Gil Hodges - Hall of Fame Consideration

Hall of Fame Consideration

There has been controversy over the fact that Gil Hodges has not been elected to membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was considered to be one of the finest players of the 1950s, and graduated to managerial success with the Mets. However, critics of his candidacy point out that despite his offensive prowess, he never led the NL in any offensive category such as home runs, RBI, or slugging average, and never came close to winning an MVP award. The latter fact may have been partially due to his having many of his best seasons (1950–51, 1954, 1957) in years when the Dodgers did not win the pennant. In addition, his career batting average of .273 was likely frowned on by many Hall of Fame voters in his early years of eligibility; at the time of his death, only five players had ever been elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America with batting averages below .300 – all of them catchers or shortstops, and only one (Rabbit Maranville) who had an average lower than Hodges' or who had not won an MVP award. By the time his initial eligibility expired in 1983, the BBWAA had elected only two more players with averages below .274 – third basemen Eddie Mathews (.271), who hit over 500 HRs, leading the NL twice, and Brooks Robinson (.267), who won an MVP award and set numerous defensive records.

Nonetheless, Hodges was the prototype of the modern slugging first baseman, and while the post-1961 expansion era has resulted in numerous players surpassing his home run and RBI totals, he remains the only one of the 21 players who had 300 or more home runs by the time of his retirement who has not yet been elected (all but Chuck Klein and Johnny Mize were elected by the BBWAA). Some observers have also suggested that his death in 1972 removed him from public consciousness, whereas other ballplayers – including numerous Dodger greats – were in the public eye for years afterward, receiving the exposure which assist in their election. He did, however, collect 3010 votes cast by the BBWAA during his initial eligibility period from 1969 to 1983 – a record for an unselected player. (Jim Rice had surpassed that total in 2007, but was eventually voted into the Hall in January 2009.) Hodges has been regularly considered for selection by the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee since 1987, falling one vote short of election in 1993, when no candidates were selected.

In the years since Hodges' retirement, however, the Hall of Fame has refused admittance to many players with similar or even superior records. In November 2011, Hodges was placed onto the Golden Era Veterans Committee list for consideration into the Hall of Fame. The voting by a 16 member committee took place on December 4–5 in Dallas, Texas. Ron Santo was elected with 15 votes, Jim Kaat had 10 votes, and Hodges and Minnie Miñoso were tied with 9 votes. Hodges next chance at the Golden Era Veterans Committee is in late 2014.

A 52 ft.x16ft. mural was dedicated in Hodges' hometown of Petersburg, Indiana in 2009. The mural was painted by artist Randy Hedden and includes pictures of Hodges as Brooklyn Dodger, manager of the New York Mets, and batting at Ebbets Field. The mural, located at the intersection of state highways 61 and 57, is meant to "raise awareness of Hodges' absence from the Baseball Hall of Fame."