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.
It is strange to say that Willie Randolph played in a bit of a shadow as he was a long-time Yankee, but that is somewhat true. He was in the shadow of other more flamboyant New York stars, and his strong defensive play never got him a Gold Glove as he played at the same time as Lou Whitaker or Frank White. Hell, even his current Coaching career seems to overshadow his accomplishments on the diamond. It shouldn’t, though, as Willie Randolph was a very good ballplayer. Willie Randolph may have been a multi-time AAll-Star but it was many of…
Bartolo Colon was a rotund individual, but pound for pound, he was one of the most charismatic players in baseball, and doesn’t that say something? The Dominican hurler (who also had the nickname of “Big Sexy”) played for 11 teams over a 21-year career. Don’t let the number of squads that Colon played for make you think that this was a journeyman. He wasn't. This man was a coveted pitcher for the majority of his career, and while he was only an All-Star four times, he was a Cy Young Award winner with the Angels in 2005, the same season…
How is it possible to hit .361 and hit 41 home runs without anyone noticing? The answer is to perform that incredible feat the same year that Roger Maris hit 61 Home Runs. The 1961 season was easily the high-water mark for Norm Cash’s career, and it is sad that it went mostly unnoticed. Cash never had a season like that again, and though he was a very productive power hitter for the rest of his career, he still posted decent on-base percentages. ‘Stormin” Norm Cash was a fan favorite in Detroit for his fun loving antic and genuine love…
Seriously, is this not the coolest name on this list? Just that name alone would make him a star in any era. Make no mistake, Shocker was a star, but because his best years were with the St. Louis Browns, he was often out of the spotlight despite dominating seasons in the early 1920s. Those aforementioned campaigns saw Shocker post four consecutive years of 20-plus victories, including a 27-win season in 1921. In fact, at no point in his career did he ever have a losing season. Shocker was known on the mound for a beautiful delivery and an intense…
The baseball historians have been batting a kind eye to Jack Glasscock, who many have regarded as the best defensive infielder of the 1880s. “Pebbly” Jack (he had the habit of collecting pebbles in the infield) would lead his league in Defensive bWAR three times (1883, 1885 & 1889), and though there were no sabremetricians back then, the casual fan knew that he was a level above most of the other players with his defensive skills. Glasscock played for eight different teams, many of which are no longer in existence, which does not help keep his name alive. The West Virginian…
One of the more consistent hitters in his era, Carlos Delgado was only named to two All-Star teams due to the glut of top-tier first basemen in his time. He had great power numbers (473 Home Runs and 1,512 Runs Batted In) and a very good career OPS of .929, which sounds like Hall of Fame numbers, but his career WAR of 44.3, although good, is not on par with many of the current players they are looking at.
Should Carlos Delgado be in the Hall of Fame?
Definitely put him in! - 74.3%
Maybe, but others deserve it first. - 17.3%
Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. - 4.7%
No opinion. - 0%
No way! - 3.7%
297 Wins. With the exception of Roger Clemens, Bobby Matthews has the most Wins of any player who is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. One of the main differences is that unlike Clemens, Matthews has never received Hall of Fame consideration once. Matthews' pro career began in 1871, when he played in the National Association and the dawn of pro ball. Over the next few seasons, he bounced around in the infant league for teams like the Fort Wayne Kekiongas, Baltimore Canaries, and the New York Mutuals, and the 5' 5" Pitcher did well with three straight (1872-74) years where…
Mickey Lolich spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, where he was a proven starter for a dozen seasons in Motown. From 1964 to 1974, he had at least 14 Wins and 170 Strikeouts each year. After playing in the shadow of Denny McLain in 1968, who had 31 Wins, it was Lolich who was the star of that year’s World Series. The southpaw started three games, going 3-0, completing all games with a 1.67 ERA and 0.963 WHIP over 27 Innings. This performance would be the catalyst for Lolich’s best era as a Pitcher. Lolich would be named an All-Star…
Playing all but one game of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Babe Adams was one of the best control Pitchers of his day. Adams played in one game for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1906, and his contract was traded to the Pirates shortly after. 1909 was the year he struck, and in that year's World Series, he was their shining star, winning three Games and posting a 1.33 ERA and a 0.889 WHIP. Over the next few years, Adams was a high-end starter for the Pirates, leading the NL in WHIP in 1911 and 1914 and going 20-for-20 in…
