COOPERSTOWN – (Staff and Wire Services) – Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton became the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday night, when results of the balloting conducted by voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America was announced by president Josh Rawitch at the plaque gallery inside the museum.

Beltre, a star third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers from 1998-2018, earned a resounding 95.1 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot.

Fellow first-ballot inductee Mauer, who played his entire career for his hometown Minnesota Twins from 2004-18, garnered 76.1 percent. His 293 votes were four more than the minimum needed to reach the 75 percent necessary for enshrinement.

Helton, a slugging first baseman who spent his 17-season career with the Colorado Rockies from 1997-2013, received 79.7 percent of the vote in his sixth season of eligibility.

Beltre, Mauer and Helton will be inducted along with former manager Jim Leyland — who was elected via the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Dec. 3 — in a ceremony scheduled for July 21 in Cooperstown.

Beltre and Mauer are the first pair of first-ballot inductees since Mariano Rivera and the late Roy Halladay were enshrined in 2019. The three-person class elected by the writers is also the largest since 2019, when Mike Mussina and Edgar Martinez were also elected.

Billy Wagner just missed with 73.8 percent of the vote in his penultimate season of eligibility. Gary Sheffield, in his 10th and final year on the ballot, finished at 63.9 percent.

Carlos Beltran, in his second year on the ballot, received 57.1 percent of the vote — up from 46.5 percent last year, when many believed he was being punished for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Chase Utley (28.8 percent) led the remaining debut candidates.

Beltre, the only third baseman to finish with at least 400 homers and 3,000 hits, is sure to wear a Rangers hat on his plaque after he concluded his career with an impressive eight-year stint in Arlington, Texas, that solidified his first-ballot status. While with Texas, he made three All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and finished in the top 10 in the American League MVP balloting four times while hitting .304 with 199 homers and 1,277 hits.

Beltre finished his 21-year MLB career as a .286 batter with 477 homers, 1,707 RBIs, 3,166 hits and 848 walks.

Mauer played all 15 seasons with the Twins and built his Hall of Fame case while spending his first 10 seasons behind the plate. The native of nearby St. Paul won three batting titles and three Gold Gloves as well as the AL MVP in 2009, when he set career highs with a .365 average, 28 homers and 96 RBIs. Mauer spent his final five seasons at first base following a series of concussions.

Another one-team icon, Helton earned induction on his sixth year on the ballot and will become the second Colorado Rockies player in the Hall of Fame, joining former teammate Larry Walker in Cooperstown. Helton batted above .300 in his first 10 full MLB seasons and finished his career with a .316 average along with 369 homers. He led the NL with a .372 average and 147 RBIs in 2000.

Wagner’s 422 saves rank sixth all-time. The diminutive left-hander made seven All-Star teams and averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest figure ever among pitchers to throw at least 900 innings.

Sheffield, a slugger known for his bat waggle and ferocious yet controlled swing, hit 509 homers and finished in the top 10 of the MVP balloting six times for five different teams.

Andruw Jones, a defensive whiz as well as a potent batter, received 61.6 percent on his seventh year on the ballot.

–By Jerry Beach, Field Level Media

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BALTIMORE – (Staff and Wire Services) – Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles, the man they called the “Human Vacuum Cleaner” for his ability to gobble up tough ground balls at the “hot” corner of third base, died at the age of 86.

The Associated Press called out Robinson’s “deft glove work and folksy manner (which) made him one of the most beloved and accomplished athletes in Baltimore (sports) history.

The Orioles announced his death in a joint statement with Robinson’s family Tuesday evening. The statement did not say how Robinson died.

Coming of age before the free agent era, Robinson spent his entire 23-year career with the Orioles. He almost single-handedly helped Baltimore defeat Cincinnati in the 1970 World Series and homered in Game 1 of the Orioles’ 1966 sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers for their first crown.

Robinson participated in 18 All-Star Games, won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves and earned the 1964 AL Most Valuable Player award after batting .318 with 28 home runs and a league-leading 118 RBIs.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente and Some Notes

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – On the National Baseball Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, NY, David Ortiz will be rightfully enshrined along with honorees Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, and Buck O’Neil. Earlier in the week, on the 100th birthday of Mrs. Jackie Robinson (Rachel Isum), Major League Baseball played its annual All-Star Game in Los Angeles with a grand salute to Rachel and Jackie, Dodgers Blue through and through. It was terrific.

But I’ve got a place in my heart and thoughts for three of the best position players I’ve ever seen play and they are: Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente (pictured above).

What an amazing honor for the seven gentlemen being inducted to the Hall this weekend to have their names alongside the greatest players the game has ever seen. From Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb to Tom Seaver and Derek Jeter, the names of the greatest ballplayers will live on forever.

In no way am I suggesting Baseball do anything differently to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Robinson, but as a true fan and admirer ofRoberto Clemente, I’d like to see the Office of the Commissioner honor the great No. 21 with a day of service every December 31 or January 1st and once during the MLB summer season to recognize the charity work Clemente accomplished and the code he lived by each and every day of his short 38 years on earth.

