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.
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.
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.
The position of third base holds the least amount 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Many closers failed to remain consistent for multiple seasons, but Billy Wagner was able to be one of the game’s most effective Relief Pitchers for a dozen years. Coming up through the Astros system he would win in the closer’s job for Houston in 1997 and two years later he went to his first All-Star Game. That season (1999) he had 39 Saves with a WHIP of 0.777 and was tenth in bWAR for Pitchers, an incredible accomplishment for a Relief Pitcher. 2000 was bad for Wagner but he rebounded to have seven more 30 Save seasons over years with…
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!
The man called “Superchief” was one of the great right handed pitchers of the New York Yankees. Allie Reynolds was the first man to toss two no-hitters in a season in the American League though that was just a small sample of what he accomplished.
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.
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.
Will Clark is a justifiable member of the Mississippi Sports and College Baseball Hall of Fame but it looks like the big one in Cooperstown will elude him as he failed to get past his first year of eligibility. A look at his career makes you wonder why he couldn’t get past that elusive first ballot.
Luckily for Sherry Magee there was no YouTube in 1911, otherwise, all that would ever be replayed of him would be time he decked an umpire with one punch following a called third strike. Of course he played in the 1900s and 1910’s so it isn’t like there is any footage on YouTube of him at all.
In the National Hockey League, anyone who has won the MVP is almost a lock to enter the Hall of Fame. In Major League Baseball (Kevin Mitchell, Willie Hernandez, and Jeff Burroughs)…well, not so much. Jeff Kent is a former National League MVP, and has a very good set of career statistics, yet when you say his name, the words Hall of Fame don’t automatically come to mind.