Baseball
Established in 1936, and currently based in Cooperstown, New York, the Baseball Hall of Fame may be the most prestigious of any Sports Hall of Fame. Although Baseball may have taken a backseat to Football in recent years, there is no doubt that Baseball’s version of the Hall of Fame is by far the most relevant and the most difficult to get enshrined in. At present, a player has to receive seventy five percent of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, which has proven to be no easy task. Failing that, a player could be inducted by the Veterans committee, though few have been inducted this way. Our list will focus on the players only, and although we could easily do a tally focusing on mangers, broadcasters or other vital personnel, as always it is far more enjoyable to discuss the merits of those on the field as oppose to those off of it.Until Then, Let’s get some peanuts and cracker jacks and cast some votes of our own!
Sincerely,
The Not in Hall of Committee.
Gary Sheffield has to be the most interesting candidate who appeared on the 2014 Ballot. Traditionally speaking, Sheffield hit the magical 500 Home Run mark, won a Batting Title, and had five seasons with an OPS over one. His career WAR is respectable, his OPS is in the top fifty, and he also won five Silver Sluggers and played in nine All-Star Games. That’s pretty good, right? Unfortunately, there are a few things to consider. Sheffield was a defensive liability, so much so that it knocks him off the top 100 in Career bWAR for a position player. He was…
An argument has been made that Ross Barnes was the greatest baseball player of all time in the League. Unfortunately, that aforementioned League was the National Association, not the current Leagues known today. The argument about Ross Barnes’ skills is easy to make. He led the Baseball Association in both traditional and sabermetric categories multiple times and was called the most valuable teammate among his peers; many of whom would go on to Cooperstown themselves. In 1877, Barnes fell ill with a severe fever and was never the same player afterward. He was out of baseball by age 31, and…
The common trend in Baseball Hall of Fame voting is for a solid candidate to get a healthy double-digit vote in his first year of eligibility and watch that number climb slowly as more and more perspective is put on their career. For Steve Garvey, the more the Hall looked at his career, the more they seemed to talk themselves out of his induction, as evidenced by the way his votes were cut in half from his first year (41.6) to (21.1) in his last year. There is a good chance that if you were a fan of the L.A.…
The position of third base holds the fewest Hall of Famers in Baseball. There, however, have been many great ballplayers at the “Hot Corner,” and some even won the MVP award. Ken Boyer was one such man, as he won that coveted trophy in 1964. Boyer was not a one-season wonder. Prior to his MVP year, Boyer had been building up to that season, establishing himself as one of the top third basemen in the league. He was winning Gold Gloves and was hitting 20 or more home runs while keeping a batting average that rarely left the .300 range. …
How many people pointed at Bert Blyleven’s 287 career wins year after year and championed his Hall of Fame cause? We don’t know the exact number, but we are sure that it is a lot more than those who created logs extolling the virtues of Tony Mullane’s 284 Major League victories. Maybe people should marvel at those wins. Mullane was an ambidextrous hurler who could easily baffle batters, as back in his day, pitchers did not wear gloves, thus they had no idea which arm he would throw with. Mullane was an innings-eater who recorded 30 wins on multiple occasions. …
You would not think that an eleven-time All-Star would be forgotten among Hall of Fame consideration, but in the case of career-long Detroit Tiger, Bill Freehan that appears to be the reality. Bill Freehan gained a lot of respect among Major League players. He may not have been a huge force with his bat (though he did have a few respectable seasons), but he was among the best in handling a pitching staff and the defensive roles of a professional catcher. It was primarily through these attributes that Freehan gained as much MVP support as he did, as he was…
Right now it is hard to imagine a time when the Atlanta Braves were not relevant in the world of Professional Baseball but in the 1980’s frankly Ted Turner’s team wasn’t a spectacular one. The exception to that rule was Dale Murphy who in his prime drew comparisons to legends such as Mays and DiMaggio. No really, he did.
One of the most popular Yankees of all time was Don Mattingly. This was a very impressive reality considering that the year before he turned pro the Bronx Bombers lost to Dodgers in the World Series and the year after he retired they won the championship. During Mattingly’s entire tenure, the Yankees never went to the Fall Classic; the largest stretch of post-season futility in franchise history.
1,800 career hits and a lifetime .266 Batting Average sound like a good career but not necessarily a Hall of Fame one. A closer look at the overall body of work of Bobby Grich indicates he is a lot closer than you would think.
Chase Utley came up through the Philadelphia Phillies system, and after debuting in 2003, he would quickly become the heart of a team that would win the 2008 World Series.
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It has to be considered a given that the PED question has hurt many players in their quest for Cooperstown. It is very possible that anyone associated with it will fail to get elected and the Hall will be devoid of some of the game’s greatest record setters. Yet, of all the people whose careers got tarnished, we can’t help but wonder if Sammy Sosa took the biggest fall of them all.
Stan Hack played his entire sixteen seasons as a player for the Chicago Cubs. He was one of the Cubbies most popular players as “Smilin” Stan’s sunny disposition made him a fan favorite among players, fans and journalists alike. It also didn’t hurt that he was one hell of a hitter.
David Cone may not be best remembered for winning a Cy Young Award. He may be best known for being a true hired gun that baseball teams coveted for their stretch drive.
Many baseball players are known for the clutch performances with their bat. Graig Nettles certainly had many clutch hits in his long career, but he may have been known for having more clutch performances with his glove.
A lot of baseball players take flak for their high salaries. One of those who did was Kevin Brown who was the first man in professional baseball to sign a contract worth $100 Million. Sadly for Brown, his deterioration rendered that one of the worst contracts as during the final years of his career he was not a player who should have been amongst the games highest paid.
Many who first think of Jim Edmonds and the Hall of Fame may think automatically of what we wrote about Moises Alou and that he is likely a candidate for the “Hall of Very Good”. However the more we really thought about it, the more we like “Jimmy Baseball’s” resume.
For about six seasons, Bob Caruthers was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. Sadly, as his career only lasted nine seasons his impact in the game may not have allowed him to cement himself as one of the great early pitchers.
Andy Pettitte took PEDs and apologized for it. He was forgiven by not just the fans of the New York Yankees but baseball fans in general. That fact (an important one) makes him the most intriguing candidate for this year as his contriteness might make him Hall of Fame worthy. Still, if the PED issue is not a factor, is Andy Pettitte a HOF contender? Let’s take a look!
Dave Stieb may have received World Series Ring with the Toronto Blue Jays when they won their first World Series in 1992, but the pitcher was at the tail end of his career and had little to do with the coveted trophy landing north of the border. He did however give Baseball fans the first legitimate reason to look there in the first place.