Gaston on Baseball Hall of Fame contemporary ballot
Published
Longtime Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston was one of eight names revealed on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Contemporary Baseball Era ballot on Thursday.
Gaston, 79, became the first Black manager to lead a team to a World Series victory when he guided the Jays to the first of back-to-back championships in 1992.
Also on the ballot are World Series-winning New York Mets manager Davey Johnson, three-time Managers of the Year Jim Leyland and Lou Piniella, former Baltimore Orioles general manager Hank Peters, longtime umpires Joe West and Ed Montague and former National League president and eight-time All-Star first baseman Bill White.
The 16-member committee will consider the eight men's candidacy at the Winter Meetings on Dec. 3 in Nashville.
A native of San Antonio, Gaston had an 11-year big-league career and appeared in 1,026 games from 1967 to 1978 for the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. Gaston was an All-Star in 1970 when he batted .318 with 29 home runs, 93 runs batted in and an OPS of .907.
Gaston joined the Jays as hitting coach in 1982. He was promoted to manager in May of 1989 upon the firing of Jimy Williams. He would go on to spend 12 seasons as manager of the Jays over two stints (1989 to 1997 and 2008 to 2010), winning four division titles along with the two World Series triumphs.
For his career, Gaston managed the team to a mark of 894-837 (.516).
The 2024 Hall of Fame induction weekend is set for July 19 in Cooperstown, NY.