Sports 2 min read By Bethany Hadley
Ted Turner merits Hall of Fame induction, argues Forbes columnist
The late Braves owner is among eight managers and executives on the Contemporary Baseball Era non-players committee ballot, and the case for his induction is being made.
The late Ted Turner, longtime owner of the Atlanta Braves, is among the candidates under consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and one commentator argues he deserves a place in Cooperstown. The Hall's Contemporary Baseball Era non-players committee ballot, released this week, names eight managers and executives for consideration. Turner's inclusion means his record as a club owner will be weighed by the same body that reviews the contributions of people who shaped the game away from the field.
The ballot places Turner in a group whose careers in the sport extended past 1980, a detail that matters because the committee's remit covers the modern era rather than the distant past. The non-players committee is responsible for assessing figures whose influence on baseball came through management, ownership and leadership rather than playing. Its ballot therefore lists managers and executives alongside Turner, and each candidate's record will be considered against the standards the committee applies to that category.
The argument in favour of Turner centres on his long stewardship of the Braves, the franchise he owned and ran for decades. The commentary holds that his impact on the club and on the wider sport merits recognition with induction, and it presents his candidacy as a case the committee should take seriously. Making that case in print, the writer contends, is part of why Turner's name deserves to be revisited now that the ballot has been published.
Turner died in recent years, and his candidacy comes after his death, a point that underlines how the Hall's committees revisit the records of figures who are no longer living. Inclusion on the ballot does not guarantee election. The committee will reach its own decision over the eight names it has been asked to weigh, and no outcome has been announced. For now, Turner's candidacy moves through the process as one of several contested records from the modern era of the game, with the committee's deliberations determining whether he is honoured.
Source: forbes.com
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