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Prediction: Tony Perez will get
inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
By Ozzie Gonzalez
Latino Legends in Sports
12/29/99 -- Its been a long wait. For eight straight years, Cuban born, Atanasio "Tony" Perez has fallen short of getting inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 1999, he was so close to receiving that prestigious award, but once again fell short. Perez finished fifth in the voting, appearing on 302 of 497 ballots (60.6 percent). A candidate must appear in 75 percent of the ballots in order to get inducted. He missed it by 71 votes.
In the new millennium, the former Cincinnati Reds' clutch hitter has his best chance to reach his goal. On the Hall of Fame 2000 ballot players like Carlton Fisk, Dave Parker, Jim Rice and Luis Tiant were all great players in their prime, but none of those players are a shoe-in for this coming election ceremony. Unlike last year, when you had Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Orlando Cepeda and others to compete with, this year's weaker line-up should enable Perez to get the award he long deserves.
How Tony Perez eluded the Hall of Fame for so many years is a mystery to me. This great offensive and defensive first baseman of the 70's has put up some solid numbers throughout his career. Seven times, Perez drove in more than 100 runs (The only player in the 1600 RBI club not in the Hall of Fame), nine times he hit 20 plus home runs, has a career slugging percentage of .494, over 500 doubles and 379 career home runs. (Complete stats below) Manager Sparky Anderson said this about Perez, "He's the best clutch hitter I've ever seen." and this was on a team with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan (Two out of those three are in the Hall of Fame.)
In a comparison with Robin Yount, who was inducted in 1999, shows Perez has a substantial advantage in homers (379-251), RBIs (1,652-1,406) and appearances in All-Star Games (7-3) and World Series (5-1). So why isn't Perez in the Hall of Fame. Could it be that Perez is a victim of prejudice? Could it be that at the time he mainly spoke Spanish and couldn't communicate very well with the American press, therefore falling out of favor when comes to Hall of Fame voting? I don't think that's the case but if more years of non-induction occurs, you have to wonder.
According to the "rules for election" as created by the Baseball Writers' Association of America it states: "Voting -- Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." That description clearly describes Tony Perez during his baseball years with the big Reds machine.
When asked about this year's possible Hall of Fame induction, the 57 year old Perez said, "This is the ninth time I've been in the voting, and every year is the same," "I'm not getting too anxious. You get used to waiting after waiting so many years." Don't worry Tony, if our prediction is true you'll be there along with fellow Latinos Luis Aparicio, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Clemente.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame induction results for 2000
will be announced on Jan 11th at a Mid-Manhattan hotel. We will have
immediate results of the decision and coverage. (Tony Perez gets inducted into
the Hall of Fame on January 11, 2000). Click
here full Story!
