Dusty Baker, Kim Ng, Negro Leagues Team Owner to Be Honored by Baseball Group

Dodgers star Dusty Baker of the 1970s, pioneering executive Kim Ng and the late Negro Leagues owner Effa Manley will be inducted Sunday into the Eternal Baseball Reliquary at Whittier College.

The Shrine of the Eternals differs from the Hall of Fame in that it focuses on an individual’s groundbreaking achievements that surpass statistical measures, and voting is open to the public rather than just sportswriters and commissioners, according to director Joe Price.

The criteria for evaluation are distinctiveness of play (good or bad), uniqueness of character and personality, and the impact a given person has on the baseball community.

Selected candidates, both on and off the field, must demonstrate responsibility for the advancement of baseball through athletic and/or business achievements, within the context of its broader cultural and sociological impact as a mass entertainment and arena of the human imagination.

Previous inductees include Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra and Roberto Clemente, two Hall of Fame bans from baseball — Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson — and such eccentric names as eccentric 1970s pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Ted Giannoulas, baseball’s first known costume mascot, the Famous Chicken, and the “Peanuts” character Charlie Brown.

Baker won the vote for the 2024 sanctuary class, receiving 39.6% of the 167 votes cast by members of the Whittier College-based Baseball Reliquary, which bills itself as a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture within the context of baseball history and exploring the unparalleled creative possibilities of the sport.

The three candidates who receive the most votes are elected to the sanctuary.

Ng came in second, receiving 34.1 percent of the vote. Manley and retired reliever Sean Doolittle tied for third with 32.9 percent of the vote.

Because Doolittle, who was called the “conscience of baseball” by Sports Illustrated for his support of workers’ rights, women’s rights, immigrants’ rights and the District of Columbia’s statehood, was unable to attend the ceremony because of his job as a pitching strategist for the Washington Nationals, he will be inducted into the academy next year, Price told City News Service.

Second place went to Ron LeFlore, who played nine seasons in the MLB despite never playing in organized league baseball before serving a prison sentence for armed robbery. Fifth place went to Ron LeFlore, receiving 31.1 percent of the votes. Third place went to Brooklyn Dodgers catcher and Hall of Famer Roy Campanella, receiving 30.4 percent of the votes.

Kirk Gibson, who etched his name into Dodgers history with his game-winning, two-out, two-strikeout home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics, finished seventh with 29.8 percent of the vote.

Baker was a two-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner and the 1977 National League Championship Series MVP during a 19-year major league career, including with the Dodgers from 1976 to 1983.

Baker began his 26-year major league managerial career with the San Francisco Giants in 1993, winning the first of three National League Manager of the Year awards for leading the team to 103 wins, 31 more than the previous season.

In 2022, he became the 12th manager and first black manager to win 2,000 games. His 2,183 wins rank seventh on the all-time list. All six above him are in the Hall of Fame.

Baker will not be able to attend the ceremony. He will be represented by his Dodgers teammate Reggie Smith.

The induction into the Shrine of the Eternals will be the first of two honors for Baker in six days. He will be inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball on Saturday.

Ng was hired as general manager of the Miami Marlins on November 13, 2020, becoming the first woman to serve as general manager of a men’s team in a North American major sport, as well as the first Asian American woman and first East Asian American woman to serve as general manager in Major League Baseball history.

Ng served as assistant general manager of the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2001 and the Dodgers from 2002 to 2011.

Ng will be introduced by Shane Barclay, who worked with Ng when she was MLB’s senior vice president of baseball operations. Because she is unable to attend, Ng will be represented by Ila Borders, the first female pitcher to start and win a men’s baseball game.

From 1935 to 1948, Manley co-owned the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League with her husband Abe Manley. She handled the Eagles’ contracts and travel schedules and quickly gained recognition for her ability to promote the team.

Manley is the only woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame. She died in Los Angeles in 1981 at the age of 84.

Manley will be represented by Joni Campanella, daughter of Roy Campanella, and will be represented by Kathy Robinson Young, niece of Jackie Robinson.

Also honored during the 2 p.m. ceremony at the Villalobos Conference Center will be Steve Butts and the late Jean Ardell.

Butts will receive the Hilda Award, which honors significant contributions to baseball by a fan. Butts is the lead administrator for the Facebook pages for Baseball Reliquary and the Institute for Baseball Studies, a collection of humanities studies at Whittier College.

The award is named after the late Brooklyn Dodgers fan Hilda Chester, who used to ring a cowbell in the stands at Ebbets Field.

Ardell will receive the Tony Salin Memorial Award for stories and biographies of women in baseball. The award will be accepted by her widower, Dan Ardell, who played seven games for the Los Angeles Angels in 1961, their first season in the American League.

This award recognizes individuals for their dedication to preserving baseball history. It is named after the author and baseball historian.