For the third time since 2001, the Veterans Committee failed to elect anyone from either the player’s or composite ballot, which includes executives, managers and umpires.

Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark defended the committee in a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, saying standards for entrance to the Hall Fame should be high.

``But that being said, we are disappointed no one has been elected during the three cycles since the restructuring,’’ Clark said. ``We will be evaluating the process at our next board meeting on March 13.’’

The two ballots, one featuring 27 players and another featuring 15 managers, umpires and executives, were considered by the 84-voting member Committee, comprised of all living Hall of Famers, Ford C. Frick Award and J.G. Taylor Spink Award winners.

Former Cubs third baseman Ron Santo led all candidates on the Player Ballot with 57 votes, (62 were needed for election) totaling 69.5 percent of all ballots cast. Umpire Doug Harvey led all Composite Ballot nominees with 52 votes, (61 were needed for election) 64.2 percent of the tally.

Hall of Fame vice-chairman and Hall of Fame player Joe Morgan took part in the conference call Tuesday, and was asked by a reporter if Hall of Famers are the wrong people to be evaluate the veterans’ ballot.

``Frankly, I’m offended by that question,’’ Morgan said. ``The baseball writers voted on these guys for 15 years and they did not get in. It is harder for me, and other Hall of Famers, to evaluate executives, so maybe that’s something we’ll talk about on May 15. Should we lower our standards to put more people in the Hall of Fame? I don’t think so.’’

Eighty-two of the living 84 Hall of Fame players cast votes on the players ballot, and Morgan pointed to the high participation as a sign that the players take the responsibility seriously.

``It’s not an easy process,’’ he said. ``I do feel like there are guys out there who should be in, and I argued, for instance, for Maury Wills. But everyone has their own opinion.’’

``We haven’t had time to evaluate all the criteria, but we will be evaluating every aspect of it,’’ Clark said. ``It may be time for a little bit of a change.’’

Results of the 2007 Player Ballot (62 needed for election): Santo (57 votes, 69.5 percent), Jim Kaat (52, 63.4 percent), Gil Hodges (50, 61 percent), Tony Oliva (47, 57.3 percent), Maury Wills (33, 40.2 percent), Joe Torre (26, 31.7 percent), Don Newcombe (17, 20.7 percent), Vada Pinson (16, 19.5 percent), Roger Maris (15, 18.3 percent),

Lefty O’Doul (15, 18.3 percent), Luis Tiant (15, 18.3 percent), Curt Flood (14, 17.1 percent), Al Oliver (14, 17.1 percent), Mickey Vernon (14, 17.1 percent), Minnie Minoso (12, 14.6 percent), Cecil Travis (12, 14.6 percent), Dick Allen (11, 13.4 percent), Marty Marion (11, 13.4 percent), Joe Gordon (10, 12.2 percent), Ken Boyer (9, 11 percent), Mickey Lolich (8, 9.8 percent), Wes Ferrell (7, 8.5 percent), Sparky Lyle (6, 7.3 percent), Carl Mays (6, 7.3 percent), Thurman Munson (6, 7.3 percent), Rocky Colavito (5, 6.1 percent) and Bobby Bonds (1, 1.2 percent).

Results of the 2007 Composite Ballot (61 needed for election):

Harvey (52 votes, 64.2 percent), Marvin Miller (51, 63 percent), Walter O’Malley (36, 44.4 percent), Buzzie Bavasi (30, 37 percent), Dick Williams (30, 37 percent), Whitey Herzog (29, 35.8 percent), Bill White (24, 29.6 percent), Bowie Kuhn (14, 17.3 percent), August Busch Jr. (13, 16 percent), Billy Martin (12, 14.8 percent), Charley O. Finley (10, 12.3 percent), Gabe Paul (10, 12.3 percent), Paul Richards (10, 12.3 percent), Phil Wrigley (9, 11.1 percent) and Harry Dalton (8, 9.9 percent).

