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.
Throughout the first decade of the 2000’s, it could be argued that Jimmy Rollins was the heart of the Philadelphia Phillies…or was he the motor?
A vital part of the Big Red Machine that had the most success of any other team in the National League, George Foster debuted in 1969 (with San Francisco); George Foster broke through in 1975 with a 23 Home Run year. Helping the Reds win the World Series that year, Foster won the RBI Title in 1976 with 29 Home Runs and a .306 Batting Average. This would usher in the first of five All-Star Games, and four in the next five years. Foster again helped them win the World Series, and he was second in MVP voting.
A four-time All-Star, Tim Hudson spread those accolades over three teams (Oakland, Atlanta & San Francisco). Hudson would finish in the top ten in Cy Young voting four times, including a runner-up run in 2000. He would also finish in the top ten bWAR for Pitcher seven times. The sinkerball specialist would win 223 Games, an excellent number for his era, and most notably, made history by becoming the oldest Pitcher to start a Game 7 in the World Series, a game that his San Francisco Giants won, giving him his lone World Series ring.
Another very interesting name eligible for the 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame vote is Luis Gonzalez. “Gonzo” has very good career numbers, with 2,591 Hits, 354 Home Runs and 1,439 RBI’s. His 48.0 career bWAR is nothing to sneeze at either. The question that arises with Gonzalez is the major spike in his power numbers in his 30’s and that he had his best seasons in his second decade in the Majors. Although his name has never been associated with PEDs, he is often lumped in that category. As it stands, Gonzalez is probably a bubble candidate before the alleged…
Vida Blue debuted in 1969, where in his 12 Games in Oakland, he was ineffective with a 6.64 ERA. His 1970 callup was different with a 2-0 record over six starts and a pair of Shutouts. 1971 was one of the best seasons ever for an Oakland A’s Pitcher.
In 1981, a "mania" took over Los Angeles. Some would say it took over the entire baseball world. That was "Fernandomania" in honor of Mexican hurler, Fernando Valenzuela.
In terms of actual importance in Baseball, Curt Flood is in the top ten, if not top five in the game.
Jack Clark had the nickname of "Jack the Ripper," which was precisely the moniker that befit a lethal power.
YANKEE STADIUM PREGAME TOUR
Jan 01, 1970
Buy your Tickets to see Yankee Stadium Pregame Tour HERE!
PREGAME GLIMPSE OF GREATNESS
Jan 01, 1970
Buy your Tickets to see Pregame Glimpse of Greatness HERE!
CLASSIC TOUR AT YANKEE STADIUM
Jan 01, 1970
Buy your Tickets to see Classic Tour at Yankee Stadium HERE!
TOURS: TRUIST PARK
Jan 01, 1970
Buy your Tickets to see Tours: Truist Park HERE!
A slick hitting Second Baseman, who was pretty good on the field too, Cupid Childs was one of the top stars for the Cleveland Spiders and was one of the top leadoff hitters in the 1890’s
In the mid-2000s, Roy Oswalt was considered one of the top pitchers in the National League. “Os” would have five seasons where he was voted in the top five in National League Cy Young balloting and it was his arm that won the NLCS MVP in 2005 getting Houston to their lone World Series appearance.
The Hall of Fame victim always pointed at about the Black Sox Scandal is "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, but Pitcher, Eddie Cicotte, might have also been cost a Cooperstown plaque.
Francisco Rodriguez would become one of the game’s better closers and best known almost immediately when he debuted for the Anaheim Angels is 2002. He played only five regular season games that year and as the team’s set-up man he played a vital role in their World Series win.
The Major League career of Johnny Sain began in 1942, where he had a fairly uneventful season with a 4-7 record for the Boston Braves. Like so many other baseball players, Sain served in the U.S. Military during World War II, and he lost three years on the diamond. When he returned to Boston, he quickly became one of the most recognized Pitchers in the game.
Wine and scotch got better with age, and for years the sporting world thought Jamie Moyer did too. He holds multiple pitching records in regards to the oldest pitcher to do (insert accomplishment here) and is one of the rare players to have competed in four decades.
Sal Bando was an integral part of the Oakland Athletics dynasty, and he was there when they were toiling in obscurity in Kansas City. When the Athletics’ owner, Charles O. Finlay, relocated the team to Oakland, Bando was at the core of what was poised to become a special team that defined the early 1970s.
From the island of Cuba, Bert Campaneris would go down in history as one of the most versatile players in Major League history, and he would become the first man to ever play all nine positions in a Major League Game. He accomplished that early in his career in 1965 when he was with the Kansas City Athletics.
Adolfo Domingo De Guzman “Dolf” Luque was a Cuban baseball legend who played in the Cuban Winter League from 1912 to 1945. For our purposes, Luque played in the Majors from 1914 to 1935 and was a long-time star for the Cincinnati Reds.
One of the most popular players in Cleveland Indians' history, Rocco "Rocky" Colavito, came from the Bronx, where naturally, he was a Yankees fan.