- The Royals announced several promotions within their baseball operations department, with a pair of former big leaguers amongst those moving up the ladder. Paul Gibson is now the senior director of pitching, after the former southpaw worked in various scouting, special assistant, and pitching performance supervisory roles with the Royals since 2011. Former Kansas City outfielder and first base coach Mitch Maier is now the director of player development/field coordinator, following two seasons as the team’s director of baseball ops.
Royals Rumors
Christian Colon Accepts Minor League Coaching Position With Royals
Former big leaguer Christian Colón has accepted a coaching position within the Royals’ organization, MLBTR has learned. The recently-retired infielder is expected to open the season on staff with the club’s Double-A affiliate in Northwest Arkansas.
Colón appeared in parts of six MLB seasons over a twelve-year professional career. He’s best known for his playing days in Kansas City. Selected by the Royals with the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft, he reached the big leagues in July 2014. The right-handed hitting infielder spent the next three-plus years with the Royals, hitting .263/.323/.329 over 348 plate appearances.
Of greatest importance, Colón appeared in the postseason in each of his first two seasons. The Royals won back-to-back American League pennants in 2014-15, claiming a World Series title in the latter season. Colón etched his place in franchise history during that championship run. In his only plate appearance of the 2015 playoffs, he came off the bench to pinch hit in the top of the twelfth inning during Game 5 of the World Series. Colón rapped a go-ahead RBI single to spur a five-run rally that gave Kansas City a 7-2 victory in the Series-clinching contest.
After his playing days in Kansas City ended in 2017, Colón bounced between a few organizations. He suited up for the Marlins and Reds through 2020 before spending the 2021 campaign in the Blue Jays’ system. The 32-year-old announced his retirement last month. In a chat with MLBTR readers shortly thereafter, he expressed a desire to get into coaching at the time. He’ll begin his post-playing career with his original organization, working in a Royals’ farm system that Baseball America ranked as the league’s third-most talented in August.
Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts
Now that the new year is upon us, it could also conceivably be the last year for several managers or lead front office executives (i.e. president of baseball operations, general manager, chief baseball officer, or whatever title a club bestows upon its top baseball decision-maker) in their current jobs if their teams don’t enjoy some success in 2022. With this in mind, here is the list of team personnel facing particular pressure — the managers and top execs who are entering the last guaranteed year of their contracts.
This list is by no means exhaustive. Firstly, some clubs don’t publicly disclose specifics of management contracts, or even whether or not an employee has signed an extension until weeks or months after the fact. It could be that some of the names mentioned are already locked up beyond 2022, or perhaps have already signed extensions in the last few weeks that won’t be made official until after the lockout. While transactions involving Major League players are prohibited during the lockout, teams are free to proceed with normal business involving team personnel, so some club might look to handle other internal matters in advance of the transactional avalanche that will come when the lockout finally ends.
Second of all, any number of factors beyond just contract status can influence an employee’s job status, and sometimes on-field success isn’t enough (just ask former Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt). However, extra years on a contract is usually the simplest way to gauge just how much leeway a manager or front office boss has, barring something unforeseen. It’s probably safe to assume that most or all of the names listed wouldn’t mind a little extra job security, if for no other reason than to avoid a season of media questions about their future, or the perception of any “lame duck” status from their own players or staff.
Thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contracts. Onto the list…
Angels: Owner Arte Moreno is a huge Joe Maddon fan, but since bringing Maddon back to the organization on a three-year, $12MM contract, the Halos have recorded two losing seasons. In fairness to Maddon, he has rarely gotten to deploy an Angels roster at the peak of its potential, as Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Shohei Ohtani (who barely pitched in 2020) have been injured or limited for large chunks of Maddon’s tenure. Since the veteran skipper turns 68 in February, there might also be some question about just how much longer Maddon himself wants to keep up with the grind of a regular-season schedule, especially after the challenges of managing a team through the pandemic. With the clock ticking on Ohtani’s team control and Trout’s prime, another losing season might inspire some changes in Anaheim.
