Minnesota Twins World Series hero Jack Morris once again missed out on a trip to Cooperstown in what unfortunately was his 15th and final year on the Hall of Fame ballot.
The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2014 was announced Wednesday afternoon and the new inductees include former Atlanta Braves starting pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, and former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas. Ex-managers Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre are also headed to the Hall.
Jack Morris fell well short of the 75 of votes needed. He received 61.5 percent of the votes. #MNTwins
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) January 8, 2014
Morris is best known for leading the Twins to the World Series title in 1991 with his memorable 10-inning, complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves in Game Seven. His numbers beyond that are what got him on the ballot in the first place.
He won 254 games, led the American League in wins twice and finished in the top-five in AL Cy Young voting five times.
According to the Pioneer Press, Morris joins former Brooklyn Dodgers great Gil Hodges as the only players in MLB history to garner 50 percent of the vote and still fail to reach the Hall before having their names removed from the ballot.
Tom Kelly on Jack Morris: "All I know is that in my mind and a lot of other people's minds, he's a Hall of Famer." #MNTwins
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) January 8, 2014
The Star Tribune writes that a crowded ballot is part of the reason Morris didn’t get in. There is a backlog of players on the ballot because of all the players related to performance-enhancing drugs.
Morris, who spent the majority of his career as the ace of the Detroit Tigers, received a rallying cry recently from Steve Kornacki of FOX Sports Detroit. Kornacki chatted with some of baseball’s most prominent Hall of Fame voters to get reasons why they voted for or against Morris entering the Hall.
Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “Yes. I vote for Jack Morris every single year. Simply, he was the best pitcher of the ’80s and one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time. I think it will be a travesty for him not to be in Hall of Fame.”
Ken Rosenthal, FOXSports.com: “I did not vote for Jack because his 3.90 ERA would be the highest of any pitcher in the Hall. I greatly admired him, but feared that his election would lower the standards of Cooperstown.”
Richard Justice, MLB.com: “I voted for Jack. All the usual reasons. Led MLB in wins and complete games in ’80s … 14 Opening Day starts … six Game 1 starts … A horse.”
Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe: “I did. I was convinced several years ago that he was a Hall of Famer. I believe he rose to the occasion in the biggest moments and also had the numbers to support my vote.”
Morris could get another chance at Cooperstown in 2017 when he’s eligible for the Expansion Era Ballot.
Welcome to Cooperstown!
Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are 2014 @BaseballHall inductees. pic.twitter.com/viu4bPuP8N
— MLB (@MLB) January 8, 2014
Former #MNTwins OF Jacque Jones also got one Hall of Fame vote …
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) January 8, 2014
