December 8, 2019

Official National Baseball Hall of Fame Press Release

(SAN DIEGO) – Pioneer labour leader Marvin Miller and eight-time All-Star catcher Ted Simmons have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Modern Baseball Era Committee, it was announced today on MLB Network.

Simmons was named on 13 of 16 ballots (81.3 percent) while Miller was named on 12 of 16 ballots (75 percent), with both reaching the 75-percent threshold necessary for election. The Modern Baseball Era Committee considered a ballot of nine former players and one former executive whose contributions to the game were most significant from 1970-87. The Modern Baseball Era Committee held meetings today in San Diego, site of Baseball’s Winter Meetings.

Simmons is living. Miller passed away on Nov. 27, 2012, at the age of 95.

Miller and Simmons will be joined in the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 by any electees who emerge from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting, which will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Simmons played 21 seasons with the Cardinals, Brewers and Braves from 1968-88. The switch-hitting catcher compiled a .285 batting average, 2,472 hits, 483 doubles, 248 home runs and 1,389 RBI. He garnered MVP votes seven times in his career and finished among his league’s top 10 players in batting average six times. Simmons 193 hits in 1975 are the most of any catcher who caught at least 150 games in a season, and his 192 hits in 1973 rank second on that same list. Among those who played at least 50 percent of their games at catcher, Simmons ranks second in hits, second in doubles, second in RBI and fifth in runs scored.

Miller was elected as the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association in 1966 and quickly turned the union into a powerhouse. Within a decade, Miller had secured free agency for the players via the arbitration process when Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith played out their contracts following the 1975 season. By the time Miller retired in 1982, the average player salary was approximately 10 times what it was when he took over.

Simmons will be available to the media at a press conference at 3 p.m. P.T. Monday at Baseball’s Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. All credentialed media at the Winter Meetings are invited to attend.

The 16-member Modern Baseball Era Committee commissioned with the review of the 10-name ballot was comprised of Hall of Fame members George Brett, Rod Carew, Dennis Eckersley, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith and Robin Yount; major league executives Sandy Alderson, Dave Dombrowski, David Glass, Walt Jocketty, Doug Melvin and Terry Ryan; and veteran media members/historians Bill Center, Steve Hirdt, Jack O’Connell and Tracy Ringolsby. Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark served as the non-voting chairman of the Modern Baseball Era Committee.

Results of the Modern Baseball Era Ballot (12 votes needed for election): Ted Simmons (13 votes, 81.3%); Marvin Miller (12 votes, 75%); Dwight Evans (8 votes, 50%); Dave Parker (7 votes, 43.8%); Steve Garvey (6 votes, 37.5%); Lou Whitaker (6 votes, 37.5%); Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson and Dale Murphy each received three-or-fewer votes.