Clemente’s tragic death is one of the saddest stories in the history of baseball, or in our lifetimes, really. In December of the off-season of 1972, Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, experienced a massive earthquake, Clemente immediately went to work arranging emergency relief flights for supplies and medical evacuations. He soon learned, however, that the aid packages on the first three flights had been diverted by corrupt officials of government and they never reaching victims of the quake.

Clemente, himself, decided to accompany the next relief flight, hoping that his presence would ensure that the aid would be delivered to the survivors. The airplane he chartered for a New Year’s Eve ‘72 /‘73 flight, a Douglas DC-7 cargo plane, had a history of mechanical problems and was short the proper flight personnel, missing both a flight engineer and co-pilot. The plane was also overloaded by 4,200 pounds and the weight caused it to crash into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff on December 31, 1972. The cause was due to engine failure.

A few days after the crash, the body of the pilot and part of the fuselage of the plane were found. An empty flight case apparently belonging to Clemente was the only personal item recovered from the plane. Clemente’s teammate and close friend in catcher Manny Sanguillén was the only member of the Pittsburgh Pirates not to attend the memorial service. The Pirates catcher chose instead to dive into the waters where Clemente’s plane had crashed in an effort to find his teammate. The bodies of Clemente and three others who were also on the four-engine plane were never recovered.

Clemente was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in a special ceremony in 1973, the Hall waiving the mandatory waiting period of five years. In 1973, the Commissioner’s Achievement Award was re-named the Roberto Clemente Award and it is presented annually to a player, team or group who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team,” as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media.

Each MLB team nominates a player for consideration. Last season, Nelson Cruz was honored by Baseball and presented with the award during the Postseason.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: First, some business: Fitness company Whoop Inc. is the latest Massachusetts-based technology play to lay-off workers with the uncertainty of the economy stuck with increasing pandemic key indicators. The company, valued at $1 billion in October 2020, confirmed to the Boston Business Journal on Friday it “reduced the size of its corporate team by 15% and reorganized multiple departments. Impacted employees worked across all departments and all levels.” … Back in late 2020, Whoophoped to increase its workforce to 700+ from 330 in place at the time. Sixty percent of the staff was based in Boston, near Fenway Park.

ORIGINAL TEE: There will be a Noon ET shotgun start today as The Original Tee celebrity golf tournament returns at Crystal Springs Resort and Wild Turkey Golf Club, in Hamburg, New Jersey. Original Tee is a culture club that amplifies inclusion in golf by preserving the history of the game’s diverse Black pioneers and celebrating other iconic golf enthusiasts who are ambassadors of excellence. In honor of its 23rd year, OTGC will present Miami Heat champion, USA Basketball Olympic Gold Medalist, FIBA World Champion, NBA Legend, philanthropist, and golf enthusiast Alonzo Mourning with its prestigious True Original Award.

DUKE OF DIMWIT: The move is to “let it go,” but since the great Jerry Westchose to volley-in on the dimwitted comments of J.J. Redick from this past April, it’s cannon fodder once more. Let’s hit the rewind button to note that Redick was comparing the players from one NBA era to another, an impossible concept, to say the least. Redick was noting that the talented players of NBA yesteryear, namely Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics, were being guarded by ‘fireman and plumbers’ interjecting that the low paid NBA pioneers of the 1950s and 1960s had to work ‘real jobs’ in the off season to support their families. Redick conveniently overlooked the fact that the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, nevermind West, John Havlicek, Jerry Sloan, Walt Frazierand dozens of other tough-nosed defenders, were among the greatest players the sport of basketball has ever seen.

Now, Cousy and Bill Sharman might’ve struggled to advance the ball past Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in their prime, but so did John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek for arguments sake.

Regardless, West – while doing an interview Friday – took exception and defended Cousy saying, “I know J.J. just a little bit, he’s a very smart kid and everything, but tell me what his career looked like?” West said on Sirius XM NBA Radio.

“What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 points a game in the league. Somewhere along the way, numbers count. J.J. certainly wasn’t going to guard the elite players. So you can nitpick anyone.

“The only reason I’m talking about him is because he was not an elite player, but he was a very good player, but he had a place on the team because of the ability to shoot the ball.

“Winning is all that mattered, that’s what drove me,” added West. “I subtly got better every year. We didn’t have the facilities to get better. We had to work in the summers to support our family.

“JJ should be very thankful that he’s made as much money as he’s made, and (to say that about) Bob Cousy, whom I played against a couple of years, not very long — I just think it’s disrespectful.”

To wrap this in a bow, a simple question. Why is it that the baseball players of today highly respect the abilities of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, and Roberto Clemente – along with many of the great pitchers of yesteryear like Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax or Tom Seaver, yet the basketball players – like Redick – can’t imagine that the likes of Russell, Chamberlain, Baylor or West would dominate in the NBA of 2022 much the way they did in the NBA of 1965 or 70?

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