Astros: Back in November, Dusty Baker received a one-year contract extension that takes the veteran skipper through the 2022 campaign. It isn’t the type of job security you’d expect for a manager who just took his team to a World Series appearance, but Houston appears content to go year-to-year with Baker, perhaps owing to his age (Baker turns 73 in June).
Athletics: Billy Beane has been running Oakland’s front office since 1997, and while the exact length of his current contract isn’t known, it is probably safe to assume Beane will have his job as long as he wishes. Beane withdrew his name from consideration from the Mets’ search when New York showed interest in Beane’s services this past fall, and for now, it seems as though he and GM David Forst are preparing to lead the A’s through yet another spin of the payroll-cutting “cycle” so familiar to Oakland fans. Since Beane also owns a minority share of the team, there would be an added layer of complication for the A’s in removing Beane if they did decide to make a change.
Blue Jays: Manager Charlie Montoyo was initially signed to a three-year deal with a club option for 2022, and the Jays exercised that option last March. The club might have been taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach by not negotiating any more additional years with Montoyo, but since Toronto won 91 games last season, Montoyo would now seem like a prime candidate for a longer-term deal. Montoyo has won praise both for the Blue Jays’ success over the last two seasons, and his steady leadership over a difficult period, with the pandemic forcing the Jays to play “home” games in Buffalo and Dunedin before finally returning to Toronto last July.
Brewers: David Stearns’ contract has been the subject of great speculation in recent months, as the Mets were focused on poaching the president of baseball operations away from Milwaukee. With Billy Eppler now inked to a four-year contract as the Mets’ new GM, it could be that Amazins could be moving away from Stearns, but several other teams might have interest if Stearns is indeed available anytime soon. The exact length or nature of Stearns’ contract isn’t known, as 2022 might be his last guaranteed year, but there may be a vesting option of some type in place that would keep Stearns with the Brew Crew through the 2023 season. For his own part, Stearns has said that he is happy with the Brewers, and owner Mark Attanasio obviously covets his PBO, as Attanasio has rejected all overtures from the Mets and other teams to interview Stearns. There seems to be plenty of leverage on Stearns’ part to either work out another extension with the Brewers, or perhaps wait out the remainder of his deal in Milwaukee and then test the market for a new challenge.
Cubs: 2022 is the last guaranteed year of David Ross’ contract, though the Cubs have a club option for 2023. It has been a tumultuous two years to begin Ross’ managerial career, between the pandemic, a first-place NL Central finish in 2020, and then a 91-loss season in 2021 after the Cubs went all-in on a rebuild. However, the acquisitions of Marcus Stroman and Wade Miley are signs that Chicago is looking to compete next season, leaving Ross with the twin challenges of mentoring young talent and also winning some ballgames. Given the long relationship between Ross and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, it doesn’t seem like Ross’ job is in much jeopardy, and an extension (even if just an early call on that 2023 option) wouldn’t be a shock.
Diamondbacks: Manager Torey Lovullo spent much of the 2021 season as a lame duck before signing an extension in September that covers 2022 and also provides the D’Backs with a club option for 2023. Given how poorly the Diamondbacks have played over the last two seasons, this new deal gives the Snakes some flexibility to move on from Lovullo next fall, but obviously Lovullo wasn’t considered the reason for the team’s struggles. There is also some uncertainty about Mike Hazen’s contract status, as the GM signed new multi-year contract of undisclosed length back in 2019, extending Hazen beyond 2020 (the endpoint of his original deal). If Hazen’s contract is only guaranteed through 2022 and Arizona has another rough season next year, ownership might opt to replace both Hazen and Lovullo and start fresh.
Dodgers: 2022 is Dave Roberts’ last year under contract, as his current deal doesn’t contain any team options. While Roberts’ postseason decision-making has sometimes been called into question by Los Angeles fans, he hardly bears sole responsibility, and it is also hard to argue with Roberts’ track record — a 542-329 record and a World Series title since taking the managerial job in November 2015. There hasn’t been any indication that the Dodgers are dissatisfied with Roberts’ work, so another extension could be in the pipeline.
