Joe Torre, La Russa, Cox on baseball Hall of Fame ballot

Retired managers Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox will join holdovers George Steinbrenner and Marvin Miller on the Hall of Fame expansion era committee ballot next month.

Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Billy Martin and Ted Simmons also are held over from the 2010 ballot, while Dave Parker and Dan Quisenberry have been added. Vida Blue, Ron Guidry, Al Oliver and Rusty Staub have been dropped.

The committee will gather at the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and its vote will be announced Dec. 9.

Torre and Cox retired as managers after the 2010 season and La Russa after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2011 World Series championship.

Torre led the New York Yankees to World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 and finished with a 2,326-1,997 record as a big league manager, also spending time with the New York Mets, Atlanta, St. Louis and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

La Russa is third in wins among managers with a 2,728-2,365 record that also included time with the Chicago White Sox and Oakland. He won World Series titles with the Athletics in 1989 and the Cardinals in 2006 and `11.

Cox, who led Atlanta to the 1995 Series title, is fourth in career wins with a 2,504-2,001 record that also included time with Toronto. He led the Braves to 14 straight division titles from 1991-05.

Successful reign

Steinbrenner was the New York Yankees owner from 1973 until his death in July 2010, and the team won seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants and 16 AL East titles during his reign. He appeared on the ballot for the first time that December and received fewer than eight votes. The panel elected former Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick, who appeared on 13 of 16 ballots.

Miller, the pioneering head of the players' association from 1966-81, died in November 2012 at 95. He will be appearing on a committee ballot for the sixth time.

When all Hall of Famers could vote, Miller received 44 per cent in 2003 and 63 per cent in 2007. After the Hall downsized the committee, he received three of 12 votes in 2007, seven of 12 in 2009 and 11 of 16 in December 2010, one shy of the required 75 per cent.

This year's committee includes Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Herzog, Tom Lasorda, Paul Molitor, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro and Frank Robinson; Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston; retired club executive Andy MacPhail; Philadelphia Phillies President Dave Montgomery; Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf; Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau; Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle; Baseball Writers' Association of American secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell; and retired Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Jim Reeves.

This year's ballot, chosen by a BBWAA-appointed historical overview committee, covers baseball's expansion era. Players, managers, umpires, executives whose most significant impact was from 1973 on were considered as part of a three-year cycle. The golden era (1947-72) will be voted on in 2014 and the pre-integration era (1871-1946) will be judged in 2015.

Anyone elected will be inducted into the Hall during ceremonies in Cooperstown on July 24 with any players chosen by the BBWAA. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are among the newcomers to the BBWAA balloting, which will be announced Jan. 8.