Sunday, July 08, 2001
Reds fans stuffed ballots for another Bell
1957 All-Star controversy repeated this year
By Malcolm C. Knox
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ed Bailey thought the uproar was nonsense 44 years ago over the All-Star ballot box stuffing for Reds teammates such as Gus Bell. Two generations later, the Bell has changed but not Bailey's feelings.
In 1957, commissioner Ford Frick replaced two of the seven Reds voted by fans as National League starters, Bell and Wally Post. This year, the process again was criticized when Bell's grandson, David, almost rode a wave of ballot stuffing for the Seattle Mariners into the All-Star Game.
“If the people elected him, let him on there,” said Bailey, the former catcher who, along with Reds teammates Don Hoak, Roy McMillan, Frank Robinson and Johnny Temple, kept his 1957 All-Star starting berth. “Who's ahead of (David Bell)? Cal Ripken? He's not hitting that good, and he's the leading vote-getter.
“It appears that people are trying to distract from the honor that it is. If they were that interested in the thing, they should have gotten out and voted.”
But David Bell (.251, eight homers, 38 RBI through Thursday) lost by 45,000 votes because of a late surge for retiring marathon man Cal Ripken Jr. (.230-4-28) of Baltimore.
In 1956, five Reds started in the All-Star Game. In 1957, Frick again allowed only five, explaining at the time that they had been “either leading or in contention with the leaders” in nationwide voting. Frick replaced outfielders Gus Bell and Post with future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
It initially appeared the Reds would win all eight starting positions, but first baseman George Crowe lost to Stan Musial, another Hall of Famer, on a late surge of votes.
“It would be a terrible thing if eight Reds started in the All-Star Game,” Frick said when that appeared imminent.
At the time, Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts told the Enquirer, that, “in all fairness,” the three Reds who were going to be removed from the starting lineup at least should be named “honorary members” of the All-Star team.
“Since you have seen fit to disregard the fans' vote in three instances,” Reds general manager Gabe Paul wrote in a wire to Frick, “it is the position of the Cincinnati club that the least that should be done is to include Bell, Crowe and Post on the All-Star squad, even if they are not in the starting lineup, to which they were elected by the fans.”
Because Musial ended up beating out Crowe, that wasn't an issue. Gus Bell was selected as a reserve to the '57 squad. Post was not.
“I guess Mays deserves it because he's had a better year so far than I have,” Bell said. “The fans are supposed to run it, but I'm not exactly burned up about being replaced by Willie.”
According to 1957 Enquirer reports, “the more than half a million votes of Cincinnati fans were greater than the total cast by all other sections of the nation.” One woman wrote a letter to the Enquirer that year saying she had sent in 100 ballots, with a Reds player at every position, and planned to send in 100 more.
Joe Nuxhall, a pitcher for the Reds that year and a 1955-1956 All-Star, said he sees no problem letting the fans have their say, then and now.
“Every city has that opportunity,” the Reds broadcaster said. “To me, it's the fans' deal. They pay our salaries. What's wrong with that?”
Frick didn't think it was OK. After the '57 fiasco, All-Star selection by fans was stopped until new commissioner Bowie Kuhn reinstated it in 1970. Major-league managers, players and coaches selected the teams from 1958 to 1969.
Like the 1957 Reds, the Mariners threatened to monopolize the field in the July 10 All-Star Game at Seattle's Safeco Field.
The All-Star Game will feature six Mariners, including four starters. Some of the volume of Mariners voting has been attributed to Internet voting, particularly from overseas, and the popularity of Japanese rookie outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
Suzuki led the majors this year with more than three million votes, 1.2 million more than home run leader Barry Bonds of San Francisco. Boston's Manny Ramirez, trailing by more than 1.5 million votes, was closest to Suzuki among AL outfielders.
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Reds fans stuffed ballots for another Bell
