Probably the most unhappy people in the universe about Wednesday’s announcement that the Baseball Writers Association of America failed to vote in any modern era players are the merchants of Cooperstown. Hall of Fame weekend is the biggest stretch of good business days in Cooperstown. The downtown of the small town in upstate New York is overwhelmed by baseball shoppers who wish to schmooze with Hall of Famers signing autographs and buying souvenirs of the national pastime. But next July? Forget about Christmas shopping, the hobby shops and memorabilia stores will probably seem more like Christmas day–closed for lack of interest. (more…)

Jacob Ruppert, Hank O’Day, and Deacon White, all of them deceased long ago, will enter the Hall come July even if they are overshadowed by whatever happens in the balloting involving players who were caught up in baseball’s steroids era. (more…)

One of 10 baseball figures on the ballot for the Pre-Integration Era Committee to consider, Ruppert was not a pure baseball man, but a rich businessman who bought a major share of the Yankees in 1915 and ruled them till his death in 1939. On Ruppert’s watch, the once hopeless club known as the Highlanders matured into one of the best in the history of the game. (more…)