``When our Board restructured the Committee in 2001, we did so to open up and streamline the process while continuing to maintain the high standards established by the Baseball Writers Association of America,’’ said Clark.

``The current Veterans Committee provides a peer review of players previously considered by the BBWAA, for as many as 15 years, while also considering the candidacies of managers, umpires and executives. The process was not designed with the goal to necessarily elect someone, but to give everyone on the ballot an opportunity to be elected through a fair and open process.

``Through three elections for players, the process reinforces the selections of the BBWAA, even though Veterans Committee members are giving more consideration _ nearly six votes per Player Ballot _ than ever before. The process has a 98 percent participation rate, which even exceeds the high participation standard of the BBWAA. The process shows that a 75 percent threshold is extremely difficult to attain and that election to the Baseball Hall of Fame remains the greatest honor in the game, and highly selective.ö

The 84-person Veterans Committee electorate was comprised of 14 Frick Award recipients, eight Spink Award recipients, one member of the past Veterans Committee whose term has not expired, and 61 Hall of Fame members. The 2007 BBWAA Hall of Fame electees Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr., did not have a vote as they have not yet been inducted, nor do 2006 J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner Rick Hummel and 2007 Ford C. Frick Award winner Denny Matthews. The four will be honored during Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies on Sunday, July 29 in Cooperstown.

The final list of candidates for each ballot was selected by a BBWAA-appointed screening committee of 60 BBWAA members, two writers from each of the 22 major league cities with one team, and four writers from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, each of which has two major league teams. Each writer was asked to select 25 individuals from a list of 200 players and 15 managers, umpires and executives from a list of 60.

Simultaneously, a six-member screening committee of Hall of Fame members independently selected five players, three of whom happened to overlap with the 25 selected by the BBWAA. The top 27 players, based on rankings by the BBWAA-appointed screening committee, comprised the final ballot.

The entire Veterans Committee process will be repeated again for eligible players prior to the next election, which will be held in 2009. Managers, umpires and executives will next have their candidacy reviewed again in 2011.

The Historical Overview Committee, a group independent of Hall of Fame employees, members and directors, was appointed by the BBWAA’s Board of Directors, to develop the list of 200 former players. The committee, comprised of 10 historians and veteran baseball writers, met in the internationally renowned Baseball Hall of Fame Library Research Center in December 2005. After further research, the committee finalized its choices and the lists were announced in the spring.

The original candidate pool, which includes all eligible major leaguers to have played in at least 10 seasons, up to and including the 1985 season, encompassed more than 1,400 players. The Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of Major League Baseball since the 1920s, provided the data used by the committee.

Once upon a time, the Veterans Committee was the back door into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Every February, the committee would meet in Florida, debate the merits of their friends and usually elect a couple players and managers.

Some, like Orlando Cepeda and Larry Doby, were deserving. Others, like Travis Jackson and Fred Lindstrom, will be forever debated. But for managers, executives and umpires, it was the only path to Cooperstown.

So for every Jim Bottomley, we got an Earl Weaver. It seemed like an even trade.

Today, however, the back doors at the Hall have been nailed shut for more than five years. The new Veterans Committee has failed to elect anyone in two tries, and Tuesday’s election might again fail to produce anyone with the 75 percent of the vote necessary for induction.

An injustice, to be sure. Gil Hodges is deserving, as are Ron Santo, Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat. But at least those four _ and the 23 other players on the ballot _ had a shot during their Baseball Writers Association of America candidacy. For the 15 men on the composite ballot _ for managers, executives and umpires _ this is their only chance. Former National League umpire Doug Harvey deserves the honor, as does former Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, who was a driving force in the integration of the game.

As for managers Dick Williams and Whitey Herzog, few ever did it better. Only one manager _ Sparky Anderson _ has been inducted in the last 10 years, and it’s high time we had another one.

Bottom line: it’s time for someone _ anyone _ to be elected by this Committee. If they cannot, baseball fans everywhere will be missing out on a chance to honor some deserving men. And that’s not what the Hall of Fame is all about.