Lloyd Waner was one of the most consistent slap hitters of his day, and though he was not a flashy player, you know what you were going to get, which was pretty damned good.

Waner debuted in 1927, and had there been a Rookie of the Year; he likely would have won it.  He batted a career-high .355, collected 223 Hits, and led the NL in Runs Scored (133).  Waner did not beat that Batting Average again, but he cracked .300 nine more times, had four 200-Hit years, and was the league-leader in Triples (20) in 1929.  

After his skills declined in the late 30s, he was traded to the Boston Braves in 1941 but returned in 1944 in a reserve capacity to close off his career.  Waner had 2,317 of his 2,459 Hits with Pittsburgh and batted .319 for the club.  Despite his great hitting, his lack of power and speed hamper his rank somewhat.

Waner entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967 via the Veteran’s Committee.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the Houston Astros have announced two new members, Terry Puhl and Tal Smith will enter their franchise Hall of Fame.

The two will be inducted on August 13, during their home game against Oakland.

Playing 14 of his 15 seasons in baseball with the Astros, Canadian born outfielder, Terry Puhl was an All-Star in his first full season in 1978.  Puhl would not repeat an appearance to the mid-season classic, but he would have two more seasons tabulating over 150 hits and would steal 20 or more bases six times.  The Canadian would accumulate 1,357 Hits for the Astros.

Smith was with the Astros from day one, serving in various capacities before ascending to the role of General Manager in 1975.  Names The Sporting News Executive of the Year in 1980, Smith entered the private sector afterward, but returned to the Astros as the Director of Operations in 1994, and stayed until 2011.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Terry Puhl and Tal Smith for their impending induction. 

Hoyt Wilhelm generally receives credit for being the game's first great reliever.  History may eventually show that Wilhelm was not the only prototype for relievers, asRoy Facedeserves to be considered in that discussion too.

Roy Face was the first pitcher to record twenty saves in a season (1958).  He would lead the senior circuit in that category three times.  Roy Face still holds the record for the highest winning percentage in a season with a whopping .947 (18 wins to 1 loss in 1959).  Face used his forkball to get Pirate teams out of jam after jam and racked up multiple wins, and saves all in a relieving role.  

Face was easily the top relief pitcher for over a decade, helping Pittsburgh win the 1960 World Series and finishing 547 Games with 186 Saves as a Pirate.  He might be one of the most influential hurlers ever.

Vern Law played all of his sixteen seasons in the Majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where the right-handed Pitcher performed as one of their top hurlers.

Law debuted for Pittsburgh in 1950, and after a few Games, was obligated to go to the American Military.  The Pitcher returned to the Pirates in 1954 and to their staff, where he moved up and down their rotation for years.  Law had his breakout year 1959, with a 2.98 ERA and 18 Wins.  The Pirates were ready to advance to the postseason in 1960, with Law winning 20 Games with a 3.08 ERA, and he was the Cy Young Award winner.  He won two Games in the World Series, and Pittsburgh won the Title with Law as their ace.

Law continued his career with Pittsburgh, playing until 1967 and posting nine 10-Win years.  Over his career, Law had a sweet record of 162 Wins and 147 Losses with an ERA of 3.77.