It was announced today that the "Expansion Era Committee" of Baseball Hall of Fame electors has elected Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre, and Bobby Cox to the Hall of Fame. All enter as managers, although you could make a semi-reasonable argument that Torre belongs there as a player as well.
LaRussa endorsed a statement released by writers George Will and Buzz Bissinger that the "Hall of Fame" is now worthy of it's name now that he, LaRussa, has been formally enshrined.
I made that last part up, but expect the "LaRussa-Is-A-Genius" columns to spew forth from columnists across the land in the days ahead.
Actually, I have no problem with any of these three going into the hallowed Hall in Cooperstown, and I am sure that the Hall itself is tickled to death to have at least three guys who are still alive at the induction ceremony next summer, considering what happened there this past summer ( http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/07/baseball-hall-of-fame-induction-day.html ). The BBWA result, where it is expected that Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and possibly Frank Thomas, will be announced next month, so it should make for a great Induction Weekend in Cooperstown in July.
Of course, perhaps the bigger story is that Marvin Miller has once again been denied entry to the HOF. You needed 12 of 16 votes to gain entry, and I believe that at least four of the electors are "management" representatives, so I am guessing that at least one or more players on the committee voted against Miller's entry as well. Dumbfounding, positively dumbfounding.
And, of course, for a most zealous segment of baseball fandom, anger and anguish still prevails over the fact that Gil Hodges is not in the Hall of Fame!
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