2020: The MLB Hall of Fame’s doleful year
By Bill Felber
Seven members of the MLB Hall of Fame have died this year, with Phil Niekro being the latest
The Baseball Hall of Fame has never experienced a year like 2020. And if it is very fortunate, it never will again, either.
Forget the cancelled induction ceremony and the greatly diminished crowds, both brought about by Covid-19. This weekend’s death of Phil Niekro brings to seven the number of baseball immortals who went the way of all flesh this calendar year. It marks the worst death toll since the Hall was created.
Beyond that, five of the seven were first-ballot selections, and a sixth — Whitey Ford – was elevated in his second year on the ballot.
As a group, their contributions to the game’s lore may be unmatched. They won a collective 14 World Series rings and 1,116 games, got 8,547 base hits, struck out 12,055 opposing batters, captured eight stolen base crowns, one batting title, a Rookie of The Year, three MVPs and six Cy Young Awards.
All Star Game appearances? Don’t even ask. OK, ask. There were 68 of them.
It is probable that never in the Hall’s history has so much of its history been taken from it in one year. In fact only twice in that history have as many as five inductees died in the same year. And it is a subject for strong debate whether the loss during either of those other two years was a deep and uniformly talented.
Here’s a look back at the six most dolorous years since the Hall was established in the mid-1930s.