Guardians: While Terry Francona isn’t under contract beyond 2022, but team owner Paul Dolan has said that “I feel like we’re now in a situation where he’s going to be here until he decides not to manage.” This puts the ball squarely in Francona’s court, as the veteran manager plans to return at least through next season after health problems limited his participation in both 2020 and 2021. Also, the contract details of president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti aren’t publicly known, but there hasn’t been any indication that Dolan is looking move on from the longtime executive.
Marlins: Don Mattingly’s 2022 club option was picked up over the summer, putting “Donnie Baseball” in line for what will be his seventh season managing the Fish. Much of that time has been spent overseeing a rebuilding team, but with Miami reaching the postseason in 2020 and now making some aggressive offseason moves, Mattingly and his staff will be facing some higher expectations. The Marlins could opt to let at least some of the season play out before deciding on Mattingly’s future, or if they’re confident that Mattingly is the one to lead the Fish into an era of winning baseball, they could have some talks about a longer-term deal this spring.
Orioles: Executive VP/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde are each entering their fourth season with the team. Hyde signed an extension last year that covers at least the 2022 season, while the initial length of Elias’ contract wasn’t known. Even if 2022 is the last season of Elias’ deal, it doesn’t seem like Orioles ownership would cut him loose before the results of the club’s extensive rebuild have been at all realized. The same could be said for Hyde, though it wouldn’t be the first time a rebuilding team has employed one manager to shepherd it through the tough years, and then hired another skipper when the club began to turn the corner towards contention.
Phillies: Joe Girardi is now entering the last guaranteed season of his initial three-year contract, and the Phillies hold a club option on the former World Series-winning manager for 2023. An 82-80 record represented Philadelphia’s first winning season since 2011, though it was still an underwhelming result for a team heavy in high-priced stars. Girardi himself hasn’t received much too much blame (at least by Philadelphia standards) for the Phils’ lack of success, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is on record as saying that Girardi “did a good job for us” last year. There are some parallels to Maddon’s situation, as both he and Girardi are veteran skippers under win-now pressure for big-market teams, except Girardi doesn’t have the longstanding ties to Phillies ownership as Maddon does in Anaheim. With the club option in mind, the Phils might see what 2022 entails before deciding on an extension for Girardi.
Pirates: This is a speculative entry, since the terms of Derek Shelton’s deal weren’t released when he was hired as Pittsburgh’s manager in November 2019. If Shelton was given a three-year contract (a pretty standard pact for a first-time manager), he’d now be entering his last guaranteed year. Since the Pirates are still rebuilding, Shelton isn’t under much pressure to start winning games immediately, so it doesn’t seem at this point like his job is in any danger.
Rangers: Another speculative case, as president of baseball operations Jon Daniels signed a contract extension back in June 2018, lengthening a deal that was set to expire at the end of the 2018 campaign. If that extension happened to be a four-year pact, then, Daniels has only one year remaining. While Daniels has spent much of his most recent contract rebuilding the roster, this winter’s massive spending splurge is a clear sign that Texas is ready to start winning. One would guess that ownership wouldn’t sign off on hundreds of millions in player contracts if they had any misgivings about keeping Daniels around, so another extension wouldn’t be a surprise. Daniels is quietly one of baseball’s longest-tenured front office bosses, as he has been running the Rangers’ baseball ops department since October 2005, when he was only 28 years old.
Rockies: Bud Black is entering his sixth and what might be his final year as Rockies manager, as his three-year contract expires at season’s end. New GM Bill Schmidt has indicated that the team might explore a new deal with Black, and since Schmidt is a longtime member of Colorado’s front office, the Rockies might not have the disconnect that sometimes exists between an incumbent skipper and a new front office boss who wants their own hire running the dugout. Even though owner Dick Monfort is known for his loyalty to familiar employees, managers don’t have quite as much slack — both Walt Weiss and Jim Tracy (Black’s predecessors) resigned from the Rockies’ managerial post after four seasons apiece.
