Is the third time the charm for Ryne Sandberg? According to the Tribune’s nine Baseball Hall of Fame voters, it will be. The Hall’s Class of 2005 will be announced Tuesday, and all nine Tribune voters listed the Cubs’ record-setting second baseman on their ballots in his third year of eligibility.
Sandberg was third in last year’s balloting with 61.1 percent of the vote, the highest finish among players who failed to gain the required 75 percent for induction. Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley made up the Class of 2004, each elected in his first year of eligibility.
Wade Boggs, who collected 3,010 hits, won five batting titles and hit .328 for his career, tops this year’s list of first-time eligibles. The Tribune panel likes his chances, with eight of the nine members voting for him.
Former Cubs Andre Dawson and Bruce Sutter received similar support in Tribune precincts, each named on eight of nine ballots. Dawson, the 1987 National League MVP for the Cubs, was sixth in last year’s voting with an even 50 percent of the vote. Sutter, on the ballot for the 12th time, was fourth with 59.5 percent and has seen his total increase in each of the last three years.
Ten-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America are eligible to vote for the Hall of Fame.
