2008 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2008 proceeded according to revised rules enacted in 2001 and further revamped in 2007. The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) held an election to select from among recent players, resulting in the induction of Goose Gossage. A restructured format for Veterans Committee voting resulted in the first successful election by that body since 2001, with five candidates earning induction, after the three elections in the intervening years had failed to produce any inductees. Selected by the Veterans Committee were former managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams, and former executives Barney Dreyfuss, Bowie Kuhn, and Walter O'Malley.
New inductees
6
1
5
286
July 27, 2008
Initially, the Veterans Committee was not scheduled to hold an election; the 2001 rules changes provided that elections for players retired over 20 years would be held every other year, with elections of non-players (managers, umpires and executives) held every fourth year. The Committee voted in 2007 in both areas, and an election for players was next held in 2009. Under the 2001 rules, the next election for non-players would have been conducted in 2011; however, the 2007 changes meant that elections of non-players would now be conducted for inductions in even-numbered years beginning in 2008, with managers and umpires elected from one ballot and executives from a separate ballot.[1][2]
Induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York, were held on July 27, with Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig presiding. This was to be the final year that the annual Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition contest played in Cooperstown, would be held;[3] however, the game was rained out.[4]
J. G. Taylor Spink Award[edit]
Larry Whiteside received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award honoring a baseball writer. (The award was voted at the December 2007 meeting of the BBWAA but dated 2008 in a break from previous practice that gives a misleading appearance of skipping one year.)
The Spink Award has been presented by the BBWAA at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1962. It recognizes a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, merely featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum, but writers and broadcasters commonly call them "Hall of Fame writers" or words to that effect.
Three final candidates, selected by a BBWAA committee, were named on July 10, 2007, in San Francisco in conjunction with All-Star Game activities: Nick Peters of The Sacramento Bee, Dave Van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune, and Larry Whiteside (1937–2007) of The Boston Globe. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November.
On December 5 at baseball's winter meetings, Larry Whiteside was announced as the recipient, having received 203 votes out of the 411 ballots cast, with Peters receiving 119 votes and Van Dyck receiving 89.[10] His son Tony gave the acceptance speech on his behalf.
Ford C. Frick Award[edit]
Dave Niehaus received the Ford C. Frick Award honoring a baseball broadcaster.
The Frick Award has been presented at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1978. It recognizes a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, merely featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum, but writers and broadcasters commonly call them "Hall of Fame broadcaster" or words to that effect.
To be eligible, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, a network, or a combination of the two.
Ten finalists were announced on December 4, 2007.[11] In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a 20-member committee composed of the 14 living recipients, along with 6 additional broadcasting historians and columnists: Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn (The Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian), Curt Smith (historian) and Larry Stewart (Los Angeles Times). The seven finalists chosen by the committee were: Tom Cheek, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Tony Kubek, Graham McNamee, Dave Niehaus and Dave Van Horne. Three additional candidates – Joe Nuxhall, Bill King and Joe Morgan – were selected from a list of 201 candidates through results of voting by fans conducted throughout November at the Hall's official website.[12]
On February 19 it was announced that Dave Niehaus, play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Mariners since the team began play in 1977, would be the 2008 recipient. His signature "My, oh my!" and "Get out the rye bread and mustard Grandma, cause it's grand salami time!" had been the siren call of summer for Seattle fans for 31 years; at the time he was announced as the recipient, he had called 4,817 of their 4,899 games, and was also a 2000 inductee into the Mariners' Hall of Fame. He was selected in a January vote by the same committee which selected the finalists. They voted by mail, and based the selection on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.
Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award[edit]
The Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, which "honors an individual whose extraordinary efforts to enhance baseball's positive impact on society has broadened the game's appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity reflect the qualities embodied by Buck O'Neil throughout his life and career", was established by the Hall in October 2007 in memory of O'Neil (1911–2006), a former Negro league player and manager, major league coach and scout, and longtime ambassador for the sport. O'Neil was named the first recipient of the honor, which will be bestowed by the Hall's board of directors at a minimum interval of three years. At the 2008 induction ceremonies, Hall of Famer Joe Morgan gave the speech to dedicate and accept the award; a statue of O'Neil, just inside the Hall's entrance, had been unveiled two days earlier.