The gates to the Baseball Hall of Fame opened just wide enough Monday to let in pitcher Don Sutton, leaving Ron Santo waiting on the doorstep again in hisfinal year on the ballot.
Sutton, who won 324 games with four teams in 23 seasons, finished first in voting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America in his fifth year of eligiblity with 386 votes.
“I had tears and goosebumps when I found out, but I didn’t have the anticipation for it,” Sutton said. “I revere Cooperstown. It is a sacred place where the holy grail of baseball is. There are people there who inspired me, including Sandy Koufax. There have been a lot of tears shed, and before this night is over, there will be a lot more. In years past I thought I was going to go in. Now I’m not taking anything for granted.”
Santo (204 votes) finished third behind Sutton and Tony Perez, 151 votes shy of the 75 percent total that is necessary to gain entry to Cooperstown. The former Cubs third baseman freely admitted he was crushed by the news after hearing it Monday afternoon on a golf course.
“It’s over and I’m very disappointed,” Santo said from his Arizona home. “Today was a tough day for me. Very tough.”
Santo was thinking about the vote from the time he woke up on Monday, and even left a handbag with his checkbook in it at a gas station before retrieving it later.
“My mind was not anywhere except on the Hall,” he said. “I told the pro at the golf course, `Today’s a big day in my life. If I see you come out (with the results), if I get too excited, calm me down. If I don’t see you. . . .’ “
Then that would mean it was all over for Santo because it was his 15th and final year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Santo will have to wait three years before he becomes eligible again. In 2001 he’ll be judged by the 15-member Veterans Committee, which last year voted White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox into the Hall.
“I know I have the Veterans Committee and I’m looking forward to that,” Santo said. “If I get voted in by broadcasters, writers and my peers, that will mean as much to me.”
Sutton, now a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves, was rapped by some voters over the years for having notched only one 20-victory season in his career–a 21-10 campaign with the Dodgers in 1976–but he finished with 3,574 career strikeouts, ranking fourth behind Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver. Sutton was 324-256 with a 3.26 earned-run average, 12th in all-time victories and sixth in all-time losses.
The five-year wait by Sutton was similar to that of last year’s inductee, knuckleballer Phil Niekro, who also won more than 300 games (318). Sutton finished nine votes shy of being elected last January.
Of the nine first-time candidates, only one finished among the top 10 in ’98–former Mets and Expos catcher Gary Carter, who finished fifth with 200 votes. Perez, the former Cincinnati star who had 379 home runs, 2,732 hits and ranks 16th in career runs batted in with 1,652, was 34 votes shy of election.
Perez may have been overshadowed during his career by Big Red Machine teammates Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Perez finished ahead of Sutton in the ’96 voting but dropped behind Sutton last January when both trailed Niekro.
“I’m very happy for Don Sutton–he definitely deserves it,” Perez said. “As for me, I came closer this time than I did a year ago. I’ll just have to wait another year and see what happens.”
Santo played alongside Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins, all of whom are now in the Hall of Fame. Some believe Santo’s biggest hurdle has been the fact the Cubs already have three Hall-of-Famers from a team that never went to a World Series.
Santo hit 342 home runs with 1,331 RBIs in his career, winning five Gold Glove awards and meriting nine All-Star selections. Although he garnered more support in each of the last five years, he had almost no support at the start. Santo said he believes that hurt his chances much more than a younger electorate who may not have seen him play.
“When I didn’t get 5 percent (of the votes) the five years after I retired, well, that hurt me badly,” Santo said. “A lot of the writers then had been around 20 years and were on their way out.”
Next year’s voting should conclude with more than one Hall of Fame inductee, with eligible candidates including Ryan, 3,000-hit club members George Brett and Robin Yount, and former White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, who finished with more home runs than any catcher in major league history.
