In a class by himself

The 1993 Hall of Fame ballot includes nine future inductees, but only of those nine is elected 31 years ago today and that one is Reggie Jackson.

Jackson receives 93.6 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility, well above the threshold of 75 percent Hall of Fame hopefuls need for induction.

The other eight who eventually join Jackson in Cooperstown, but fall short of 75 percent on the 1993 ballot, are pitcher Phil Niekro (65.7 percent), first basemen Orlando Cepeda (59.6) and Tony Perez (55.1), outfielder Tony Oliva (37.1), third baseman Ron Santo (36.6), pitcher Jim Kaat (29.6), outfielder Minnie Minoso (15.8) and Joe Torre (14.9).

Torre, an outstanding catcher and corner infielder during his playing career, later reaches the Hall of Fame for his four World Series championships as the New York Yankees’ manager in a five-season span from 1996-2000.

Judging by his landslide election at 93.6 percent, voters clearly care less about Jackson’s meh lifetime batting average of .262 or his major league-record 2,597 strikeouts and more – much more – about Jackson’s 563 career home runs and his prowess in the postseason.

In the World Series, Jackson hits 10 home runs with 24 runs batted in and a .357 batting average in only 27 games with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. He also earns five World Series championship rings – three with Oakland, two with New York.

Jackson opts to have his Hall of Fame plaque featuring him wearing a Yankees cap and not one from the Athletics, even though he plays 10 seasons in Oakland and only five with the Yankees.

“I’m best remembered for what I did in New York,” Jackson says, “and being linked to (Mickey) Mantle, (Whitey) Ford, (Joe) DiMaggio, (Babe) Ruth, (Lou) Gehrig is a good thing for Reggie Jackson. That’s why I want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee.”