Logan to be inducted into Brewers' Walk of Fame
Former Milwaukee shortstop becomes 17th member, and first since 2010
Logan, 85, was the only former Braves and Brewers player to receive the requisite 65 percent in a vote of Wisconsin media and Brewers officials. The Brewers, who dropped the cutoff from 75 percent to 65 percent after two straight years with no inductees, did not immediately announce a date for Logan's ceremony.
"This is a very special honor for me to be honored in this great city, especially for this New York boy," Logan said in a statement. "I want to thank the greatest fans in baseball, and everyone in the media and community, for their support."
Logan will be the 17th member of the Walk of Fame, which features home plate-shaped plaques on the home-plate plaza outside Miller Park. He was the first man to earn induction since former Braves teammate Lew Burdette in 2010.
Born and raised in Endicott, N.Y., Logan signed with the Boston Braves in 1947 and played parts of 11 seasons with that franchise, the final nine after owner Lou Perini moved the team to Milwaukee. Including two-plus seasons with the Pirates at the end of his career, Logan was a .268 hitter with 93 home runs and 547 RBIs who played a stellar shortstop.
His finest season was 1955, when Logan batted .297 with 13 home runs, 83 RBIs and led the National League with 37 doubles. Two years later, he was part of the terrific Braves team that outdueled the Dodgers for Milwaukee's first NL pennant and then beat the vaunted Yankees in the World Series. The Braves made it to the World Series again in '58, but this time fell to the Yankees.
In recent years, Logan has worked with former Milwaukee Sentinel columnist Bud Lea to keep the Braves' memory alive through their Milwaukee Braves Historical Society. Logan remains a Milwaukee resident and is a frequent visitor to Miller Park.
"Johnny is one of the all-time great personalities of the game, and this is a special opportunity for us to honor someone who still calls Milwaukee home," Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger said. "We congratulate Johnny and look forward to his induction later this summer."
Past honorees include Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount in 2001; Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and Cecil Cooper in 2002; Bob Uecker and Harry Dalton in 2003; Jim Gantner and Gorman Thomas in 2004; Don Money and Harvey Kuenn in 2005; Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and John Quinn in 2007 (the first year that former Braves players appeared on the ballot); and Burdette in 2010.
A total of 44 ballots were returned this year, with 26 Brewers players and nine Braves on the ballot. Logan appeared on 32 of them, or 72.7 percent.
The ballots included on-field personnel who wore a Brewers or Braves uniform for a minimum of three seasons but have been retired from playing/managing roles for at least three seasons. All players and managers receiving votes on at least five percent of the ballots will remain eligible in 2014.
Former Braves first baseman Joe Adcock and Brewers right-hander Teddy Higuera came closest to joining Logan, with Adcock (61.4 percent of the vote) falling two votes shy and Higuera (51.9 percent) three. Adcock belted 239 home runs during 10 seasons in Milwaukee, and Higuera's 28.9 WAR, per Baseball-Reference.com, is best in Brewers history for a pitcher.
Other runners-up included former manager George Bamberger and infielder Jeff Cirillo (who each received 43.2 percent) and right-hander Mike Caldwell, the club's all-time leader with 81 complete games, who garnered 40.9 percent. Outfielder Ben Oglivie, who was on the cusp of election in previous cycles, garnered only 29.5 percent of the vote this time.