Gil Hodges Elected to Hall of Fame!!

The 35th time on the Hall of Fame ballot proved to be the charm for Gil Hodges — the Golden Days committee electing him to Cooperstown Sunday evening. Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso and Tony Oliva were also voted in.

I am absolutely stunned by this. Although he obviously deserved it, I did not think this was ever going to happen for Hodges. In the 2015 vote he received the dreaded “fewer than three votes,” after getting nine votes three years earlier. He was trending downwards and I assumed that would be the case again this year.

But there was a strong push for Hodges, on Facebook and by columnists in New York. There was almost universal agreement that Hodges deserved to be in. And now he his. This is a great day for the legions of fans of Gil Hodges.