For Many, There’s a Reason Why Cepeda Waits

Orlando Cepeda has been eligible for entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame for six years. In that time, he hasn’t come close.

Last year, he received 124 votes from the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, his highest total to date. This year, he got 114. In previous years, his totals were 48, 77, 42 and 59. To be inducted, a player must be named on 75% of the ballots cast. This year 395 writers voted, making the magic number 296.

“They are trying to use my problems against me,” Cepeda said, alluding to his prison term. “Trying to get in (to the Hall) is like trying to run for office. It’s politics. We’ll see what happens. Time will tell.”

The reaction of a cross-section of the nation’s sportswriters who vote on prospective Hall of Fame members:

Jack Lang (New York Daily News and secretary-treasurer of the BWAA): “It took Don Drysdale 10 years to get in, but then he never did any time. The best thing he (Cepeda) can do is shut up and maybe people will forget he got arrested. The selection process says, ‘Candidates shall be chosen on the basis of playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, their contributions to the teams on which they played and to baseball in general.’ If Orlando Cepeda thinks smuggling drugs into this country is an asset to baseball, then maybe the 114 who voted for him ought to be questioned.”

Jim Murray (Los Angeles Times): “His drug conviction should not affect the vote as far as I’m concerned. Some guys may feel that way. But in my case, that was not a factor at all. It would not sway me. Basically, I think it (Hall of Fame vote) should be determined by what you did on the field. Now the Heisman Trophy (for the best college football player) should also be based on good character, I think, someone kids can emulate. I don’t think Hall of Fame members, however, are necessarily people that should be held up as a model for youth. God knows, there are members of the Hall who are not a model for youth.”

Dick Young (New York Post): “I like him as a person and as a player, but once he got tied up with drugs, I would not vote for him. Any time you have a Hall where kids look up to the people in it, you cannot have someone involved with drugs.”

Peter Gammons (Boston Globe): “The drug conviction hurts him. No question about it. It’s not fair. It wouldn’t affect me, but it definitely does hurt him. The acceptance of Latin ballplayers has been fairly slow anyway. A lot of people say no way they’d vote for him because of what happened. He would be a borderline case if he was Francis of Assisi. With all the injuries in his peak years, he would probably not have made it anyway. With what happened, there is no chance.”