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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Legendary Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges received a long-awaited selection to the baseball Hall of Fame.
The Golden Days Era Committee selected Hodges at its meeting in Orlando, Fla. and he will be honored at the July 24, 2022 induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., according to MLB.com.
The Golden Days Era Committee considers candidates from 1950-69.
``Hodges was an eight-time All-Star in an 18-year career as a first baseman for the Dodgers and Mets,'' according to the MLB. ``He won three Gold Gloves and led the Dodgers to seven National League pennants and two World Series titles. Hodges' 370 career homers were the third-most by a right-handed hitter at the time of his retirement in 1963.''
Hodges also managed the 1969 ``Miracle'' Mets to their first World Series title.
``He was one hell of a first baseman -- the prototype for a first baseman,'' said Cleon Jones, who played for Hodges on those `69 Mets. ``For that alone, he should have been in [the Hall of Fame]. I know for a fact that he would have been a Hall of Fame manager had he lived.''
Hodges died from a heart attack before the start of the 1972 season at the age of 47.