Welcome to Cooperstown!

Congratulations to Jim Leyland, who managed post-season teams with the Pirates, Tigers and Marlins -- winning a pair of pennants in Detroit and leading Miami to its stunning 1997 World Series title -- who was named to Baseball's Hall of Fame Sunday night.  The 23rd skipper inducted can expect to be signing plenty more autographs when he's in Cooperstown for next July's ceremonies.

As worthy a choice as Leyland was, the Contemporary Era Committee, which included Joe Torre, Sandy Alderson, Chipper Jones and Bud Selig. got it wrong, very wrong, by overlooking Bill White.  When you look at his baseball life, from his playing days (where he made eight All Star teams and earned seven Gold Gloves) to becoming the first Black man to call play by play for a ballclub and his executive tenure as National League president in the early 1990s, he checked all the boxes.  

(My image of Jim Leyland is from a March 2013 Grapefruit League game against the Mets in Port St. Lucie.)
 

Comments

Dave Sloves said…
Amen brother. HOF needs White more than he needed it.
December 4, 2023 at 5:56 PM
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