Don Newcombe was more than a great Pitcher, as he was a trailblazer in terms of African Americans in baseball. After a brief time with Newark in the Negro Leagues, he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. After a few seasons in their minor league system, Newcombe was called up for the 1949 season, making him the third black pitcher to be in the Majors. Newcombe proved his worth instantly, winning the Rookie of the Year with a 17-8 record and an All-Star Game trip. Newcombe was again an All-Star in 1950 and 1951, posting 19-11 and 20-9 seasons, respectively, but he…
We are going way back for this one, as the career of Tommy Bond began in 1874, when he became the first Irish-born baseball player to be a professional. Bond had a low sidearm delivery, which was technically considered underhand and was legal at the time. Bond predated the National League, as he debuted for the Brooklyn Atlantics of the National Association, and was with the Hartford Dark Blues when they migrated to the then-infant National League in 1876. He joined the Boston Red Caps (now the Atlanta Braves) in 1877, and it was there that he had the best run of…
Nobody shot out of the gate quicker than Fred Lynn, as he made history when in 1975, he became the first player in Major League history to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP in the same season. As the other one who accomplished that feat was Ichiro Suzuki, an established veteran of the Japanese Leagues, this is a beyond-spectacular achievement. In the previous year, Lynn would not only secure the ROY and MVP, but he would also win his first of four Gold Gloves, win the Slugging Title (.566), and finish first in OPS (.967), Runs Scored (103),…
Playing his entire career with the New York Mets, David Wright would become one of the better Third Baseman in his time in baseball. Wright debuted in 2004, and he had his first of what would be seven All-Star Games in 2006. Wright showed power with six 20-home-run years, speed with three 20-SB seasons, and a great batting eye with seven years over .300. He had the offensive stats and was an above-average defensive player who earned two Gold Gloves. Wright retired with 1,777 Hits, a .296 Batting Average, and 242 Home Runs. He could be a fringe candidate to…
There was a time that Dwight Gooden was the best Pitcher in baseball, but as we know, drug use rendered him a shell of what he was well before his time. One of the incredible things about his career, though, was how long he played and remained a serviceable hurler. Gooden’s first two seasons in the Majors were about as good as you could hope for. As a teenager, he won the Rookie of the Year award and was the Cy Young runner-up. He would win the latter award as a sophomore when he went 24-4, and led the league in Wins, ERA…
Torii Hunter had an excellent career, and the man they dubbed "Spider-Man" was a SportsCenter highlight reel with his acrobatic catches. Hunter would win 9 Gold Gloves and was also decent with his bat, earning a pair of Silver Sluggers. Hunter, a five-time All-Star, had very good offensive numbers with 2,452 Hits and 353 Home Runs in a career mostly with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels.
How many times is an athlete described as “small in stature but big in heart”? This analogy has been used more times than we can determine, but far too often, and it was an accurate assessment when describing the turn-of-the-century ballplayer Tommy Leach. “Wee” Tommy Leach was a triples machine and one of the fastest ballplayers of his day. Leach hit a few Home Runs in the dead-ball era, though most of them were of the inside-the-park variety. For all intents and purposes, Leach was a power hitter and often cleared the bases, or would himself get on base for…
There are many people who think of John Olerud only as the guy who wore a batting helmet in the field, which he did so to protect his skull, as he had a brain aneurysm as a teenager. He was undoubtedly a lot more than that! Olerud came up through the Blue Jays system and would become their starting First Baseman in 1992, after platooning for three years. Having never played a game in the minors, Olerud would help Toronto win the World Series in back-to-back seasons (1992 & 1993), with 1993 being incredibly impressive. In that season, he would win the Batting…
History has given the pitching staff much of the credit for the Baltimore Orioles’ World Series runs in 1966 and 1970, but it was the heavy-hitting Boog Powell who was the favorite of Maryland fans. Boog Powell was built like a bull. The power hitter easily won the hearts of Baltimore with his booming home runs and nice demeanor. He batted cleanup for over a decade and solidified the lineup, providing much-needed offense for the pitching-heavy Orioles. He was a good clutch hitter, and though he committed his share of errors, he was able to prevent many miscues for his…
The Philadelphia Athletics were a powerhouse in the early 1930s, but the Great Depression led owner Connie Mack to unload his best players to keep the team afloat. As such, there was not a lot of talent left for the Athletics afterward, but Bob Johnson was an exception to that rule. Debuting at Leftfield in 1933, Johnson played for the Athletics until 1942. With Philadelphia, he would go to five All-Star Games. With the exception of his last season with the Athletics, he has least 20 Home Runs, with three of those years seeing him exceed 30. From 1935 to 1941, he hit the…