This years’ College Baseball Hall of Fame list includes some of the controversial names in the Major League Baseball. The 10 nominees for these years’ Hall of Fame was selected by the Lubbock which is a Texas-based College Baseball Foundation. The criteria used by the foundation in choosing the nominees were based on what players and coaches achieved during their college careers. From the dozens of nominees only 10 were selected. The committee is composed of more than 110 voters who include retired and active coaches, previous inductees and the media. In an interview by AP, Hall co-chairman Jeff Chase said that the class is not short on household names in college baseball. He said that this group was dominated by position players as compared to last year where the inductees were mostly pitchers.

The list of inductees were two time MVP Joe Carter and pitcher Darren Dreifort of Wichita State, pitcher Kirk Dressendorfer and catcher Keith Moreland of Texas, shortstop Barry Larkin; of Michigan, and second baseman Todd Walker of LSU. Slugger Rafael Palmeiro of Mississippi, which was one of the players involved in steroid use was also included.

The coaches who were elected to the Hall of Fame included Ron Polk; who is currently an assistant at UAB and is also the coach of Palmeiro. Coach Gordie Gillespie of University of St. Francis was also in the list. He is considered as the coach with the most wins in college baseball history. At the age of 82 he has already achieved 1,797 wins and is now on his 57th season. Another coach, Branch Rickey who was a former player and coach at Ohio Wesleyan and Michigan was also elected. He was known for signing Jackie Robinson to a contract with the Brooklyn Dodger.

Rafael Palmeiro became controversial in the league when he was invited in the congressional inquiry four years ago but denied any involvement in steroid use. However, after a few months he was tested positive for steroids. He was one of the only four players in the Major League history with 500 homers and 3,000 hits. Just fifteen days after reaching 3,000 hits in the Major League, he was given suspension for 10 games for testing positive for steroids. He was the first baseball star that was publicly identified in August 2005. With this controversy, other critics believe that Palmeiro’s chances to be elected in a Hall of Fame is very nil.

Here are some of the accomplishments of the inductees as reported in the MLB.com and shreveporttimes.com:

Joe Carter - led his team, Blue Jays to the championship in the 1993 World Series against the Phillies. He made a walk-off homer in that match. He is also a 2 time MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference with Wichita State.

Todd Walker - an MVP of the 1993 College World Series and led his team to two College World Series and won the national championship that season.

Barry Larkin - is a 12-time National League All-Star with the Reds. The best hitter for Michigan. Helped the Wolverines to enter the College World Series twice.

Rafael Palmeiro - the first Triple Crown winner in Southeastern Conference history. His achievement includes 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. Played in the Major Baseball League for 20 years and a 4 time major league All-Star.

The foundation will honor the inductees during a celebration in Lubbock on July 3.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS