My Thanksgiving weekend column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) Ex-Cub Ron Santo finally got into the Hall of Fame this past summer. Ex-Cub Greg Maddux will easily get into the Hall of Fame in the summer of 2014. And Ex-Cub Lee Smith will surely get into the Hall of Fame …
Well, who knows when – or if – the big man will ever be inducted into Cooperstown. But I do know this: the fact that Lee Arthur Smith hasn’t gotten in yet is a shame.
And it’s high time to fix the oversight.
In 1995, legendary Los Angeles Times sports writer Jim Murray tabbed Lee Smith as the active player most likely to be elected to the Hall of Fame, calling him “the best one-inning pitcher the game ever saw,” and “the best at smuggling a game into the clubhouse in history.”
Two years later, Smith retired after 18 dominating seasons and with his name attached to the all-time saves record. But here in 2012, he’s still awaiting his HOF call. Murray, who passed away in ’98, would surely be scratching his head about that if he was alive today.
I am alive and I’m certainly scratching mine.
Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …