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.
Magglio Ordonez proved to be a very good hitter over his fifteen-year career, with 2,156 Hits, a .308 career Batting Average, a Batting Title in 2007, and had good power numbers with three Silver Slugger Awards and a career Slugging Average over .500. In 2007, Ordonez was the runner-up for the American League MVP Award, and he went to six All-Star games. He was good player for a long time but his career bWAR of 38.5, while decent, is not really indicative of a Hall of Fame inductee by today’s standards.
Tommy Henrich is a part of the folklore of the New York Yankees, but with the legends that the Bronx Bombers have had, sometimes “Old Reliable” gets lost in the shuffle. Henrich played his entire career in New York, first debuting in 1937, and helping them in the 1938 World Series win. His breakout year was in 1941 when he had 31 Home Runs and won another World Series Championship. Henrich was one of the many who lost time in baseball due to his participation in World War II, and he lost three years, but he came back to have the best…
Dick Groat was one of the greatest college athletes ever at Duke University, where he was so good at both basketball and baseball that he is in both of those sports colligate Halls of Fame. Professionally, Groat opted to play baseball…well at first anyway.
Art Fletcher made his way to the Major Leagues in 1909, where the Shortstop landed with the New York Giants. Two years later, he was their starter, and he would be one of the best defensive players of the 1910s.
Rudy York was known mostly for his time with the Detroit Tigers, and it was there where he had his greatest success.
Nap Rucker played an even ten seasons with Brooklyn (1907-16), back when the franchise had intriguing team names like the Superbas and the Robins.
Guy Hecker was one of the best hitting Pitchers in baseball history, but as he played in the 1880s, he is one of the game's better forgotten hurlers.
From rural Oklahoma, Harry Brecheen took a while to make his mark in the Majors.
Davey Lopes made his first appearance in the Majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972, where the Second Baseman would quietly showcase himself as one of the better infielders of the decade.
From the Dominican Republic, Pedro Guerrero brought his bat to the National League, playing mostly with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ed Konetchy’s Major League career began in St. Louis in 1907, and the First Baseman would show remarkable consistency in the National League.
Frank Viola was a star Pitcher known for his stint with the Minnesota Twins, where his work there made him a legend in the state.
The older brother of Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, Jim Perry, was an outstanding hurler worthy of consideration in his own right.
Chuck Knoblauch had a very unique career in that he was equally praised as he was much as he was maligned.
Jack Powell may have posted a losing record over his career (245-255), but regardless of the era, isn’t anyone who won these many games have to be considered good?
Charlie Root played 27 Games for the St. Louis Brown in 1923, but it was not impressive, as he had a record of 0-4 with a 5.70 ERA. It was three seasons later before Root made the Majors again, but when he did, he made it count.
Joe Judge played the vast majority of his career with the Washington Senators, where he was one of the best First Baseman of the American League during his era.
Bill White began his career with the New York Giants in 1956m, but it was not until he made it to St. Louis in 1959 where his career began to take off.