COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- First baseman Eddie Murray and second baseman Ryne Sandberg are among the 33 candidates listed on the 2002 ballot for Major League Baseball.
Both men will be eligible for the first time next year, as will 15 others, including pitchers Fernando Valenzuela and Lee Smith, catcher Tony Pena, the current manager of the Kansas City Royals, outfielder Brett Butler, and Darryl Kile, a 20-game winner in 2000, who died in his Chicago hotel room on June 22, 2002.
Kile, who had a heart condition that was not discovered until the autopsy of his death, pitched 12 seasons. He pitched a 7-1 no-hitter against the New York Mets on Sept. 8, 1993, while with the Houston Astros.
For his career, he was 133-119 with a 4.12 ERA. He had 28 shutouts, 1,668 strikeouts, and finished fifth in the balloting for the NL Cy Young in 1995 and 2000.
Murray won a World Series in 1983 with the Baltimore Orioles. In his 21-year career, he batted .284, and whacked 504 home runs. He is the only switch-hitter with at least 500 homers and 3,000 hits, and finished in the top ten in voting for the AL MVP seven times.
Sandberg, who spent his entire 16-year career with the Chicago Cubs, made the NL All-Star team 10 times. He was Sporting News Player of the Year in 1984.
For his career, he batted .285 with 282 home runs and 1,061 RBI.
The list also includes 16 holdovers, including catcher Gary Carter, pitchers Jack Morris, Bruce Sutter and Jim Kaat, and outfielders Dale Murphy, Vince Coleman, and Jim Rice.
The list was compiled by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The five-year rule was waived in the case of Kile.
Voting ends on Dec. 31, and the results will be announced on the Hall of Fame's Website at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2003.
