"While these other ballplayers are certainly worthy of induction -- we're talking Ted Williams [honored in 1991] and Jackie Robinson -- I just would have thought that Babe would have been invited to take his place among his peers sooner than he did," Stevens said. "Not just because of who he was in baseball, but the Medal of Freedom is a consideration of all the other aspects of his life. This provides a forum for highlighting Babe as a humanitarian."