Dale Murphy's Last Chance at the Hall of Fame?

Hall door could shut on Murphy (GUY CURTRIGHT, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Dale Murphy's flickering Baseball Hall of Fame hopes might be extinguished officially today when Wade Boggs likely will be voted in on his first year of eligibility.

Murphy's support decreased during his first six years on the ballot, dropping to 8.5 percent last time. If he doesn't get at least 5 percent this year, the two-time National League MVP will be dropped from the ballot for voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

"Nobody has ever thought that this was an easy club to get into," said Murphy, one of the top power hitters of the 1980s and a five-time Gold Glove outfielder.

However, the door could finally open for another former Brave, although most of reliever Bruce Sutter's success came with St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs.

Former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg and Sutter are the top vote getters returning from last year, when Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley were voted in. Sandberg got 61.1 percent, Sutter 59.5. To make the Hall of Fame, a player must be named on at least 75 percent of the ballots.

Like Molitor and Eckersley, Boggs appears to be a first-ballot inductee. Molitor got 85.2 percent and Eckersley 83.2 percent.

Boggs won four of his five American League batting titles for Boston in succession (1985-88), and his 3,010 hits rank 23rd on the all-time list. He finished his 18-year career with a .328 lifetime average for the Red Sox, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay.

This is Sutter's 12th year on the ballot, and a player is limited to 15. It has been hard for closers to get into the Hall of Fame, but Goose Gossage and Lee Smith also have been receiving support. The only relievers to be inducted are Eckersley, who also was a top starter early in his career, Rollie Fingers and Hoyt Wilhelm.

Sutter perfected the split-finger pitch and was a dominant closer with the Cubs and St. Louis. Arm problems cut short his career after he signed with the Braves in 1985.

Murphy won consecutive NL MVP Awards in 1982-83 and had more total bases than anyone else in the 1980s, finishing second to Mike Schmidt in homers and Eddie Murray in RBIs during the decade. But he finished with a .265 career average and missed the 400-homer milestone, getting 398.

Sadly, although Murph was a great player and an even better guy, I'm not sure he deserves to be in the Hall. He was a power hitter that fell well short of the home run totals one associates with Cooperstown and his batting average was mediocre. His peak years were spectacular but too few in number.

HALL OF FAME

Boggs a first-ballot favorite

Wade Boggs is expected to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Ten returnees to the ballot got at least 20 percent of the votes last year. For induction, 75 percent is required.

Player 2004%

Ryne Sandberg 61.1

Bruce Sutter 59.5

Jim Rice 54.5

Andre Dawson 50.0

Goose Gossage 40.7

Lee Smith 36.6

Bert Blyleven 35.4

Jack Morris 26.3

Steve Garvey 24.3

Tommy John 21.9