Seven with O’s ties on ballot for Hall of Fame committee to consider

Former Orioles second baseman and manager Davey Johnson and six other former Orioles players are on the 10-man ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Today’s Game Era committee to consider next month. The former Orioles on the ballot for the 16-man committee, which meets Dec. 9 at the winter meetings in Las Vegas, are Johnson, reliever Lee Smith, outfielder-designated hitter Harold Baines, outfielder Albert Belle, first baseman Will Clark, outfielder Joe Carter and outfielder Lou Piniella. The ballot also includes three non- Orioles: pitcher Orel Hershiser, manager Charlie Manuel and owner George Steinbrenner. The committee considers candidates from 1998 to the present, and a candidate needs at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected. Any candidate picked will be inducted July 21 along with any players elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in a vote announced Jan. 22.