Turns out if you're a former player and die then you are placed on the Hall of Fame ballot for that year. This recently happened to Rod Beck and Darryl Kile.
Track Topic
: rss
Topic: Hall of Fame Provision
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I would vote for Rod Beck into the Baseball Partying Hall of Fame. I think Mickey Mantle would be the first person ever inducted.
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You would need to include Billy Martin with Mantle. The were the two closest drinking buddies in baseball history.
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I would have loved to grab a drink with Billy Martin. Man those Yankee teams had some heavy boozers. Too bad you don't see that nowadays.
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Getting back to the original post, I'm pretty sure Roberto Clemente was elected immediately after his death, and not 5 years after "retirement".
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Good point. I can't think of many other players that died so early in their career as well as being Hall of Fame worthy.