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For those not familiar with how the veteran’s committee process works in relation to the hall of fame here it is.

• The players ballot is now restricted to players whose careers began in 1943 or later.
• Voting for the players ballot is now restricted to Hall of Fame members.
• The list of those eligible for the players ballot will be separately reviewed by a six-member panel of Hall of Famers, which will select five players for the ballot.
• Next, all living Hall of Famers are invited to a meeting at the Hall of Fame during induction weekend. The Hall of Famers who are present at this meeting will narrow the list to a final ballot of 10 players.
• The final players ballot is sent to all living Hall of Famers, who can vote for as many as four individuals.

So to sum it up. A bunch of hall of famers will look over a ballot of some other former players and then pick up to four that they think are hall of fame worthy.

Anyway here are the players on the ballot.

• Dick Allen, 1B-3B, RoY, 1972 MVP, 7 A-S, 351 HR, .292 BA, 156 OPS+
• Gil Hodges, 1B, 8 A-S, 3 GG, 370 HR, .273 BA, 120 OPS+
• Jim Kaat, P, 283-237, 3 A-S, 16 GG, 1966 TSN AL Pitcher of Year
• Tony Oliva, RF-DH, RoY,2x 2nd in MVP, 8 A-S, 1 GG, 3 BA Titles, .304 BA, 220 HR, 131 OPS+
• Al Oliver, CF-1B, 7 A-S, .303 BA, 219 HR, 121 OPS+
• Vada Pinson, CF, 2 A-S, 1 GG, .286 BA, 256 HR, 110 OPS+
• Ron Santo, 3B, 9 A-S, .277 BA, 342 HR, 125 OPS+
• Luis Tiant, P, 229-172, 3 A-S, 2 ERA Titles
• Joe Torre, C-1B-3B, 9 A-S, 1 GG, 1971 MVP & BA title, .297 BA, 252 HR, 128 OPS+
• Maury Wills, SS, 1962 MVP, 5 A-S, 2 GG, 20 HR, .281 BA, 586 SB, 88 OPS+

As you can tell there are reasons that the majority of these guys have not gotten elected yet. After all they had plenty of time on the regular ballot for starters.

I couldn’t make a strong case for any of them. Where do you draw the line between Great player and very good?

There is no doubt these players were at the top of their class when they were playing but all have been on the outside of the hall looking in.

When asked about being on the ballot current Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre commented.

“I don’t remember getting any more hits since the last time they turned me down. But that’s certainly an honor. It’s nice to still be in people’s memories as a player,” Torre said.

I guess if I had to pick one guy I thought would get voted in I’d pick Santo. After all he’s got the most noise behind him. It’s constant from Cub fans and some within the media.

If I got to pick a guy to vote in it would be Torre and here’s why. Joe Torre appeared in 9 all-star games, the same as Santo. He also won an MVP award which is more times then Santo ranked in the top three for the award. In addition Torre also played the majority of his career at catcher and yes he did play another portion of it at third and first. After all this is just my option.

Results of the 2007 Player Ballot (62 needed for election):
Santo (57 votes, 69.5%),
Jim Kaat (52, 63.4%),
Gil Hodges (50, 61%),
Tony Oliva (47, 57.3%),
Maury Wills (33, 40.2%),
Joe Torre (26, 31.7%),
Don Newcombe (17, 20.7%),
Vada Pinson (16, 19.5%),
Roger Maris (15, 18.3%),
Lefty O’Doul (15, 18.3%),
Luis Tiant (15, 18.3%),
Curt Flood (14, 17.1%),
Al Oliver (14, 17.1%),
Mickey Vernon (14, 17.1%),
Minnie Minoso (12, 14.6%),
Cecil Travis (12, 14.6%),
Dick Allen (11, 13.4%),
Marty Marion (11, 13.4%),
Joe Gordon (10, 12.2%),
Ken Boyer (9, 11%),
Mickey Lolich (8, 9.8%),
Wes Ferrell (7, 8.5%),
Sparky Lyle (6, 7.3%),
Carl Mays (6, 7.3%),
Thurman Munson (6, 7.3%),
Rocky Colavito (5, 6.1%)
Bobby Bonds (1, 1.2%).