Hodges, Santo Top Veteran's Hall Ballot

Gil Hodges and Ron Santo top the players' ballot and Doug Harvey and Marvin Miller head the officials' hopefuls in the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee vote to be announced Tuesday.

Since the Veterans Committee was revamped for the 2003 election, no one has been chosen by the voters _ mostly living Hall of Famers.

Players appear on the ballot every two years, and officials go on a composite ballot every four years. Twenty-seven players are on this years ballot, along with among 15 managers, executives and umpires.

Two years ago, Hodges and Santo each fell eight votes shy of the necessary 75 percent. They both were picked on 52 of 80 ballots (65 percent), followed by Tony Oliva (45 votes), Jim Kaat (43), Joe Torre (36), Maury Wills (26), Vada Pinson (23), Luis Tiant (20) and Roger Maris (19).

Harvey, a former NL umpire, topped the 2003 composite ballot with 48 votes, 12 short of the needed 75 percent. Former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley had 38 votes, and Miller, the former head of the players' association, had 35.

Lefty O'Doul, Al Oliver, Cecil Travis and Mickey Vernon were added to this year's players' ballot, and Elston Howard and Smoky Joe Wood were dropped.

Holdovers also include Dick Allen, Bobby Bonds, Ken Boyer, Rocky Colavito, Wes Ferrell, Curt Flood, Joe Gordon, Mickey Lolich, Sparky Lyle, Marty Marion, Carl Mays, Minnie Minoso, Thurman Munson and Don Newcombe.

The composite ballot also includes Buzzie Bavasi, August Busch Jr., Harry Dalton, Charles O. Finley, Whitey Herzog, Bowie Kuhn, Billy Martin, Gabe Paul, Paul Richards, Bill White, Dick Williams and Phil Wrigley.

The 84 eligible voters on the Veterans Committee include 61 living Hall of Famers, 14 Frick winners selected for major contributions to baseball broadcasting, eight members Spink winners picked for meritorious contributions to baseball writing and one holdover from the previous Veterans Committee.

The old Veterans Committee, which had 15 members in most years, was criticized for cronyism. The Hall changed the system after Bill Mazeroski, a career .260 hitter with a great glove _ and the homer that won Game 7 of the 1960 World Series _ was elected in 2001.