Lofton’s emergence with Cleveland saw him cement himself as the best leadoff hitter in the American League. With five straight seasons hitting at least .300 (and with a decent OBP), he was able to set the table often with his speed. Five times, Kenny would be the Stolen Base king of the AL, and he was a must watch defensively. With his incredible speed and athleticism, Lofton was a Sports Center highlight reel by robbing batters of Home Runs and his diving catches. As must watch a player as Lofton was in the 90’s, he would be overshadowed by the power hitters of the last half of the decade. His 2000’s also saw him bounce from team to team, and though he wasn’t a player we would classify as a journeyman; he certainly travelled like one. These perceptions may cost Kenny Lofton dearly during his chase for Cooperstown.
Should KennyLofton be in the Hall of Fame?
Definitely put him in! - 79.5%
Maybe, but others deserve it first. - 13.5%
Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. - 2.6%
No opinion. - 0.6%
No way! - 3.8%
Comments
However, I don't think that had anything to do with Juan Pierre. P Smith, you might want to go to Baseball-Ref erence or FanGraphs and do a comparison of Lofton to Pierre, particularly the qualitative numbers. They might be similar in some of the quantitative areas (hits, stolen bases), but Lofton was clearly the superior power hitter, particularly in home runs.
Moreover, it is in the qualitative numbers that Lofton outpaces Pierre, to the point that any comparison of the two is a joke. Pierre's career OPS+ is 84--signific antly below a league-avera ge player--whil e Lofton's is 107, admittedly not elite but much better than Pierre's. More dramatically , Pierre's cumulative WAR (wins above replacement; Baseball-Ref erence) is 17.4 while Lofton's is 68.1, which is higher than Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar, and Duke Snider, among those in Lofton's "neighborhoo d." Furthermore, Lofton was a great defensive center fielder, far better than Pierre, whose defensive deficiencies actually drag down slightly his overall WAR.
The better comparison for Lofton is to Tim Raines; in fact, I've called Lofton the poor man's Tim Raines, who in turn is the poor man's Rickey Henderson ([censored]: //www.notinh alloffame.co m/blogs/ddt- s-pop-flies/ 467-if-i-had -a-vote-in-t he-2013-base ball-hall-of -fame-electi on-part-2-th e-evaluation s?showall=&s tart=4). Lofton was that good. Granted, he's on the bubble, and he had the misfortune to debut on such an overstuffed ballot, but he was at least worthy of Hall discussion whereas Pierre is not.
Pierre will add to his counting numbers before he retires and will most likely pass Lofton in stolen bases, possibly this season. But he is unlikely to pass him in extra bases or runs, and he is equally unlikely to become qualitativel y better than Lofton. Apart from stolen bases, what they have in common is that Pierre will be one-and-done on the Hall of Fame ballot as well--but for different reasons than Lofton, which had nothing to do with Lofton's own fate.
Lofton's 622 SBs plus his other numbers and his consistent performance would be enough to make the hall if not for one thing: Juan Pierre.
Pierre has nearly 600 stolen bases and numbers similar to Lofton (average, hits, homers). Pierre does not belong, so his presence will count against Lofton.
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