Royals: Like Shelton, Mike Matheny was also hired following the 2019 season, so this would be the final guaranteed year of Matheny’s deal if he signed a three-year term. That said, Matheny might have gotten a longer deal, owing to his past experience as manager of the Cardinals, and due to his standing as something of a manager-in-waiting in Kansas City with Ned Yost on the verge of retirement. The Royals were aggressive last winter but managed only a 74-88 record in 2021, and if the team again doesn’t take a step forward, there could be some whispers about whether or not Matheny is the right choice for the manager’s job. Then again, president of baseball operations Dayton Moore has traditionally been big on institutional loyalty, so Matheny’s job isn’t necessarily on the line if the Royals don’t at least crack the .500 mark.
Twins: Manager Rocco Baldelli received a four-year contract with multiple club options when he was hired following the 2018 season, so Baldelli is now entering his final guaranteed year. The existence of those club options puts Baldelli under team control through at least 2024, yet while Baldelli isn’t a true lame duck, he does face some pressure in getting the Twins on track following a very disappointing season. If the Twins underachieve again, Baldelli might be on the hot seat, though he did lead Minnesota to the postseason in his first two years as skipper.
White Sox: Another team that doesn’t publicize management contracts, both executive VP Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn signed extensions in 2017 of unspecified length. Since that time, the duo has overseen a rebuild and a payroll increase that has thus far resulted in playoff appearances in both 2020 and 2021, though the White Sox have yet to win a series. Though owner Jerry Reinsdorf is definitely aiming to capture another championship, it seems like it would take a major collapse for him to think about replacing Williams or Hahn, who have each been with the franchise for decades. Depending on their contractual status, Williams and Hahn could even be in line for extensions, if such deals haven’t already quieted been inked.
Yankees: As any Bronx fan can tell you, the Yankees have gone 12 seasons without as much as an AL pennant, though the club has reached the playoffs nine times in that span and always posted winning records. Despite this relative title drought by Yankees standards, owner Hal Steinbrenner appears satisfied with the work done by longtime GM Brian Cashman, and there doesn’t appear to be much chance of a front office change. It may be quite a while before we hear whether or not Cashman is officially staying, as several of his contracts have been settled either around the end of the season, or sometimes well into the offseason. Cashman’s last deal (a five-year, $25MM contract covering the 2018-22 campaigns) wasn’t fully put into place until December 2017.
Latest On Carlos Santana
After receiving a PRP injection in October, Carlos Santana said that “Now, I feel 100 percent” in the wake of an injury-plagued season, the Royals first baseman told The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy. This tracks with the 4-6 week timeline Santana initially gave in the wake of the injection, which was meant to help treat the Grade 2 quad strain that plagued the veteran slugger during the last six weeks of the season. Between the quad and other leg problems, Santana clearly wore down in 2021, batting only .185/.217/.284 over his last 351 plate appearances.
With this rough season lingering, Santana said that he is “working on a couple things that I need to help me, my swing and my body. That’s the only thing I changed. I started early, working out, compared to the year before.” Now entering his age-36 season, Santana has posted two below-average offensive years (as per the wRC+ metric) since his 2019 All-Star campaign, which is a little ominous for a Royals team that still owes Santana $10.5MM in 2022. While Santana has bounced back strongly from disappointing years in the past, 2021 was the worst of his 12 big league seasons by just about every metric, so Santana will have more of a climb to recapture his old form.
Who’s Blocking Bobby Witt Jr.?
After a years-long rebuilding process, the Royals opened a competitive window for the middle portions of the previous decade. From 2013 to 2017, the club had five straight seasons of at least 80 wins, including back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2014 and 2015, emerging victorious in the latter season. In 2018, that competitive window slammed shut as the team lost 104 games, and then 103 games the following year.
Of course, one benefit of such miserable losing seasons is higher draft picks. In the 2019 MLB draft, the Orioles held the first selection on the heels of their 47-win season, opting for Adley Rutschman with that pick. The second pick went to the Royals, who chose Bobby Witt Jr., a shortstop from Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas who was still a couple of weeks away from his 19th birthday.
