Ozzie Smith tops Hall of Fame candidates

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Posted 4:58PM on Monday, January 7, 2002

NEW YORK - Ozzie Smith finds out Tuesday whether he will backflip into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The Wizard of Oz, a 15-time All-Star who set the example of how shortstop should be played, heads the list of candidates for induction to the Hall next summer. Gary Carter, Jim Rice, Bruce Sutter and Rich Gossage top the holdovers from last year, when Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield were elected on the first try. To be elected, players must be listed on at least 75 percent of the ballots of 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Just 36 players have been elected in their first year of eligibility. There are 251 people in the Hall, overall. Smith, 47, has kept a low profile since retiring at the end of the 1996 NL playoffs. "Tomorrow I'm going to wake up and turn the page, and my life goes on," he said after his final game. "It's been a great career and I have a lot of great moments to look back on, and I'm going to try and enjoy life a little bit now." He spent 19 seasons in the major leagues, breaking in with San Diego in 1978. Smith played four years with the Padres, then finished with 15 years in St. Louis. Smith won 13 NL Gold Gloves - all in a row from 1980-92 - set shortstop records for most assists (8,375) and double plays (1,590) and entertained fans with a backflip when he ran out to shortstop at the start of games. The Cardinals retired No. 1 in his honor. If there's any knock on him, it's offense: Smith batted just .262 in his career with 2,460 hits, 28 homers and 793 RBIs. "It's been a lot of fun," Smith said during his final season. "People have been nice to me. I've been shown a lot of respect and a lot of admiration for what I've tried to bring to the game, and that's all you can ask." Carter, an 11-time All-Star, is on the ballot for the fifth season. He was picked on 42.3 percent of the ballots in his first appearance in 1998. His percentage dropped to 33.8 the following year, then increased to 49.7 in 2000 and 64.9 in 2001. Carter's career average (.262) was even lower than Smith's but he hit 324 homers with 1,225 RBIs. His 298 homers as a catcher are the sixth-most. Rice, on the ballot for the eighth time, was fourth in last year's voting at 57.9 percent. The eight-time All-Star and 1978 AL MVP had a .298 career average with 382 homers and 1,451 RBIs. Sutter (47.6) and Gossage (44.3) are bidding to join Hoyt Wilhelm and Rollie Fingers as the only relievers in the Hall. Smith headed 11 first-time candidates, a group that also included pitchers Mike Henneman, Jeff Russell, Scott Sanderson and Frank Viola; infielders Alan Trammell, Robby Thompson and Tim Wallach; and outfielders Andre Dawson, Lenny Dykstra and Mike Greenwell. Players with 10 or more seasons who have been retired for five years become eligible for the Hall. Unless elected, a player remains of the ballot for 15 years unless he is picked on less than 5 percent of the votes. The others on the ballot were Bert Blyleven, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Ron Guidry, Keith Hernandez, Tommy John, Jim Kaat, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Dave Stewart and Luis Tiant. The last time the BBWAA didn't elect any players was 1996, the first time since 1971 and only the seventh ever.