Fisk, Perez in the Hall; Garvey Is Still Outside

By LARRY STEWART

Jan. 12, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Carlton Fisk and Tony Perez were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and for the ninth time former Dodger Steve Garvey fell short of the necessary votes.

But Garvey, who finished sixth in the voting by the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, hasn’t given up hope.

“I’m an optimist,” he said. “Maybe the fact that Tony Perez made it and his numbers and mine are comparable will help.”

Perez made it in his ninth year of eligibility.

The two first basemen did have similar careers.

Garvey, in 19 seasons--14 with the Dodgers and five with the San Diego Padres--hit .294 with 2,599 hits. Perez, in 23 seasons--16 with the Cincinnati Reds--hit .279 with 2,732 hits.

Perez hit 379 homers and finished with 1,652 RBIs; Garvey had 272 homers and 1,308 RBIs.

Garvey was the 1974 National League most valuable player and finished in the top 10 four times.

Perez never won an MVP award, but he also finished in the top 10 four times.

Perez had seven 100-RBI seasons, Garvey had seven .300 seasons.

Garvey set a National League record by playing in 1,207 consecutive games, all with the Dodgers. He played seven seasons without missing a game. Garvey also was a 10-time All-Star, had 20-plus home runs six times, had 100-plus RBIs five times, won four Gold Gloves and had a .994 fielding percentage.

“I think what might hurt me is my accomplishments are so spread out,” he said. “If I had big numbers in one marquee category--500 home runs or 3,000 hits--it might be different.”

Garvey said the disappointment is less keen each year.

“The first year I was eligible, I was sitting around waiting for the call, but it never came,” he said. “The next year I was not quite so anxious, and so on through the years.”

Fisk, who caught the most games in major league history (2,226) and hit a record 351 of 376 career home runs while playing the position, received 397 votes among the record 499 ballots cast--375 were needed for election. Perez received 385 votes.

Jim Rice, Fisk’s former Boston Red Sox teammate, was third in the balloting with 257 votes, followed by Gary Carter (248), Bruce Sutter (192), Rich Gossage (166) and Garvey (160).

Tommy John was next at 135, followed by Jim Kaat (125), Dale Murphy (116), Jack Morris (111), Dave Parker (104), Bert Blyleven (87), Luis Tiant (86), Dave Concepcion (67), Keith Hernandez (52) and Ron Guidry (44).

Thirteen players who failed to receive 5% (25 votes) will be dropped from the ballot. In that group were Jeff Reardon (24), Bob Boone (21), Willie Wilson (10), Rick Sutcliffe (9), Kent Hrbek (5) and Charlie Hough (4).

Next year’s ballot will include first-time candidates Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield, Lou Whitaker and Don Mattingly.

Fisk and Perez will forever be linked by home runs in one of the most memorable World Series.

Fisk is well remembered for waving his 12th-inning homer fair in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Perez’s two-run shot off Bill Lee the next night, which helped Cincinnati rally from a three-run deficit to the title, is largely overlooked.

Perez became the first Cuban to make the Hall.

“It doesn’t matter how long I had to wait,” he said. “The first thing I thought of was calling my mother in Cuba. The family was there too. They started jumping around. My mother was crying.”

“I’ll be happy and proud to be standing up there in July at the same podium as he is,” Fisk said.

Fisk, who fell 43 votes short last year in his first time on the ballot, received 79.6% and made it with 22 votes to spare.

Perez, 71 votes shy last year when Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were chosen, got 77.2% and was elected with 10 votes to spare.

Fisk, who played from 1969-93, and Perez, active from 1964-86, will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 23.

Sparky Anderson, who managed the Reds to Series titles in 1975 and ‘76, is a leading contender for election by the veterans’ committee, which meets Feb. 29 at Tampa, Fla.

“That would be something special, if I went in with Sparky at the same time,” Perez said.

Another former Dodger first baseman, Gil Hodges, whose numbers are comparable to Perez’s, is also a candidate to be voted in by the veterans’ committee.

Fisk, who spent 11 seasons with the Red Sox and 13 with the Chicago White Sox, acknowledged his Game 6 homer off Pat Darcy in 1975 was his defining moment, especially for NBC director Harry Coyle’s reaction shot of Fisk using body English to wave the ball fair as it traveled down the left-field line. When it finally hit the foul pole for a home run, he jumped, his arms thrust in the air.

“A lot of people who viewed that game realized we’re all people and we run the full gamut of emotions, maybe even more intensely than the fans,” Fisk said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Comparing career statistics of new Hall of Fame electees Carlton Fisk and Tony Perez to players who had similar careers:

First Basemen

Player: Tony Perez

Yrs.: 23

Games: 2,777

Avg.: .279

HRs: 379

RBIs: 1,652

Player: Steve Garvey