ChiefsPlanet - Ryno, Boggs voted into Hall of Fame

Third time's a charm for Sandberg
ChicagoSports.com
Published January 4, 2005, 1:31 PM CST

Ryne Sandberg, the slick-fielding second baseman who holds the all-time record for homers at the position, was elected Tuesday to the Baseball Hall of Fame, making the cutoff by just six votes.

In his third year on the ballot, Sandberg was picked by 393 voters. He appeared on 76.2 percent of ballots, just above the 75 percent cutoff (387). Sandberg received 49.2 percent of votes in 2003 and got 61.1 percent last year, falling 71 votes short.

Third baseman Wade Boggs was the only other player elected. Boggs, a five-time American League batting champion for the Boston Red Sox, was selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance.

Sandberg was a 10-time National League All-Star and winner of nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983-1991.

Sandberg was traded in 1982 to the Cubs along with shortstop Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus. The Cubs moved him from third to second base. By 1984 he was the NL's most valuable player, leading the Cubs on a memorable run to the NL East title, and the standard at the position.

His most famous moment came on June 23, 1984, when he hit two dramatic, game-tying home runs in consecutive innings off Cardinals reliever Bruce Sutter. The Cubs won 12-11 in 11 innings in what now is known simply as "The Sandberg Game." Afterwards St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog, only partially tongue in cheek, compared the young second baseman to Babe Ruth.

Sandberg spent all but one year of a 16-year major-league career on Chicago's North side, playing for only three winning teams but always beloved by the fans. Sandberg said his never having played in the World Series may have hurt his chances at being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

His 282 home runs are tops for second basemen as is his .989 fielding percentage. Sandberg retired in 1997 as a career .285 hitter.

Reliever Bruce Sutter, appearing on the ballot for the 12th time, received 344 votes (66.7 percent), up from 301 last year but 43 shy of what was needed this time. He was followed by Jim Rice (307), Rich Gossage (285) and Andre Dawson (270).

Willie McGee, also on the ballot for the first time, received 26 votes, exactly at the 5 percent cutoff to avoid being dropped in future years. Darryl Strawberry, another first-time eligible, got six votes.

Pete Rose, ineligible for the ballot because of his lifetime ban from baseball, received nine write-in votes, six fewer than last year and his lowest total. Rose, who admitted last year that he bet on the Cincinnati Reds while managing them in the late 1980s, has been written in on 239 of 6,687 ballots (3.6 percent) over 14 years.

He must be reinstated by late November to appear on the ballot in 2006, the final year he would be eligible.

Boggs, known for his array of pre- and postgame rituals, was a 12-time All-Star during an 18-year career, finishing with 3,010 hits.

He won batting titles in 1983 and from 1985-88, becoming the first player to win the AL batting championship in four straight years since Rod Carew from 1972-75. Boggs, who hit .300 or higher 15 times, finished with a .328 career average and was the only player in the 20th century with seven straight 200-hit seasons. He also became the first player to get 200 hits and 100 walks in four consecutive seasons.

A two-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Boggs played for the Red Sox from 1982-92, then spent five seasons with the New York Yankees, helping the team win the 1996 World Series and riding a police horse around Yankee Stadium after the final victory.

His final two seasons were with his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

On Aug. 7, 1999, Boggs became the 23rd member of the 3,000-hit club, connecting off Cleveland's Chris Haney to become the first player to get No. 3,000 with a home run. After circling the bases, Boggs kissed home plate.

Boggs and Sandberg will increase the Hall of Fame's membership to 260, of which 102 were selected by the BBWAA. Induction ceremonies are July 31 in Cooperstown.

Results of voting by the Veterans Committee will be released March 2. Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva and Ron Santo were among the 25 candidates on that ballot.

Among the players eligible for the first time on next year's BWAA ballot are Orel Hershiser, Will Clark and Dwight Gooden.

The Associated Press contributed to this story