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Hall of Fame Class 21 – Voters Send Four to the Hall A Quartet: Dickey, Spahnie,
Joe D and Mo |
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Bill Dickey
Warren Spahn in his classic windup
Sphanie smiles during his induction
ceremony “Joltin’ Joe” Dimaggio
Plenty of smiles from new inductee Joe Dimaggio
Evanston’s Mariano Rivera |
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With 87% of the eligible ballots cast, voting
for the TCBA
Players’ Hall of Fame Class 21 concluded this week with voters
selecting four players from what some observers consider the strongest group
of Hall of Fame candidates ever presented. And for the first time, voters seemed
fully accepting of the contributions of early Retro league players, selecting
three old timers to accompany a modern-day closer. Bill Dickey (78.5%), Joe Dimaggio (82.6%), Warren Spahn (91.3%),
and Mariano Rivera (74.6%) were elected to the Hall with strong support from
the voters. There was no doubt that the four heroes deserved the honor. Dickey
was just 21 years old when he debuted for Hyde Park in August of 1929,
appearing in six late season games. The Vitamen saw enough to recognize Dickey’s
potential, handing him the full-time catcher job the next season. For the
next 14 seasons, Dickey was the primary catcher in Hyde
Park, leading the team to consecutive World Series appearances and a
championship in 1934. After WWII, Dickey moved on to Mimosa, helping them to win
the championship in 1947. He retired to his home in Arkansas at the end of that
season, boasting a magnificent .342 career batting average, 16th best
all-time. The
City of Bradenton has special reason to celebrate this time, as two of their
former stars join the Hall of Fame at the same time. Honored on more than 82%
of the ballots, Joe Dimaggio was a class act from beginning to end.
Bursting onto the scene as a 21-year old rookie for the Bradenton Buckeyes in
1937, Dimaggio’s impact was immediate. In only his
second season, Joe D led Bradenton to 106 wins and a playoff appearance,
batting .369 with 34 homers. Despite
not experiencing any further post-season play with the Buckeyes, Joe continued
with his batting prowess for the next five seasons, until his career and
tenure in Bradenton was interrupted by WWII. Following his military service, Dimagggio signed a 2-year contract with Mimosa. He had lost little of his skills, helping the Mirthmakers to a pair of playoff appearances and a World
Series crown in 1947. Joe
played his final four seasons with Long Island,
with whom he made a third consecutive playoff appearance in 1949. Although he
led the league in hitting in 1951 with a .367 average, his skills had clearly
begun to erode. Retirement came following the 1952 season. Warren Spahn
was simply amazing. The winningest lefthander of all time, his 373 career wins
trails only Greg Maddux’ 389. His career did not start out promising,
however. In his rookie season, while WWII raged, Spahn
posted an 0-16 record for the struggling Newton Indians. Uncertain of his
pitching fortunes, Warren enlisted in the army, where he spent the next three
years contemplating his baseball future. Once the war ended, Spahn signed on with the Bradenton Buckeyes, and the
rest, as they say, was a remarkable history. 373
wins – leading the league five times. 5679 innings pitched – leading the league
eleven times. 3030 strikeouts. 379 complete games – leading the league nine
times. Six playoff appearances with a record of 10-5 and four championships,
all with Bradenton – 1947-48 and 1959-60. After
sixteen seasons with the Buckeyes, Spahn requested,
and was granted, a trade to Newmarket, where he served as a veteran starter
and part-time coach for Ed Hebscher’s Eh’s, retiring after the 1966 season. Although
there has been disagreement over the importance of the Saves stat when evaluating
pitchers’ career contributions, there was little doubt in the voters’ minds
when it came to judging Mariano Rivera. Rivera
began his career with Evanston as a starter in
1996. But Al Keefer would not bumble that one, quickly recognizing Mariano’s
potential as a reliever. He made the switch the following season and neither
Al nor Mariano ever looked back – except with pride. For the next 17 seasons,
Rivera set a standard for closers that has been unmatched to date, recording
463 Saves. Five
times Evanston reached the playoffs with Rivera as the closer. In 19.2
innings of playoff pitching, Rivera allowed just one earned run, recording a
Save six times. Although never reaching the World Series, Evanston’s success
was directly tied to the arm of Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. Mo retired
following the 2014 season. Eleven
other players received votes in this recent election. Slugger Ralph Kiner
fell just 55 votes short of the required 70%, disappointing results for Ralph
and his fans. He will get another try on a future ballot, as will Berra,
Averill, Newhouser, and several others. Voting
for Class 22 will be held in October 2019. The vote totals for Class 21 are
listed below: Class 21 Voting Totals:
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Appeared on the list for the final time. Source: TCBA Encyclopedia |
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