Sutter's induction bodes well for Smith

For three years now, Castor's Lee Smith has seen his name on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Each year he has come up short.

Now there may be a little more hope for Smith. With Bruce Sutter's induction on Sunday and Dennis Eckersley's a year ago, it appears closers are finally beginning to get their due when it comes to the Hall.

And in this day of specialized pitchers and fewer complete games it stands that more and more closers will be enshrined in Cooperstown in the coming seasons.

Smith, as the all-time saves leader, stands to benefit from not only this recent trend but also from Trevor Hoffman's pursuit of his saves record.