The three managers were each named on all 16 ballots cast by the
Expansion Era Committee, which had also considered nine other former
players, executives and contributors to the game.
Seventy-five percent of the vote was needed for election by the
committee set up to judge contributions to the sport from 1973 to
the present.
Cox, La Russa and Torre will be joined in the Hall of Fame Class of
2014 by any electees who emerge from the Baseball Writers'
Association of America voting, which will be announced on January 8.
Cox, a four-time Manager of the Year, skippered the Braves and Blue
Jays for 29 seasons, leading his teams to 15 first-place finishes in
their division.
From 1991-2005, he led the Braves to 14 consecutive seasons in the
playoffs. The Braves won five National League pennants and the 1995
World Series under Cox, who finished with 2,504 wins — fourth-best
all time.
La Russa, another four-time Manager of the Year, steered the White
Sox, A's and Cardinals for 33 seasons, winning 2,728 games for the
third-highest career total behind Hall of Famers Connie Mack and
John McGraw.
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He led his teams to 12 first-place finishes, six pennants and
three World Series titles — one with the A's (1989) and two with
the Cardinals (2006 and 2011).
Torre led the Yankees to six American League pennants and four
World Series titles (1996, 1998-2000) in 12 seasons. He also
managed the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers — winning one
division title with Atlanta and two with Los Angeles.
His 2,326 wins in 29 seasons ranks fifth.
Torre also spent 18 seasons as a big league catcher/third
baseman, earning nine All-Star selections and winning the 1971
NL Most Valuable Player award.
"It hits you like a sledgehammer," Torre told reporters about
his enshrinement next summer in Cooperstown. "I can't tell you
how excited I am. Makes it even better to get in with these two
guys."
Falling short of election were Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey,
Tommy John, Billy Martin, Marvin Miller, Dave Parker, Dan
Quisenberry, Ted Simmons and George Steinbrenner.
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York;
editing by Justin Palmer)
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