three umpires in history to serve as crew chief in the World Series four times.  That's both a huge sign of respect and an indication of how good Montage was at his job.  He retired after the 2009 season and has been an MLB Umpire Supervisor since 2018.  Montague, who became a full-time umpire in 1974, called more than 4,300 games during his career.

6. Cito Gaston: It was a close call between the two remaining managers on the list, but I've got Gaston slightly ahead of Davey Johnson.  He was the first Black manager to win the World Series, leading Toronto to back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.  The Blue Jays also won two other AL East titles (1989, 1991) during his tenure.

7. Davey Johnson: The 1986 Mets are one of the all-time great teams.  Davey Johnson is the one who controlled all of that chaos.  The winningest manager in Mets history, he won an NL Central title with Cincinnati in 1995, then took Baltimore to the ALCS in 1996.  After more than a decade away from the game, he took over as manager of the Nationals in 2011 and was the NL Manager of the Year the following season.

8. Bill White: White was the President of the National League for five years and saw the addition of the Marlins and Rockies in 1993.  He was also the last National League President, since part of the restructuring of Major League Baseball under Bud Selig was the elimination of the separate league offices.  That's about all I've got.  It's not that White is undeserving.  I just can't say he deserves it more than the others.

As for who'll actually get in, I have absolutely no idea!  With a ballot this diverse, it's really hard to tell.  I do think we'll see at least one of the managers (probably Leyland), but I'm not sure about the others.  Yes, it's a small electorate, but will there be split votes?  Needing 12 of 16 votes is also a very high threshold.  While it doesn't need to be unanimous, the voters need to be pretty much in agreement.  Which is why I can't say with any degree of certainty who I think will get in.

And, while it's small, the possibility still exists that no one will be voted in at all.  It seems unlikely, but it is possible.  There's no chance that we'll have an empty stage in Cooperstown, though, since the writers may end up selecting multiple players next month.  I'd say those Hall of Famers are joined by Jim Leyland.