Former Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Orel Hershiser and manager Davey Johnson did not receive sufficient votes for election into the Hall of Fame via the Today’s Game Era ballot. Former MLB All-Stars Harold Baines and Lee Smith were the only two members elected.
Candidates needed a minimum of 12 votes for enshrinement. Baines and Smith will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 21, 2019, joining those who are elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Jan. 22.
The Today’s Game Era committee is comprised of 16 members and votes on different eras of candidates who are no longer eligible for election.
In order to be considered, former players need at least 10 seasons of experience and must be 15 years removed from the game. Manager, executives and umpires require 10 years of experience to be considered.
Hershiser and Johnson both received fewer than five votes. For Hershiser, it’s his second time being denied entry into the Hall of Fame via the Today’s Game Era committee (2016).
Over parts of 13 seasons with the Dodgers, Hershiser accumulated a 135-107 record, 3.12 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 2,180.2 innings pitched. Across three postseason series with Los Angeles, the right-hander posted a phenomenal 1.71 ERA in 58 innings of work.
Hershiser earned three All-Star nods with the Dodgers, being selected to the exhibition game in three consecutive years from 1987-89. He appeared on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot in 2006-07.
Johnson went 163–161 as Dodgers manager from 1999–2000. He also was skipper of the Baltimore New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. Johnson was a two-time Manager of the Year (1997, 2012).
