Santo, Kaat among Golden Era candidates for Baseball HOF

Cooperstown, NY – Former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo game winner Jim Kaat headline the 10 candidates on the Golden Era ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The finalists will be discussed and voted upon by the 16-member Golden Era committee on December 5 at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas. A candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote to earn induction into the Hall of Fame for 2012.

Joining Santo and Kaat on the ballot will be former players Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva, Luis Tiant, Minnie Minoso, Allie Reynolds and Ken Boyer, as well as former owner Charlie Finley and former executive Buzzie Bavasi.

Santo, who died this past January, played 15 seasons at third base for the Cubs and Chicago White Sox, earning nine All-Star Game selections with five Gold Glove Awards. He hit 342 home runs and drove in 1,331 runs.

Kaat pitched 25 seasons with the Senators, Twins, White Sox, Phillies, Yankees and Cardinals over the course of four different decades. The lefty was named to three All-Star Games and helped the Cardinals win the 1982 World Series.

Hodges was a first baseman for the great Dodger teams in the 1950s and 1960s before ending his 18-year career with the Mets. He was named to eight All-Star Games, helping the Dodgers to seven National League pennants and two World Series titles. As a manager, Hodges led the 1969 Mets to the World Series title.

Oliva played 15 seasons for the Twins, winning three batting titles and leading the American League in hits five times. He was named to eight All-Star Games and won the 1964 AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Tiant won at least 20 games in four of his 19 big league seasons with the Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates and Angels, finishing his career with 229 wins and a 3.30 ERA while earning three All-Star Game selections.

Minoso played 17 seasons with the Indians, White Sox, Cardinals and Senators, earning seven All-Star Game selections and three Gold Glove Awards as an outfielder. A native of Cuba, he blazed a trail for Latin American players in the big leagues starting in the 1950s.

Reynolds pitched in 13 seasons with the Indians and Yankees, winning 182 games while earning five All-Star Game berths. He pitched in six World Series, leading the Yankees to six Fall Classic titles in seven years while posting a 7-2 record with four saves and a 2.79 ERA in 15 World Series games.

Boyer played 15 seasons as a third baseman with the Cardinals, Mets, White Sox and Dodgers, earning seven All-Star Game selections and winning the 1964 National League Most Valuable Player Award en route to leading the Cardinals to a World Series championship.

Finley owned the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics from 1960 through 1980, building a team that won five American League West titles, three AL pennants and three World Series titles between 1971 and 1975.

Bavasi spent 17 seasons as the Dodgers general manager from 1951-67, leading his team to four World Series titles and eight National League pennants. He then served in similar capacities for the Padres (1968-77) and Angels (1978-84).

The Golden Era candidates are comprised of players, managers, executives and umpires from 1947-72. Those candidates are considered for Hall election every three years.

Other veterans periods considered on a rotating three-year schedule are expansion (1973-present) and pre-integration (1871-1946).