Simmons in, Murphy still kept out of the Hall of Fame

Former Braves pinch-hitter Ted Simmons makes it, while Dale Murphy does not

Former Braves pinch-hitter and current scout Ted Simmons was elected Sunday to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Modern Era Committee.

Simmons will join the late Marvin Miller, the former head of the MLB Player’s Association, in the 2020 class next summer in Cooperstown.

Braves legend Dale Murphy was also on the ballot, but he did not receive more than three votes. Here is the voting for the Modern Era Committee, which was comprised of 16 baseball historians, former executives and current Hall of Famers:

Ted Simmons 13
Marvin Miller 12
Dwight Evans 8
Dave Parker 7
Steve Garvey 6
Lou Whitaker 6

Tommy John, Don Mattingly and Thurman Munson joined Murphy as having three or fewer votes.

Simmons was traded to Atlanta on March 5, 1986 from the Brewers for catcher Rick Cerone and two minor leaguers. Simmons was 36 years old at the time and was finished as a regular catcher. He spent his final three seasons in the big leagues with the Braves and hit .248 with 10 home runs and 66 RBI in 411 at bats. Simmons was mainly a pinch-hitter and played some at first base, third base and occasionally behind the plate.

Simmons was an eight-time All-Star with the Cardinals and Brewers. He never finished in the Top 5 of the MVP voting, however, which was an area that Murphy obviously had an advantage with as he was a two-time National League MVP (1982 & 1983) with the Braves.

Many believed Murphy had an excellent chance after last year’s election of Harold Baines by the Today’s Game Era committee. Baines never finished higher than 9 in MVP voting in his career.

Murphy was also a seven-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He finished with a career .265 batting average, a .346 on base percentage, 398 home runs, 2111 hits and 1266 RBI in 2180 games during his 17-year-career.

Murphy's next chance will be in December 2022 when the Modern Era Committee will meet to elect someone for Cooperstown's Class of 2023.

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