7 Players Inducted into the 2022 MLB Hall of Fame Class (Part 1)
On July 24, 2022, in Cooperstown, NY, seven Major League Baseball players made their enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. Their stories were told and their plaques joined all the others in the greatest achievement in baseball. Let’s look at the legacy that led them into being selected.
Jim Kaat
Jim Kaat was born on November 7, 1938, in Zeeland, MI, which is just west of Grand Rapids. His dad was a big baseball fan and would take Jim to Detroit to see the Tigers play. Jim would see many future Hall of Fame players during those trips and helped increase his own love for the game.
In 1957, he was drafted by the Washington Senators and spent the next two seasons in the minor league. He made his MLB debut on August 2, 1959, against the Chicago White Sox in Comiskey Park. He started the game going 2.2 innings giving up three runs but only one was an earned run. He would take the loss as the White Sox won the game 9–3.
He finished his first year with no wins and two losses in the three games he pitched. His next season with the Senators would be his last, going one win and five losses, before heading to play for the Minnesota Twins. He would spend the next 15 years with the Twins earning his first All-Star selection in 1962. His best season was in 1966 when we would win a league-leading 25 games and earn his second All-Star selection. He would earn 12 straight Gold Gloves awards from 1962 to 1973.
He was claimed off waivers by the White Sox during the 1973 season, pitching for them for the next three years. He earned his third All-Star selection in 1975 with a 20-win season. He would finish fourth in Cy Young voting that year, his closest to winning the coveted award.
The next ten seasons saw him play for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and the St. Louis Cardinals. He would win the World Series in 1982 with the Cardinals beating the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh game.
His final season was 1983 when he pitched in 24 games all in relief. He would finish his career with 283 wins, three All-Star appearances, and 16 Gold Glove awards. His playing career lasted 25 years, which is tied for fourth for most years played by a pitcher.
Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges was born on April 4, 1924, in Princeton, Indiana. In high school, he was a four-star athlete, which earned him seven varsity letters in baseball, football, basketball, and track. In 1941 he received an offer for a contract from the Detroit Tigers but he decided against it and went to Saint Joseph’s College to focus on becoming a college coach.
In 1943, he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers to play third base. He played in one game for the Dodgers on October 3 against the Cincinnati Reds. He wound up getting walked once and stole a base along with having two strikeouts. The Reds would win the game 6–1.
With World War II going on Gil joined the United States Marine Corps following the season. He participated in combat during his time as an anti-aircraft gunner. He took part in two battles, Trinian and Okinawa, receiving a Bronze Star Medal with a Combat “V”, a distinguishing award for heroism or valor in combat.
Following his time in the military, he rejoined the Dodgers in 1947 playing in 28 games. He would finish the season with a .156 batting average, one home run, and seven runs batted in. In June, he would have a three-game hitting streak by collecting four hits. During the same season, Jackie Robinson would make his debut. Hodges and Robinson would be close friends even after their playing careers ended.
In 1947, Gil would set a National League record for most career grand slams with 14, passing Rogers Hornsby and Ralph Kiner who both had 12. That record would be tied by Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey in 1972. Aaron would establish a new record in 1974.
Starting in 1949, Hodges would be an All-Star selection for the next seven straight years. He would also be selected again in 1957. He enjoyed winning the World Series with the Dodgers in 1955 when they beat the powerful New York Yankees in seven games. They had previously lost to the Yankees in the World Series three times in 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. Unfortunately, the Dodgers would lose to them again in 1956.
The Dodgers would head west in 1958 and take up home in Los Angeles. On April 23, Hodges would hit home run number 300, the seventh player to accomplish the feat in the National League. He would finish his career with 370 home runs, 1921 hits, and a career .273 batting average. The last two years of his career were played back in New York for the Mets after he was drafted by the team in the expansion draft.
In 1963, after 11 games for the Mets that season, he was traded to the Washington Senators for Jimmy Piersall. Upon arrival in Washinton, he retired from playing and assumed the role of manager of the club replacing Mickey Vernon. In the five years as the Senator's manager, he would have 321 wins and 444 losses with each year seeing improvements in the team.
On November 27, 1967, Hodges was traded to the Mets for pitcher Bill Denehy and $100,000. He would assume the role of manager for the team after Wes Westrum and Salty Parker managed the team the previous year. He would manage the team for the next four seasons and won the World Series in 1969 with the team known as the “Miracle Mets”.
On April 2, 1972, Easter Sunday, Gil Hodges was playing golf with a few Mets coaches in West Palm Beach, Florida prior to the beginning of the regular season. After completing the round of golf he headed back to the motel, which was across the street from Municipal Stadium the spring training facility for the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos. Hodges would have a heart attack and fall backward hitting his head on the sidewalk causing his head to bleed. Mets coach Joe Pignatano was there when it happened and said “I put my hand under Gil’s head, but before you knew it, the blood stopped. I knew he was dead. He died in my arms.” He was 47.
The Mets players wore black armbands on their uniforms during the 1972 season. The Mets retired Hodges's number 14 to honor him on June 9, 1973. On June 4, 2022, 49 years later, the Dodgers also retired number 14 in his honor.
