Lee Smith was the major league career saves leader for 13 years from 1993-2006. Surely, he thought, this would merit strong Hall of Fame consideration. But he never received more than 51 percent of the vote in any of the 15 elections for which was eligible in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, a period that ended last year.
Now, Smith, who still is third on the saves list at 478, will get another shot. On Dec. 9 in Las Vegas, a 16-member committee commissioned by the Hall of Fame, including as many as eight Hall of Famers, will consider Smith and nine other men in a “Today’s Game” ballot.