The Royals quickly agreed to terms with Witt and put him to work right away, as he got into 37 rookie ball games that year. After that short assignment, Witt was ranked the 24th-best prospect in the league by Baseball America. 2020 was a lost season, in a sense, due to the pandemic wiping out the minor league seasons. However, Witt was evidently so impressive at the team’s alternate training site and in next year’s spring training that he was under consideration to be called up to the big leagues to start the 2021 season. It would have been an incredibly ambitious move to call up a 20-year-old with no experience above rookie ball, but the club ultimately decided against it, assigning Witt to Double-A to get more in-game experience after the lost 2020 campaign.
While spending 2021 in the minors, Witt could scarcely have had a better year. In 61 Double-A games, he hit .295/.369/.570, wRC+ of 145. A promotion to Triple-A didn’t slow him down, as he slashed .285/.352/.581 for a wRC+ of 142 in 62 games. Baseball America now ranks him the third-best prospect in the sport, behind only Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez. While it’s unclear how serious the Royals were about promoting Witt a year ago, there’s no question he’s pounding on the door now.
Witt is primarily a shortstop, having played most of his games there so far, but the Royals also tried him out at third a bit. In 2021, he played in 102 games at shortstop and 18 at the hot corner. That extra bit of flexibility could help him crack the roster, as the big league team has far more question marks than answers at this point.
Adalberto Mondesi was supposed to be the team’s shortstop of the future after a tremendous breakout campaign in 2018. In that year, Mondesi hit .276/.306/.498, with 14 home runs and 32 stolen bases in just 75 games. However, that power seemed to slip away from him over the next two campaigns, as he hit 16 homers over 161 games between 2019 and 2020, producing a combined line of .260/.292/.421. He still had the speed, though, notching 67 stolen bases in that time. Then 2021 saw Mondesi sidelined by a series of injuries, limiting him to just 10 games over the first five months of the season. In an interview in August, Royals general manager Dayton Moore candidly admitted that the club no longer viewed Mondesi as an everyday player that they would expect to play 100-plus games a year. Mondesi returned to the club in September, having been moved to third base, seeing action in 25 more games before the season ended.
The reason Mondesi was moved to third was because, in his absence, Nicky Lopez had a nice season and took over the shortstop position. Lopez played 151 games, providing excellent defense and speed, racking up 22 stolen bases on the year. Although his bat was adequate enough to put up a wRC+ of 106, it was largely powerless and BABIP-driven, as evidenced by two homers on the season and his overall line of .300/.365/.378. Despite his excellent defense at short, he could move to second if needed, as he has 133 games of MLB experience there over the past three seasons.
Whit Merrifield spent most of 2021 at second base, but can also play the outfield. If Lopez, Witt and Mondesi are all healthy and lined up in the infield, Merrifield might become the regular right fielder, with Michael A. Taylor in center and Andrew Benintendi in left, and Kyle Isbel and Edward Olivares on hand for further depth.
When Mondesi returned in September and took over at third, he bumped off Hunter Dozier, who was in the midst of an incredibly inconsistent season. Dozier seemed to break out in 2019, hitting 26 home runs and slashing .279/.348/.522, wRC+ of 123. In 2020, his production dropped a bit but was still above average, coming in at .228/.344/.392, wRC+ of 104. In 2021, the first half of the season was dismal, as he was sitting on a line of .147/.214/.357 at the end of June. In July, he bounced back with a month of hitting .304/.389/.443. August saw him turn right around in the other direction and hit .216/.262/.330, but then he finished strong over September and October, with marks of .272/.346/.576 over the final month-plus. After losing the hot corner to Mondesi, he bounced between first base, designated hitter and the corner outfield spots.
Carlos Santana, signed to a two-year deal a year ago, had the worst year of his career in 2021, hitting .214/.319/.342. Some of that production could perhaps be attributed to a quad strain that was hampering him down the stretch, but his numbers before the injury weren’t great either. The team might consider moving the final year of his contract, which still guarantees him $10.5MM, but it won’t be easy after that tepid campaign, especially since he’ll turn 36 in April.
The first base situation could also be further crowded by the arrival of Nick Pratto. Much like Witt, he spent 2021 almost evenly between Double-A and Triple-A. He hit 36 home runs on the year, slashing .265/.385/.602, for a wRC+ of 156. He’s only ever played first base in the minors, except for three Triple-A games in right field this year.
