Fan Voting starts Friday for St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame

On Friday, fans will be able to start voting for the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. There are eight candidates that were selected by the “Red Ribbon” panel for consideration.
Mar 11, 2012; Jupiter, FL. USA; Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds watches batting practice before the game against the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium. The game was postponed due to rain after 4 innings. Image Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
The eight nominees are:
Jim Edmonds (.285 BA, 241 HR, 713 RBI)
Edmonds was the winner of six straight Gold Gloves from 2000-05. He was an outfielder on Cardinals teams that advanced to the postseason six of eight times. As a Cardinals outfielder, he won a World Series ring in 2006. Edmonds saved the Cardinals postseason in 2004 when he hit an extra-inning walk-off home run in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Houston Astros.

Bob Forsch (163-127, 3.67 ERA, 1,079 K)
Forsch pitched for 15 seasons with St. Louis. His 163 wins are good enough for third place in franchise history. Surprisingly, it’s Forsch who is the only pitcher in team history with no-hitters.

Keith Hernandez (.299 BA, 265 2B, 662 R)
Hernandez was a co-NL MVP winner in 1979 with Willie Stargell and played for the 1982 World Series champions. As a Cardinals first baseman, he won five Gold Gloves and selected for two All-Star games.

Willie McGee (.294 BA, 301 SB, 255 2B)
The popular outfielder spent 13 seasons with the Cardinals. After hitting .353 and stealing 56 bases, he won the NL MVP award in 1985. He won three Gold Gloves for his defense in the outfield. Fans have been hoping that his #51 jersey would have been retired by now.

Mark McGwire (1.111 OPS, 220 HR, 473 RBI)
McGwire, if anything else, led fans back to baseball when he and Sammy Sosa chased Roger Maris‘ home run record during the 1998 season. Big Mac won the NL home run titles in both the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He was selected for three All-Star games.

Matt Morris (101-62, 3.61 ERA, 986 K)
Matty Mo pitched for Cardinals from 1997-2005 and played for five squads that went to the postseason. He led NL with 22 wins during the 2001 season and was selected to play in two All-Star games.

Ted Simmons (.298 BA, 172 HR, 929 RBI)
Simba shouldn’t even be a candidate here. He should have been in the rest of the inaugural class because his numbers are that good. That’s right. As a player, he was overshadowed by his catching peers, Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk. All one has to do is take a look at the stats of catchers that played in his era. Simmons is one of the best offensive hitting catchers of all time but yet it is Bench that everybody talks about. In 13 seasons as a Cardinal, Simmons was a Six-time All-Star. During the 1975 season, Simmons set a NL record for hits as a catcher with 188. He won a Silver Slugger during the 1980 season.

Joe Torre (.308 BA, 558 RBI, 161 2B)
Torre was able to play many positions during his six seasons on the Cardinals: catcher, first base, and third base. After being traded for 1967 NL MVP Orlando Cepeda, Torre took home the honors in 1971 when he hit .363 with 230 hits and 137 RBIs. Torre is going into the Hall of Fame this summer with a New York Yankees cap due to his managerial accomplishments although the committee took his playing career into consideration.

Committee members included: Tom Ackerman, Frank Cusumano, Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel, Randy Karraker, Martin Kilcoyne, Jenifer Langosch, Tony La Russa, Bernie Miklasz, Joe Ostermeier, Rob Rains, Red Schoendienst, Joe Strauss, and Brian Walton.