Former Royals owner Ewing Kauffman is again just one step away from a posthumous induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.</p><p> Kauffman was one of 10 executives selected Tuesday for consideration by a 12-member Veterans Committee that again includes current Royals owner David Glass.</p><p> And Glass is already itching for his second chance to push his predecessor’s candidacy.</p><p> “Ewing Kauffman took an expansion franchise in a small market and made it very respectable,” Glass said. “He was highly respected by the other owners and contributed to lots of decisions that, as other owners will tell you, were always in the best interest of the game.</p><p> “He was one of those owners who did not have a selfish approach. It was never a matter of, `What can baseball do for my team?’ He always couched his decisions on the basis of what was in the best interest of baseball because he felt that would be in the best interest of the Royals.”</p><p> Former Royals manager Whitey Herzog also returns as one of 10 finalists in the managers/umpires category for consideration by a 16-member committee. The results of both elections will be announced Dec. 7 at baseball’s annual winter meetings in Indianapolis.</p><p> Candidates must be cited on 75 percent of the ballots for induction -- nine for executives; 12 for managers/umpires. Committee members are permitted to vote for up to four candidates.</p><p> Elected candidates will be inducted July 25, 2010, along with anyone elected in January through the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s annual balloting.</p><p> Kauffman founded the Royals in 1969 and served as their owner until his death in 1993. He finished fourth as a 2008 finalist but received just five of the nine votes needed for induction.</p><p> The three executives who finished ahead of Kauffman garnered sufficient support for induction: former Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, former commissioner Bowie Kuhn and former Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley.</p><p> Glass believes Kauffman stands a better chance in this year’s balloting.</p><p> “I’ve got some allies on the committee who feel strongly about the contributions that (Kauffman) made to baseball,” Glass said. “The question always is, `What has he done for the game?’ That’s the criteria.</p><p> “I think he did an awful lot for the game. I think he is very deserving. So I’m going to push it as hard as I can push it.”</p><p> The executive ballot contains four other former owners: Gene Autry of the Angels, Sam Breadon of the Cardinals, John Fetzer of the Tigers and Jacob Ruppert of the Yankees.</p><p> The rest of the ballot consists of former general managers Bob Howsam and John McHale, former union executive director Marvin Miller and former National League president Bill White.</p><p> Fetzer, Howsam and Miller join Kauffman as repeat finalists.</p><p> Seven other managers join Herzog on the managers/umpires ballot: Charlie Grimm, Davey Johnson, Tom Kelly, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Danny Murtaugh and Steve O’Neill. Two umpires appear on the ballot: Doug Harvey and Hank O’Day.</p><p> Herzog and Harvey each fell one vote shy in 2008, when former managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams were inducted. Murtaugh, O’Day, Martin, Johnson and Mauch were also on the 2008 ballot.</p><p> To reach Bob Dutton, call 816-234-4789 or send e-mail to <a href="mailto:bdutton@kcstar.com">bdutton@kcstar.com</a>. Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.