Murray leads hopefuls in hall-of-fame voting

NEW YORK -- Eddie Murray is certainly headed to the Hall of Fame. With more than 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, there's plenty to put on his plaque.

So, will he have any company this summer in Cooperstown? All-time saves leader Lee Smith and all-around second baseman Ryne Sandberg hope so, and All-Star catcher Gary Carter could be real close when the election results come out at 2 p.m. EST Tuesday.

"I know I'm deserving," said Carter, who fell just 11 votes shy last year.

Murray is set to become the 38th person picked by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his first year of eligibility. Steady Eddie is the lone switch-hitter in the 500-3,000 club, whose only other members include Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

Murray, Sandberg and Smith are among 17 players on the ballot for the first time. Fernando Valenzuela also is on that list and so is Darryl Kile, the St. Louis pitcher who died of heart disease last season.

Kile was the third player to appear on the ballot early -- in the rare cases when an active player dies, the customary five-year waiting period is waived and reduced to six months. Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson were the others.

Carter, Jim Rice and Jim Kaat are among the 16 carry-over candidates. So are Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage, hoping to someday expand the Hall's rank of relievers.

It takes 75 percent of the votes to be elected and join the current 254 members.

The reconfigured Veterans Committee, which is considering former manager Whitey Herzog, former players' union official Marvin Miller and many others, will announce its voting results on Feb. 26.

Induction ceremonies will be held July 27 in Cooperstown.