Veterans ballot for 2007 - who do you vote for?

Question

Here's who is eligible:

Buzzie Bavasi
Barney Dreyfuss
John Fetzer
Bob Howsam
Ewing Kaufmann
Bowie Kuhn
John McHale
Marvin Miller
Watler O'Malley
Gabe Paul

Of that list, who do you think you should be inducted? Please give reason(s) why you would vote for your choices.

Answer 1

Whether or not people/owners liked him, Miller was one of the most influential people in the game, and deserves to be in for that reason.

Dreyfuss was one of the most successful executives around the turn of the 20th century. He had a major influence in the creation of the World's Series, and his Pirates were one of the dominant teams in the early years of the modern era.

Howsam was the architect of the "Big Red Machine" of the 70s, engineering the trades that brought George Foster, Joe Morgan, Cesar Geronimo and Jack Billingham to Cincinnati and bringing in guys who enjoyed success in a Reds' unform in the 70s, like Fredie Norman, Clay Kirby, Clay Carroll, Rawley Eastwick, Ken Griffey, Sr., Dave Concepcion and others. Although it has no bearing, he and his family were among the founding members of the old AFL, as owners of the Denver Broncos.

Answer 2

Marvin Miller and Bowie Kuhn for the same reason; they were both so important to the development of Baseball into the great game that we see today...both on seperate sides of the aisle but so influential in the standards that we play by today. I think O'Malley was a classy owner and a guy that deserves recognition for the great things he did in LA with the Dodgers! Kaufmann is the last great owner that KC had and the reason why they had such a great run in the 70's and 80's!

Answer 3

admittedly, I don't know everyone on that list; but I'd put in O'Malley.

Sure, they hate him in Brooklyn for moving the Dodgers, but here are some positive things about him:

- Branch Rickey gets all the credit for crossing the color barrier and signing Jackie; but it was as much O'Malley's decision as Rickey's
- Even though he crushed the hearts of Brooklyn-ites, he did expand MLB to the West Coast (by convincing the Giants to go out West with him)
- He actually had the first plans for an indoor stadium - years ahead of the Astro-dome. It was going to be in Brooklyn too, but like every idea he had to improve his grounds (like the fact that they had no parking available), he was shot down by the city
- He was a business man more than a baseball man. He and Rickey parted ways in the 50s (Rickey became GM for Pittsburgh) but the Dodgers managed to do just fine without him.

Answer 4

Definitely Bavasi, McHale, O'Malley, and Paul. Bowie Kuhn tarnishes the list and shouldn't be on it. Other than Bud Selig, he's the worst commissioner the game of baseball has ever tolerated.

Answer 5

In general, I would not vote for owners. O'Malley being more of a business-man than baseball man is one more reason to vote against him.
The execs above also are nothing to be excited about.
I would vote in Miller, in part because it would piss off owners so much. He also was instrumental in getting more of the share of the money to the players--who earn it--instead of the owners who more and more don't even own their parks and who have little real connection to the game.