Managers Who Won World Series Headline Latest Hall Of Fame Ballot

Four former managers headline the eight-man Baseball Hall of Fame ballot of the non-players Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, and Lou Piniella will all be considered for the Class of 2024 induction class when the committee votes at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville Dec. 3.

Also on the ballot are executives Hank Peters and Bill White plus umpires Joe West and Ed Montague. All but Peters are still alive.

This year’s vote considers candidates whose main contribution to the game came as non-players after 1980. To win election, a candidate must receive 75 per cent of the ballots, or a minimum of 12 votes from the 16-member panel.

The ballot was compiled by a Historical Overview Committee consisting of writers and historians and selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Winners will be enshrined in Cooperstown next July 21 along with anyone elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in January. The Class of 2023 had only two inductees, Scott Rolen from the BBWAA and Fred McGriff from the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote.

Anyone elected to the Hall of Fame will realize the extra windfall of adding the initials “HoF” after every autograph they sign and receiving more compensation from every public appearance they make.

The four managers on the new ballot have a combined five world championships on their resumes.

Gaston won a pair for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992-93, plus two other AL East crowns, while becoming the first black manager to win a World Series.

Johnson, a two-time Manager of the Year, won a world championship with the 1986 New York Mets but also reached the playoffs in five other seasons. In addition to the Mets, he served as manager of the Dodgers, Orioles, Reds, and Nationals during a 17-year career as a field general.

The fiery Piniella managed 23 years, winning the World Series with the 1990 Reds and guiding the 2001 Seattle Mariners to 116 victories, an American League record. His teams reached the playoffs seven times.

Leyland managed 22 years, finished first six times, and won the World Series with the 1997 Florida (now Miami) Marlins. He was named Manager of the Year three times and was runner-up for the award in three other seasons. In 2017, he managed Team USA to the World Baseball Classic crown.

As a key front office figure, Peters found success with the Athletics, laying the foundation for its three straight World Series wins in the ‘70s, and Orioles, where he won a pennant in 1979 and a World Series four years later. His 42-year career in various front offices began with the defunct St. Louis Browns but also took him to Cleveland, where his deals helped the team reach the World Series in 1995.

White, a fancy-fielding first baseman who later became a long-term broadcaster, was the last president of the National League (1989-94) before helping to consolidate the two leagues under the single umbrella of Major League Baseball. Before his term ended, he expedited the addition of the Marlins and the Rockies to the Senior Circuit.

West, also known as “Country Joe,” umpired a record 5,460 games starting in 1976. He worked five Wild Card games, eight Division Series, 10 League Championship Series, six World Series, and three All-Star Games.

Montague, a National League umpire whose career began in 1974, was crew chief for the umpiring teams who worked the World Series in 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2007. He also served in four All-Star games.

To qualify for the ballot, former managers and umpires had to serve at least 10 seasons and be retired for the last five (candidates aged 65 and over are eligible six months after retirement). Executive candidates 70 or older are eligible regardless of their position or work status – even if they are still serving.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers/Executives/Umpires is one of three groups in the Era Committee process, which provides an avenue for Hall of Fame consideration to managers, umpires and executives, as well as players retired for more than 15 seasons. The Contemporary Baseball Era features two separate ballots: one for managers, executives and umpires (considered this year) and one for players (to be considered next in the fall of 2025).

A third off-shoot of the erstwhile Veterans Committee, the Classic Baseball Era, will consider candidates whose main contributions to the game came before 1980. It will meet for the first time next fall. All three committees were created in 2022.

All ballots, as well as the committees that create them and vote on them, are refreshed for each cycle. Current membership of the Baseball Hall of Fame stands at 342, including 270 former players, 40 executives/pioneers, 22 managers, and 10 umpires. The BBWAA has chosen 136 members while the various veterans committees have elected 180.

There are 75 living members, with 92-year-old Willie Mays the oldest.

Results of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be announced live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 3. Both the ballot and the committees responsible for vetting and voting are created anew for each election.