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Hall of Fame Class 14 – Elite Slugger Willie McCovey Enters the Hall John
and Brown Fail in Final Bids |
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Willie McCovey Led Newmarket to a
Championship in 1971
McCovey Was All Smiles at His Induction |
Voting for the TCBA
Players’ Hall of Fame Class 14 concluded this week, with voters
selecting one new member. Premier
slugger Willie McCovey became the 50th member of the TCBA Hall of
Fame after receiving 78.9% of the recent vote, enough to earn him entry into
the elite hall of honor. McCovey
terrorized opposing pitcher for 20 TCBA seasons, amassing 399 home runs, just
2 behind fellow Hall of Famer Eddie Murray. Willie reached double-digits in
homers for 15 consecutive seasons, beginning with Long Island in 1961 and
ending with the Grandview Stars in 1976. His biggest seasons, though, were
with Ed Hebscher’s Newmarket
EH’s from 1963-1972, when McCovey belted 361 of his home runs. Although he reached
a peak of 44 in 1969, perhaps Willie’s best season was 1971, when he led the
EH’s to the TCBA crown. In that season, McCovey hit 43 home runs (Richie
Allen hit 52 to lead the league), drove in a league-leading 121 runs (tied
with Hank Aaron and Tony Oliva), and batted .315. Willie
McCovey was a winning ballplayer. He established himself early in his career,
helping Long Island to a division crown in his rookie season of 1960. In
addition to the 1971 crown, Willie also led Newmarket
to two more division crowns in 1967-1968. McCovey belted a homerun every 16.9
at bats, tying him with Mickey Mantle. While
five players from the Class of 14 will get one more shot (Bench, Sewell,
Hernandez, Palmeiro, and Bell), two players in
particular suffered devastating defeat. Tommy John missed induction by
sixty-one votes, while Kevin Brown fell far short of the required 760 needed
for this election. Both were appearing on their final ballot, joining Robby
Alomar and Paul Molitor in the almost-but-not-quite
club. In
all, 96.2% of the eligible ballots were cast, with 10 players receiving at
least one vote. Of the 47 players appearing on the ballot, 39 were eliminated
from Hall of Fame consideration due to lack of voter support. Class 15 balloting will occur in February,
when the six Class 14 also-rans can be reconsidered. The
vote totals for Class 14 are listed
below: CLASS 14 Voting Totals:
Source:
TCBA Encyclopedia |
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