A Toast To The 2012 IAB HOF Nominees

On this appropriate weekend, the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame announced the nominees for the class of 2012, and the winners will be announced later in May.

The Hall is based at Foley's NY Bar and Restaurant, the great watering hole on 33rd Street in Manhattan.

Here is the official list of nominees, and they come from six different categories:

Hall of Famers and Legends

· Roger Bresnahan: "The Duke of Tralee" who pioneered the use of shin guards and batting helmets

· "Big Ed" Delahanty: One of the great early power hitters of the game, his lifetime .346 average ranks fifth all-time

· "Wee Willie" Keeler: Dead Ball Era star, holds the 2^nd longest hitting streak at 44 games

Former Players

· "Super Joe" McEwing: Popular utility player for the Cardinals, Mets, Royals, Astros and White Sox

· Dale Murphy: Two-time National League MVP for the Atlanta Braves

· Jeff Nelson: Longtime reliever for the Yankees; four-time World Series champion

Managers

· Tom Kelly: Twins manager who won World Series titles in 1987 and 1991

· Jack McKeon: Two-time NL Manager of Year whose 2003 Florida Marlins won the World Series

· "Walpole Joe" Morgan: Popular former player, scout and a manager of Boston Red Sox

Executives

· Gene Michael: Scout and former Yankees GM

· Peter O'Malley: Former owner of the LA Dodgers and longtime supporter of Baseball Ireland

· Charles Comiskey: Famed owner of the Chicago White Sox

Media

· Jimmy Breslin: Veteran New York sports writer

· Ed Coleman: New York Mets radio broadcaster

· Hal McCoy: Cincinnati Reds beat writer

Entertainers

· Jimmy Fallon: Star of Fever Pitch

· Rosie O'Donnell: Co-star of A League of Their Own

· Amy Madigan: Co-star of Field of Dreams

This will be the fifth class to enter the Hall, and here are the four previous ones:

The "Starting Nine" inductees in 2008 were: the late Mets and Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, Yankee announcer John Flaherty, sportswriter Jeff Horrigan, NY Mets groundskeeper Pete Flynn, retired sluggers Mark McGwire and Sean "The Mayor" Casey, Kevin Costner, star of Field of Dreams and Bull Durham, legendary owner-manager Connie Mack, and longtime official scorer and sports columnist Red Foley.

2009 inductees: Walter O'Malley, longtime Brooklyn and LA Dodgers owner (Executive category); sluggers Steve Garvey and Paul O'Neill (Players category), Jim Joyce (Umpire); veteran sportscaster Vin Scully, and Ed Lucas, a blind reporter who has covered the Yankees and Mets for four decades.

2010 inductees: Tim McCarver, veteran TV analyst and former player; Bob Murphy, longtime Mets announcer (Media category); Michael "King" Kelly, the game's first superstar (Hall of Famers and Legends category); Yankees GM Brian Cashman (Executives category); Bill James, famed statistician and an advisor for the Boston Red Sox (Executives category).

2011 inductees: Nolan Ryan, baseball's all-time strikeout king, Big Ed Walsh, baseball's all-time ERA leader, legendary New York Giants manager John McGraw, New York Yankees trainers Gene Monahan and Steve Donohue, "Baseball's Balladeer" Terry Cashman, and Chuck Lennon, former player, coach and lifetime fan of Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball.

The induction ceremonies will take place on July 27th at Foley's at noon. Good luck to all the nominees!