Baseball hall to honor Erskine for lifetime achievement
Jul. 18—COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The eyes of the baseball world will be trained on the small upstate New York village of Cooperstown this weekend for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction and Awards ceremonies.
And Anderson legend Carl Erskine, who was an all-star pitcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers, will receive a special honor. Erskine's family will be on hand in Cooperstown to accept the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf.
Erskine, 96, becomes the sixth winner of the O'Neil Award, which was established in 2007 to honor an individual whose efforts broadened the game's appeal and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the late O'Neil, who passed away in 2006 after eight decades of contributions to the game. O'Neil was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
After his playing career ended, Erskine returned to his hometown, and was the baseball coach at Anderson College for 12 years (1961-1971 and 1973), winning four conference championships. With more than four decades as a volunteer, he was awarded Special Olympics' highest honor, the Spirit of the Special Olympics. Erskine was also a charter member of both the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Baseball Assistance Team.
A fellow Hoosier will be one of two players honored with induction into the hall of fame Sunday. Jasper's Scott Rolen will be enshrined alongside the all-time greats of the sport after receiving the requisite number of votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Slugger Fred McGriff was selected by the Contemporary Baseball Players Era Committee and joins Rolen in the Class of 2023 while Pat Hughes will receive the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting and John Lowe will be presented with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.
Erskine's family, Hughes and Lowe will receive the awards during a private ceremony Saturday afternoon and will be represented on the stage along with Rolen and McGriff during Sunday afternoon's induction ceremonies.
Sunday's ceremony will be broadcast nationally on MLB Network beginning at 1:30 p.m. and streamed at baseballhall.org.
Rolen — the 1993 Indiana Mr. Baseball Award winner — played 17 seasons for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds, earning eight Gold Glove Awards at third base. A seven-time All-Star Game selection, Rolen ranks 12th all-time with 2,023 games played at third base.
He is one of only four players who appeared in at least 50 percent of their games at third base with at least 300 home runs, 100 stolen bases and 500 doubles, along with Adrián Beltré, George Brett and Chipper Jones.
McGriff played 19 seasons with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs and Dodgers, earning five All-Star Game selections. He is one of only four players to lead both the American League and National League in home runs, joining Buck Freeman, Sam Crawford and Mark McGwire.
Rolen's plaque will feature a Cardinals logo while McGriff's cap will have no logo.
Hughes has called more than 6,000 MLB games during his 40-year career, including eight no-hitters, the 25-inning White Sox vs. Brewers contest from 1984 that was the longest game in American League history and Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game in 1998.
Lowe covered more than 300 postseason games, including 147 in the World Series. He also chronicled Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games record in 1995 and the culmination of the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase in 1998.
Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.
