CINCINNATI – When Ken Griffey Jr. goes into the Baseball Hall of Fame next year, as many as three more Reds legends could be inducted with him.
While Griffey is certain to be elected in his first year of eligibility on the writers' ballot, three Reds greats have been under consideration by a veterans committee, which will announce its vote Monday. They include two players who led the team to back-to-back National League pennants and a World Championship, along with a former Reds president who earned the nickname "Father of the World Series."
Right-handed pitcher Bucky Walters and first baseman Frank McCormick won consecutive NL Most Valuable Player awards in 1939-40. The Reds lost the '39 World Series to the Yankees and won the championship over the Tigers in 1940.
August “Garry” Herrmann helped create the World Series and put together the Reds team that won the 1919 World Series over the "Black Sox." Herrmann also had a reputation for being a flashy dresser and the life of the party.
Those three appear on the Pre-Integration Ballot with seven other candidates.
Beloved broadcaster and pitcher Joe Nuxhall is not on the ballot for the Ford Frick Award. Last year he didn't get enough votes to beat out Dick Enberg. Nuxhall is not eligible again until 2017.
A panel of 16 considered Walters, McCormick and Herrmann for their contributions to baseball during the period from the game's origins through 1946. Twelve votes are needed for election.
> Walters was 27-11 in '39 and 22-10 in 1940. He won the pitching Triple Crown in '39, leading the league in wins (27), ERA (2.29) and strikeouts (137). He had a third 20-win season (23-8) in 1944. For his 19-year career, Walters had a 198-160 lifetime record, with a 3.30 ERA. Named to five All-Star teams, Walters converted to a pitcher from an infielder following his first four seasons in the majors from 1931-34. He played 11 seasons with the Reds from 1938-48.
> McCormick was an eight-time All-Star who led the NL in hits three straight years from 1938 through 1940. In 1939, McCormick hit .332 with 209 hits and also led the league in RBI (128) while hitting 18 homers. In 1940, he had 191 hits and led the league in doubles (44) while driving in 127 runs and hitting .309. He played with the Reds from 1934-45 and compiled a .299 BA in 13 big league seasons.
> Herrmann served as president of the Reds from 1902 to 1927 and chairman of baseball’s ruling National Commission from 1903 to 1920. He helped to broker peace between the warring National and American Leagues in the first decade of the 20th century and helped organize the modern World Series. He also oversaw construction of Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field).
Herrman was a flashy dresser well known for his gold rings and the life of every party, according to the Reds Hall of Fame Web site. Herrmann once declared himself "the champion beer drinker and sausage eater" and took those Cincinnati favorites with him everywhere he went.
"Garry was always more of a sport than a businessman, and as a host and entertainer he was without peer," baseball historian Lee Allen wrote.
All four Reds candidates - and Nuxhall - are already in the Reds Hall of Fame.
The other candidates on the Pre-Integration ballot are Doc Adams, Sam Breadon, Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Marty Marion, Harry Stovey and Chris von der Ahe.
Read about them on the Baseball Hall of Fame Web site.
