Murray, Carter elected to Hall

Ben Walker

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2003 | 11:23 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Eddie Murray silently led with his bat. Gary Carter spurred teams with his enthusiasm.

Murray, the only switch-hitter with 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and Carter finally made on his sixth try today.

No one else came close in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Carry-over candidates Bruce Sutter, Jim Rice and Andre Dawson were right around 50 percent, and first-timers Ryne Sandberg and Lee Smith didn't even reach that mark. Darryl Kile, the St. Louis pitcher who died last season, got token support.

Murray, who made his mark as a first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, became the 38th player picked as a first-timer. He easily exceeded the 75 percent necessary for election, getting chosen on 85 percent of the ballots (423 of 496).

Murray's ticket to Cooperstown came on a most somber day for him. Later in the day, he was to attend the funeral of his sister in Southern California.

Carter, an 11-time All-Star catcher, got in with 78 percent (387). He completed a climb that had seen him fall 11 votes short last year at 72.7 percent.

"I know I'm deserving," Carter said recently.

He played his first 11 seasons with Montreal and became the first person to have spent a significant portion of his career with the Expos to be elected.

Later, Carter helped lead the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series. Overall, he played five seasons for them.

Though players can express a preference as to which cap will appear on their Cooperstown plaque, the final choice rests with the Hall of Fame.

Induction ceremonies will be July 27 in Cooperstown, the small village in upstate New York. Murray and Carter bring the Hall's total to 256 members.

The reconfigured Veterans Committee, which is considering former manager Whitey Herzog, former players' union head Marvin Miller and many others, will announce its voting results Feb. 26.

Murray and Carter both got key hits the last time their teams won the World Series.

Murray, currently the Cleveland Indians' hitting coach, was an eight-time All-Star and finished with 504 homers and 3,255 hits in 21 seasons. He batted .287 overall and hit 19 career grand slams.

In 1983, Murray homered twice for the Orioles in the clinching Game 5 of the World Series against Philadelphia.