http://content.usatoday.com/communi...time-dont-rush-steinbrenner-in-hall-of-fame/1
Nov 09, 2010
Halftime: Don't rush Steinbrenner in Hall of Fame
Baseball's Hall of Fame seldom has lowered its standards for the sake of sentiment, and I'm hoping that record remains intact as the Veterans Committee scrutinizes
a 12-man ballot that includes
George Steinbrenner.
Judgment of Steinbrenner's credentials shouldn't get a boost because of the Yankee owner's death this year. If anything, voters should remember the honor will mean a lot more to the worthy candidates who are still alive, like
Marvin Miller.
And without union boss Miller
pioneering the way for the free-agent era Steinbrenner never would have been able to buy all those checkbook championships.
In terms of history and leadership, Miller is the best candidate on a slate that includes
288-game winner and operating-room icon
Tommy John and one-time World Series-winning
manager Billy Martin.
If Cooperstown is going to honor an owner, the next one in ought to be
Charlie Finley, the irascible tightwad who was
his own general manager and chief talent scout while the Oakland A's were winning three straight World Series.
Finley has never received the slightest whiff of approval from the Hall, because he rubbed so many people in baseball the wrong way. It will be a shame if that same fate befalls Miller