Given all of this positional flexibility, the Royals can surely make it work one way or another. If they prefer Witt at third, he can play beside Lopez and Merrifield, with Mondesi becoming a super-utility option that can have his workload managed. If they want Witt at short, they could slide Lopez to the keystone and Merrifield to the outfield. The first base/DH mix might be a little crowded, but only temporarily, as Santana and Benintendi are free agents after 2022. As the season goes on, there will inevitably be injuries that make the game of musical chairs less crowded. But with the imminent arrival of both Witt and Pratto, along with Asa Lacy and many other young pitchers, Royals fans have reasons to be optimistic about the club topping the 74 wins they managed in 2021.
Royals Could Look To Trade Carlos Santana?
- As part of a reader mailbag, Alec Lewis of the Athletic suggests the Royals could attempt to find a taker for Carlos Santana coming out of the lockout. That’d assuredly require some creativity — including cash, taking back an undesirable contract as part of the trade, including a prospect of note, etc. — given how Santana performed in 2021. The generally reliable veteran hit only .214/.319/.342 over 659 plate appearances, easily the worst production of his career. The switch-hitter continued to avoid strikeouts (15.5%) and draw plenty of walks (13.1%), but his results on contact cratered. Santana is guaranteed $10.5MM in 2022, the final season of a two-year deal. Kansas City has first base prospect Nick Pratto on the doorstep of the majors after combining for a .265/.385/.602 line between the minors’ top two levels. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Pratto eventually starts to see playing time at Santana’s expense even if Kansas City doesn’t find a way to pull off a trade this winter.
Royals Sign Ivan Castillo To Minor League Deal
The Royals announced yesterday that they’ve signed infielder Iván Castillo to a minor league contract. The 26-year-old had been outrighted off the Padres’ 40-man roster at the end of the season, making him eligible to sign a minors pact during the ongoing transactions freeze.
Castillo made an incredibly brief big league debut in 2021. He appeared in three games with San Diego in May, tallying a single and a walk over four plate appearances. The switch-hitter otherwise spent the entire season with the Friars’ top affiliate in El Paso, posting a .287/.326/.366 line with three home runs across 435 plate appearances in a hitter-friendly environment. While Castillo did well to put the ball in play — his 17.5% strikeout rate was well below the 22.6% MLB average — he didn’t draw many walks or hit for much extra-base impact.
That’s largely in line with Castillo’s overall track record in the minors. Listed at just 5’9″, 179 pounds, he doesn’t bring much raw power to the batter’s box. But he’s a quality contact hitter with ample experience at each of shortstop, second base and third base. Castillo, who has also spent time in the Indians’ and Blue Jays’ farm systems, was ranked by Baseball America as the #28 prospect in the San Diego organization entering 2021. He’ll presumably try to compete for a utility role in Kansas City next spring.
Read The Christian Colón Chat Transcript
Former MLB infielder Christian Colón joined MLBTR readers in a live chat today. Click here to read the transcript.
Christian is a big fan of this website and he had a good time chatting! MLBTR congratulates him on his retirement. If you’re a current or former MLB player and you’d be interested in holding a one-hour live chat with our readers, please send us a message through our contact form.
Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O’Neil Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame
Six legendary names have been inducted to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame, as per the results of today’s special selection committee meetings. Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, and Buck O’Neil have all been elected to Cooperstown, and will be officially inducted on July 24 along with any players voted in by the regular writers’ ballot.
Often referred to as “veterans committee” selections, the Baseball Hall Of Fame now organizes an annual panel with a differing membership that focuses on a rotation of different eras in the sport’s history. The Early Baseball (covering candidates from 1871-1949) committee meets once per decade, the Golden Days (1950-1969) committee once every five years, and the Modern Baseball (1970-1987) and Today’s Game (1988-present) committees meet twice each during every five-year period.
Last year’s vote was postponed due to the pandemic, so this winter saw both the Early Baseball and Golden Days committees each meet, resulting in 20 possible candidates for Cooperstown. Each committee was comprised of 16 members, and each member can list as many as four names on their voting ballot. Candidates must receive at least 12 votes to receive induction into the Hall of Fame.
