Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1994 TAG: 9401120152
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Carlton will be in New York, where he is expected to be introduced Thursday as Cooperstown's newest member.
Cepeda has airline reservations, but he will be waiting at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
Carlton is the overwhelming favorite and Cepeda is the sentimental choice for election when the voting is released at 6 p.m. today. Don Sutton and Phil Niekro, both 300-game winners, and Graig Nettles, Ron Guidry and Bruce Sutter are among the other candidates.
Carlton's credentials are impeccable. He is ninth on baseball's career victories list (329) - second among left-handers to Warren Spahn's 363 - and second to Nolan Ryan in strikeouts (4,136). Plus, he won a record four Cy Young Awards.
Carlton, however, could lose some votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America because he did not speak to the media during his glory years with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Such sentiment almost certainly will not prevent him from receiving the required 75 percent support for election, although it could keep him from challenging Tom Seaver's record 98.84 percent.
Carlton was to fly from his home in Durango, Colo., today for the gathering in Manhattan on Thursday. And yes, Carlton planned to speak.
Whether Cepeda catches a flight from San Francisco depends on how many votes he receives.
He is getting his 15th and final chance at election by the writers. If he is not selected, he will be eligible in three years for election by the Veterans Committee.
Last year, Cepeda was named on 59.6 percent of the ballots submitted (252 of 423). This year, he has been the subject of a letter-writing campaign by the San Francisco Giants and members of Congress, both groups believing Cepeda's 1975 conviction for smuggling marijuana into Puerto Rico and his 10 months in jail may have hurt his candidacy.
Cepeda now works in community relations for the Giants, often speaking about the dangers of drug abuse.
Cepeda hit 379 home runs and drove in 1,365 runs, batting .297 with 2,351 hits. He was an 11-time All-Star but was overshadowed on Giants teams led by Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal.
Niekro (318-274) received 65.7 percent of the vote last year in his first year of eligibility. For all the games he won with his knuckleball, some voters believed he lost too many.
Sutton is eligible for the first time. He was known for consistency during his career, while Carlton was known for dominance. Sutton finished in the top three in the Cy Young voting only once in his career while Carlton won it four times, although their career numbers were amazingly similar.
Carlton was 329-244 with a 3.22 ERA, and pitched 5,216 innings and gave up 4,672 hits. Sutton was 324-256 with a 3.26 ERA, pitched 5,282 innings and gave up 4,692 hits. Sutton even had more shutouts, 58-55, and held batters to a lower average, .236 to .240.
The big difference between them was the ratio of strikeouts to walks, as would be expected when comparing a power pitcher and a control pitcher. Carlton struck out 4,136 and walked 1,833; Sutton fanned 3,574 and walked 1,343.
On the ballot for the first time are Guidry (170-91), Sutter (300 saves) and Nettles (390 home runs). Candidates who fell short last year include Tony Perez (379 homers, 1,652 RBIs), Tony Oliva (.304 lifetime), Jim Kaat (283-237, 16 Gold Gloves), Dick Allen (351 home runs) and Ron Santo (342 home runs, five Gold Gloves).
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.