Gil Hodges should be in the
Baseball Hall of Fame
Photo: Courtesy of the Society for
American Baseball Research

I recently wrote about Lefty O’Doul, a San Francisco baseball legend who I believe deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (HOF). Another player-manager who should be in the HOF is the late Gil Hodges. His statistics and contributions to the game as a manager and as a role model make him more than merely a candidate.

The Marina has a connection to Hodges because Gil Hodges III, Gil’s grandson, is well known in the neighborhood as a co-owner of Liverpool Lil’s.

“Gilbert Raymond Hodges was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the major leagues’ outstanding first baseman in the 1950s, with teammate Duke Snider being the only player to have more home runs or runs batted in during the decade. For a time, his 370 career home runs were a National League (NL) record for right-handed hitters, and briefly ranked 10th in major league history; he held the NL record for career grand slams from 1957 to 1974. He anchored the infield on six pennant winners, and remains one of the most beloved and admired players in team history. A sterling defensive player, he won the first three Gold Glove Awards and led the NL in double plays four times and in putouts, assists and fielding percentage three times each. He ranked second in NL history with 1,281 assists and 1,614 double plays when his career ended, and was also among the league’s career leaders in games (6th, 1,908) and total chances (10th, 16,751) at first base. He managed the New York Mets to the 1969 World Series title, one of the greatest upsets in Series history, before his untimely death in 1972.” (From Wikipedia, as contributed by SABR and E. Attansio)

If you compare Hodges to Tony Perez, the Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman who is in the HOF, you can plainly see that Hodges deserved to be there. It’s a complete disgrace that this incredible man and player and manager isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. What are the chances of Hodges finally making it into the most exclusive club in the world?

“That’s a good question,” Gil Hodges III said. “The Hall of Fame has changed their selection process four times in the last decade. Now they’re separating the candidates into different categories, like the way they do the Academy Awards. People can write the Hall of Fame in support of my grandfather, but in the end, it’s up to the writers.”

Random Thoughts
I went to New York City in August on vacation and I got to see both of the new baseball stadiums. I talked to several fans and they all said the same thing: “The seats in these new ballparks are way too expensive.” Now N.Y. Giants football fans are bailing on their season tickets because the prices at the new Meadowlands are out-of-control, even at Big Apple levels. Are these new fancy stadiums pricing the common person right out of the running for seats? It sounds like it and it’s a shame. Soon, corporations will be the only ones who can afford season tickets, $10 beers and $9 hot dogs!

The Bay Area can now claim that we have the most successful horseracing jockey in the world. If you don’t know him, his name is Russell Baze, and he recently celebrated his 11,000th race at the Sonoma County Fair this summer. When I played the horses many years ago, I made a lot of money betting on horses with Baze atop. When he was riding trainer Jerry Hollendorfer’s horses for many years, primarily at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields, Baze was as close to being a sure thing as any jockey in the sport.

Will the Lions Roar Again in 2011?
Galileo Academy’s head football coach, Mark Huynh, is excited about his new team this year after the Lions surprised the rest of the Academic League by capturing the title last season (9-3 overall and 6-1 in-league). With a talented group of seniors having graduated in June, this year’s team is a very young but enthusiastic unit, led by:

• Senior RB Quincy Nelson (“He’s smart, pretty quick and sneaky fast,” Huynh said.)
• Senior QB Jonathan Lu (“He got a lot of snaps last year, so we’re excited to see how he’ll do as our No. 1 guy.”)
• Senior cornerback Waynelle Buckner (“He should make some big plays this year.”)
• Junior center Michael Brzozek (“Has quick feet, and is a hard worker who anchors the offensive line.”)
• Senior cornerback William Kay (“Strong, quick and a hard worker.”)
• Senior middle linebacker Max Malloy (“He’s a hard hitter and a tough kid.”)
• Junior nose tackle Marc Pineda (“He can clog up the middle, which is key to our defense.”)

Coach Huynh will be running a triple option offense, featuring one fullback and two slot backs, he explained. Which will be the teams to beat in the Academic League this season?

“Washington will be talented and deep and Lowell should be very competitive,” Huynh said. “We don’t know much about Lincoln this year, but I’ve heard they’re a very young, athletic group, so it should be an interesting league this season.”

Galileo’s first home game will be against Moreau Catholic on Sept. 18. Let’s get out there and support the Marina’s only high school football program!

Ed Attanasio is an author who loves his wife, two dogs, and just about any sport that’s on TV – except competitive sudoku. He would have been the Segovia of Scrabble, but he couldn’t handle Qs. E-mail: [email protected]