Minoso, Hodges, Kaat, and Oliva were inducted on the Golden Days ballot. Minoso received 14 votes, while Hodges, Kaat, and Oliva all received 12 votes apiece. Dick Allen fell just short with 11 votes, another unfortunate close call after Allen also missed out on the 2015 ballot by a single vote. Other candidates on the ballot included Ken Boyer, Roger Maris, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Pierce, and Maury Wills, who all received three or fewer votes.
O’Neil and Fowler were inducted via the Early Baseball ballot, with O’Neil receiving 13 of 16 votes and Fowler receiving 12 votes. Other candidates on the ballot receiving votes were Vic Harris (10 votes), John Donaldson (eight), Allie Reynolds (six), Lefty O’Doul (five), and George Scales (four), while Bill Dahlen, Grant “Home Run” Johnson, and Dick Redding received three or fewer votes.
This edition of the Early Baseball ballot put a renewed focus on the Negro Leagues. Donaldson, Johnson, Redding, and Scales were all star Negro League players, while O’Neil both played and managed in the NAL before becoming a coach with the Cubs and a longtime scout in the Cubs and Royals organizations.
In addition, Fowler was arguably the first black professional player, an accomplished second baseman who spent his career barnstorming around North America playing with many all-black teams and some integrated amateur teams. Fowler also founded and organized several teams and leagues both during and beyond his playing days, with his influence as an early pioneer helping set the stage for what we now recognize as the Negro Leagues. Fowler, whose birth name was John Jackson in 1858, also spent part of his childhood growing up in Cooperstown.
There has been perhaps no greater ambassador for either the Negro Leagues or even baseball itself than O’Neil, one of the game’s most beloved figures. Beyond his on-field success as a player, O’Neil helped scout and then shape the careers of countless players during his long career, and he became the first black coach in MLB history when hired by the Cubs in 1962.
It was widely expected that O’Neil would receive induction into the HOF back in 2006 when a special committee was formed to focus on Negro Leagues legends, and yet while 17 other illustrious names were given the nod for Cooperstown, O’Neil was surprisingly omitted. Nonetheless, O’Neil took the decision with his customary grace, and even spoke at the induction ceremony that summer. O’Neil passed away later that same year.
Minoso also began his career in the Negro Leagues, as the Cuba native spent parts of three seasons with the New York Cubans before debuting in the big leagues with the Indians in 1949. Minoso played parts of 20 seasons in the majors (12 with the White Sox), hitting .299/.387/.461 over 8223 career plate appearances and receiving 13 total All-Star selections. Minoso finished as high as fourth in MVP voting on five different occasions, and won three Gold Gloves.
Later generations might remember Minoso for his cameo appearances in 1976 and 1980, as White Sox owner Bill Veeck arranged for Minoso (at ages 50 and 54) to play in five games and thus become only the second player to play Major League Baseball in five different decades. Beyond that quirky footnote, however, Minoso has an incredible legacy as an icon to both Cuban players in particular, and for Hispanic baseball players across generations.
Speaking of footnotes, Hodges’ status as the player who received the most HOF votes on the writers’ ballot without ever receiving induction to Cooperstown is now a thing of the past. While Hodges’ initial path to the Hall may have been hampered by a lack of league-leading or even team-leading credentials, Hodges still put together an outstanding career, hitting .273/.359/.487 with 370 home runs over 8104 career PA in 18 seasons with the Dodgers and Mets.
It isn’t as if Hodges was overlooked in his time, as he was an eight-time All-Star and the winner of three Gold Gloves. He also captured two World Series titles with the Dodgers as a player, and added a third ring as a manager in 1969, leading the out-of-nowhere Mets to one of the most surprising championships in sports history.
A prototype of the old-school workhorse pitcher, Kaat pitched 4530 1/3 innings and 180 complete games over 25 years in the majors, while posting a 3.45 ERA. One of the best-fielding pitchers of all time, Kaat won 16 Gold Gloves during his career, tied for the second-highest total of GGs for any player at any position. The southpaw also received three All-Star nods, and won a late-career World Series title while working out of the Cardinals bullpen in 1982.
