Buck ... and the Hall of Fame

You probably already know that Buck O'Neil barely missed election into the Baseball Hall of Fame last year. A special committee elected 17 Negro Leagues players, managers and executives into the Hall of Fame -- but Buck narrowly missed, probably by one vote. There has already been plenty of outrage expressed about that, and one of the missions of this blog to move on. Buck's greatest belief was that you have to let go of bitterness and disappointment.

When Buck died, Hall of Fame chair Jane Forbes Clark announced that the Hall had a "very strong commitment to keeping Buck O'Neil's legacy alive forever." She added that at a meeting in July, the Hall's Board of Directors began looking into ways to "recognize his lasting contributions to our game."

So, the Hall of Fame has promised to do something to honor Buck O'Neil. But what? According to Jeff Idelson, the vice president of communication and education, the board will meet in again March and he suspects that some news about Buck may emerge. I will say this: I hope the Hall does the right thing and honors Buck, but in the right way. I know some people would like to see Buck inducted into the Hall of Fame, but I must admit that induction now would leave me a bit cold. For me, for most people who loved Buck, the point was to induct Buck O'Neil into the Hall while he was alive, while he could enjoy it. With Buck gone, I don't think it would be much of a celebration.

But I do think there is a way the Hall of Fame could keep Buck's memory alive - others have suggested this as well - and that is by creating the "Buck O'Neil Award." It could be given every year to those men and women who made baseball a better game. This would be a way to honor scouts, authors, pioneers, inventors -- the list goes on and on. These people - like Buck himself - have been ignored for too long. Already, the Hall of Fame has the Ford Frick Award to honor announcers and the J.G. Taylor Spink Award to honor sportswriters. This is a natural. The Buck O'Neil award is long overdue.