From Harrisburg to Cooperstown
Vladimir Guerrero in 1996 with Harrisburg (David Schofield photo)
After longtime major leaguer and onetime Harrisburg batting coach Tim Raines is elected in 2017, Vladimir Guerrero becomes the latest with ties to Harrisburg’s long and storied baseball history to reach the Hall of Fame as his election is announced seven years ago today.
Guerrero joins Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell in Cooperstown’s Class of 2018.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2018 with, from left, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell and Jim Thome
In only his second year on the ballot, Guerrero – who summers on City Island in 1996 on his way to the majors – receives 92.9 percent of the votes on the 422 ballots that were cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
In his first year on the ballot in 2017, Guerrero receives 71.7 percent of the votes and falls a mere 15 votes shy of the minimum 75 percent he needs for induction.
After leading Harrisburg to the 1996 Class AA Eastern League title, Guerrero spends 16 seasons in the majors with Montreal, Anaheim, Texas and Baltimore, batting .318 with 449 home runs and 1,496 runs batted in.
The previous seven with Harrisburg connections to reach the Hall before Raines and Guerrero are:
Oscar Charleston
--- Hughie Jennings, elected in 1945, the longtime major league infielder and manger who plays for the Harrisburg Ponies in 1890.
--- Charles Albert “Chief” Bender (1953), the Athletics pitcher who Philadelphia manager Connie Mack finds in 1902 during one of Bender’s games for the Harrisburg Athletic Club.
--- Billy Hamilton (1961), the 19th century outfielder who is a player-manager for Harrisburg in 1905-06.
--- Oscar Charleston (1976), the best hitter in Negro League history who is the Harrisburg Giants’ center fielder from 1924-27.
--- Vic Willis (1995), the 249-game winner in the majors whose pro career starts in 1895 with the Harrisburg Senators.
--- Frank Grant (2006), the second baseman who in 1890 stars for the Harrisburg Ponies before segregation keeps him out of the majors.
--- Ben Taylor (2006), whose long and distinguished career in the Negro Leagues includes spending the summer of 1925 playing first base for the Harrisburg Giants.