Kaat played for five different teams over his long career, but spent 15 of his seasons with the Twins. Twelve of those seasons overlapped with Oliva’s Minnesota career, and now the two former teammates will join forces once again on their way into the Hall of Fame.
Oliva spent all 15 of his seasons in a Twins uniform, beginning his career with a bang by winning Rookie Of The Year honors in 1964. In defiance of the sophomore slump, Oliva became the first player to ever win batting titles in his first two seasons, and he also added a third batting crown in 1971. Oliva hit .304/.353/.476 with 220 home runs over 6880 PA, and it is fair to wonder if Oliva could’ve added considerably to this resume had he not been beset by several injuries in the latter years of his career. His relatively short prime may have been the reason it took so long for Cooperstown recognition, and yet what a prime it was — Oliva was an All-Star every year from 1964 to 1971, and was a runner-up in AL MVP voting in both 1965 and 1970.
The 16 members of the Early Baseball panel were Bert Blyleven, Ferguson Jenkins, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre, John Schuerholz, Bill DeWitt, Ken Kendrick, Tony Reagins, Gary Ashwill, Adrian Burgos Jr., Leslie Heaphy, Jim Henneman, Justice Hill, Steve Hirdt, Rick Hummel and John Thorn.
The 16 members of the Golden Days panel were Jenkins, Smith, Torre, Schuerholz, DeWitt, Kendrick, Reagins, Burgos, Hirdt, Rod Carew, Mike Schmidt, Bud Selig, Al Avila, Kim Ng, Jaime Jarrin and Jack O’Connell.
Christian Colon Retires
Former major league infielder Christian Colon is set to retire from baseball, MLBTR has learned. He will hang up his spikes after playing in the big leagues for three different teams across six seasons. Colon hopes to continue his life in baseball as a coach and one day manage in the big leagues.
Colon was selected by the Padres in the 10th round of the 2007 draft, out of Canyon High School in Anaheim, California. Just 18 years old at the time, Colon instead opted to attend California State University, Fullerton. Three years later, in the 2010 draft, the Kansas City Royals selected Colon in the first round, fourth overall.
The Royals were deep in the midst of a rebuild at the time, with 2010 marking their seventh consecutive losing season, in what would eventually be a nine-year streak. Those poor big league results allowed the team to have a series of high draft picks, which they used to launch a return to competition. Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Mike Montgomery and Colon were all first-round selections of the Royals between 2005 and 2010. All of that group except for Montgomery eventually formed the core of the Royals club that made the World Series in consecutive years, losing to the Giants in 2014 and defeating the Mets in 2015. (Montgomery contributed indirectly, as he was part of the trade with the Rays that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to Kansas City.)
Colon climbed the ranks of the Royals’ farm system, eventually making his debut in 2014. He got into 21 games that year, hitting .333/.375/.489 over 49 plate appearances. He only got a couple of plate appearances in that 2014 postseason run for the Royals, both of which came in the Wild Card Game against the Athletics. He entered as a pinch-hitter in the tenth, laying down a successful sacrifice bunt. He stayed in the game and, after Oakland took the lead in the top of the 12th, Colon hit a game-tying single in the bottom of the inning. Moments later, Colon would score the game-winning run on Salvador Perez’s walk-off hit.
In 2015, Colon got 119 plate appearances over 43 games, hitting .290/.356/.336. As the Royals reached the fifth game of the World Series with a 3-1 series lead, Colon hadn’t had a plate appearance in four weeks. As the game stretched into extras, the Royals called on Colon to pinch-hit for the pitcher’s spot in the top of the 12th. With Jarrod Dyson on second base, Colon lined a single into left, giving the Royals a 3-2 lead. They would eventually pour it on and win the game 7-2, and capturing their first World Series title since 1985.
Colon would go on to play for the Marlins and Reds in the Majors, spending most of 2021 at Triple-A for the Blue Jays. In total, Colon played 161 games over his six seasons and hit .254/.315/.378. He played an important role in building the Kansas City team that eventually won the World Series, and can look back fondly on his postseason heroics. MLBTR congratulates Colon on a fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.
