Should Marvin Miller and/or George Steinbrenner be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF)? Both appear on the 2010 Expansion Era ballot. Voting occurs December 5^th with the announcement on December 6^th. The SABR Business of Baseball committee polled its members to find out what their votes are.

In a nutshell, we found that committee members believe Marvin Miller should be elected to the HOF, but that George Steinbrenner should not be elected to the HOF.

The survey questions are reprinted at the end of this article. 83 SABR Business of Baseball committee members responded to the survey. 22 committee members voted “Yes” to electing both Miller and Steinbrenner to the HOF while 14 committee members voted “No” to electing Miller or Steinbrenner.  Survey numbers/percentages may differ per interpretation because of skipped questions.

67 (80.7%) of committee members responding to the survey felt that Miller should be elected to the HOF while 16 (19.3%) felt Miller should not be elected. 46 (59.7%) committee members self-identified as pro-labor while 21 (40.3%) indicated that they do not self-identify as pro-labor. Of the 46 committee members self-identifying as pro-labor, 41 (89.1%) felt that Miller should be in the HOF. Of the 31 committee members self-identifying as not pro-labor, just 20 (64.5%) felt that Miller should be elected to the HOF. There was also some indication that those responding more immediately (approximately within 36 hours of the survey announcement) were more likely to believe that Miller should be elected to the HOF (43 of 50 committee members or 86%). A potential corresponding measure, those committee members spending more than two minutes to complete the overall survey, were also stronger believers that Millers should be elected to the HOF (52 of 60 or 86%).

Stories or comments around why Miller should or should not be elected to the HOF were based on the following themes:

·         Miller changed baseball – words and phrases like evolution, influence, revolutionized, significant impact and contribution were all used in qualitative descriptions.

·         Several members cited that is difficult to reconcile a HOF where Bowie Kuhn is inducted, but Marvin Miller is not inducted.

·         There was agreement that Miller is responsible for the current salary structure in MLB, but diverging opinions over whether or not Miller’s influence has resulted in improvement within the game.

 

24 (29.3%) of committee members responding to the survey felt that Steinbrenner should be elected to the HOF while 58 (70.7%) felt Steinbrenner should not be elected. 22 (27.8%) committee members self-identified as a Yankees fan while 57 (72.2%) indicated that they do not self-identify as a Yankees fan. Yankees fans only felt some more justification for Steinbrenner being elected to the HOF than non-Yankee fans (10 of 22 Yankees fans or 45.5% felt Steinbrenner should be elected while 13 of 56 or non-Yankee fans felt Steinbrenner should be elected to the HOF).

Stories or comments around why Steinbrenner should or should not be elected to the HOF were based on the following themes:

·         Steinbrenner was an influential owner who garnered much fame.

·         Some committee members felt that Steinbrenner is HOF caliber, but should not be elected on the 2010 ballot.

·         There were considerable responses comparing Steinbrenner to other owners in the HOF or not in the HOF – for example, if Charles Comiskey and Walter O’Malley are in the HOF, then Steinbrenner probably belongs; Charlie Finley should be inducted prior to Steinbrenner.

·         Committee members were dissuaded by Steinbrenner’s association with Howard Spira, spying on Dave Winfield, and subsequent suspension that prevented him from being closely involved when the Yankees build the foundation for their recent winning teams.

·         Several committee members cited incidents about Steinbrenner’s poor treatment of people associated with the Yankees.

·         There was some argument that owners, Steinbrenner or other owners, should not be in the HOF.

·         There was notable discrepancy among committee members over whether or not Steinbrenner’s accomplishments served “the game” or the Yankees. Additionally, even for those committee members who seemed to indicate that Steinbrenner changed “the game”, there was an issue over whether or not he improved “the game”.

In summary, SABR Business of Baseball committee members, often bringing a higher level of historical awareness than the average fan, cited a number of different reasons for electing or not electing Marvin Miller and George Steinbrenner to the HOF.

2010 Hall of Fame Expansion Era Hall Ballot – Executives

Survey Questions

Should Marvin Miller be elected to the Hall of Fame on the 2010 Expansion Era Ballot?

Do you consider yourself "pro-labor"?

Should George Steinbrenner be elected to the Hall of Fame on the 2010 Expansion Era Ballot?

Are you a Yankees fan?