In 2010, the Baseball Hall of Fame may be welcoming several famous and successful managers from among a group nominated by a Veterans Committee. The eight former skippers include Cardinals icon Whitey Herzog.
The others are Davey Johnson, Billy Martin, Charlie Grimm, Tom Kelly, Gene Mauch, Danny Murtaugh and Steve O’Neill. This group of nominees increases to ten with the inclusion of former umpires Doug Harvey and Hank O’Day.
To get in, a candidate must receive 75% of the vote from 16 voters who are given four votes each. The winners will be announced at Baseball’s Winter Meetings on December 7 and inducted next July 25 in Cooperstown, New York.
Herzog, 78, last managed in 1990 when he resigned from the Cardinals in mid-season. Whitey has been on numerous Hall ballots before, but has always fallen short. His competition remains tough.
Career managerial stats of the eight nominated skippers sorted by win percentage with leaders in bold:
| Years | Wins | Losses | Pct | League | WS | |
| Davey Johnson | 14 | 1148 | 888 | 0.564 | 1 | 1 |
| Steve O’Neill | 14 | 1040 | 821 | 0.559 | 1 | 1 |
| Billy Martin | 16 | 1253 | 1013 | 0.553 | 2 | 1 |
| Charlie Grimm | 19 | 1287 | 1067 | 0.547 | 3 | 0 |
| Danny Murtaugh | 15 | 1115 | 960 | 0.540 | 2 | 2 |
| Whitey Herzog | 18 | 1281 | 1125 | 0.532 | 3 | 1 |
| Gene Mauch | 26 | 1902 | 2037 | 0.483 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Kelly | 16 | 1140 | 1244 | 0.478 | 2 | 2 |
Herzog is sixth of eight in win percentage, with Johnson the leader. Whitey is tied with Grimm for the most pennants among the group with three. Murtaugh and Kelly each picked up the most world championships with two each. With 26 years, Mauch managed longest, collecting the most wins and losses, but none of his 26 clubs reached the post-season.
For more details on the nominees and voting, click here.
