Brett's concerns were off 98 percent

Associated Press
George Brett earned induction into the Hall of Fame by the fourth largest margin ever. Ryan is No. 2 on the list.
George Brett insists he was worried back on Jan. 5, the day this year's Hall of Fame voting results were to be announced.

He believed he stood a good chance of being inducted in his first year of eligibility, but wondered whether he really would get the requisite 75 percent support of voters.

His concern was misguided.

Brett joined former adversary Nolan Ryan in riding into the Hall on one of the strongest waves of support ever recorded. Needing 373 votes out of 497 to earn induction, Ryan (491) and Brett (488) met with little resistance. Their percentages placed them among the top four players in Hall voting history. The biggest landslide inductees are Tom Seaver (98.84 percent), Ryan (98.79), Ty Cobb (98.23) and Brett (98.19).

"When I was told that I got in and got 98 percent, I was just flabbergasted," Brett said earlier this year. "It just knocked me on the floor. You think it was the Christmas cards my wife sent out to the voters?"

More likely, it was Brett's spectacular 21-year career with the Kansas City Royals. It was a memorable run that included one world championship, two World Series appearances, seven post-season berths, 10 All-Star selections, three batting titles, 3,154 hits, 317 home runs, a strong run at batting .400 and, of course, one bat that was a tad heavy on the pine tar.

Former teammate Jamie Quirk said: "George was the Kansas City Royals. We had some great players, but George was our heart and soul."

Brett, a second-round pick in the 1971 draft, initially was disappointed to be taken by Kansas City, a struggling expansion team. It took his brother Bobby to raise his spirits by pointing out George had a better chance of reaching the majors quickly with just such a club.

"He was right," said George, who was in the big leagues by August 1973.

Once there, Brett began to carve out a magnificent career that earned him recognition as one of the greatest third baseman to ever play.

He won his first batting title in 1976, the year the Royals won their first division championship. Four years later, Brett went after something even more elusive: a .400 batting average, the first since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

With two weeks left in the 1980 season, Brett was at .400. He hit 24 home runs while striking out only 22 times, but wound up at .390 - five hits short of what he needed for .400. He had to settle for a .664 slugging percentage that was the best since Mickey Mantle's .687 in 1961. And with 118 RBIs in 117 games, Brett became the first player since 1950 to average more than one RBI per game. His .390 average from that season remains the highest recorded in any full season in the last 58 years.

"If anybody could manage a baseball player, I don't see how you could manage anybody better than George Brett," said former manager Whitey Herzog.

But for all his accomplishments, Brett is perhaps best remembered for his home run at Yankee Stadium off Goose Gossage on July 24, 1983, and the tantrum that followed. Brett's two-run shot had given the Royals a 5-4 lead over their hated rivals with two outs in the ninth, until New York manager Billy Martin convinced umpires to disallow it because the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the permitted 18 inches on the handle.

Brett flew out of the dugout, completely enraged. He and manager Dick Howser, coach Rocky Colavito and pitcher Gaylord Perry (who tried to hide the bat from umpires) were ejected and the Yankees won, 4-3. American League president Lee MacPhail, however, overruled his umpires and the home run was reinstated. Despite a Yankees court challenge, the game was resumed Aug. 18 before 1,245 curious fans. The ninth inning was finished, the Royals' victory stood, and a legend was completed.

"Heat of the action," Brett recalled with a chuckle. "New York, of course, is New York. If it'd happened in Milwaukee or Detroit, nobody would have ever heard of it. But it was New York City, and a lot of crazy things happen in that place.

"At the time, it wasn't funny. But now my oldest son Jackson says, 'Dad, let's put in that tape where you go berserk.' So we fast-forward to that point in the tape, and I have to explain to him that's not the type of behavior I expect from him."

Brett's wild tantrum, however, did turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

"Prior to 1983, I was always ridiculed at ballparks about an ailment I had during the 1980 World Series," Brett said, referring to the most publicized case of hemorrhoids in the history of modern man. "Now, since 1983, I'm always known as the Pine Tar Guy. Now what would you rather be known as?"

Now, Brett will be known as Hall of Famer. He and Robin Yount, who are close friends, toured the Hall museum together May 4 as part of their orientation session. Ryan, their respected adversary, made his visit a week earlier.

"To go in with two guys like this," Brett said, "it just doesn't get any better than that."