gold star for USAHOF

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.
The older brother of Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, Jim Perry, was an outstanding hurler worthy of consideration in his own right.
Before the St. Louis Cardinals were named the Cardinals, they were the first known version of the Browns, and one of their best Pitchers in the mid-1890s was Theodore Breitenstein.  
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. 
We are going to need a history lesson to start this one.
There is a trope in all sports where athletes have been described as making the most of their limited athletic skills.  Eddie Stanky certainly fits this bill.
You could argue that Al Orth took a workmanlike approach to the craft of Pitching as he made the most of his control and ability to change speeds effortlessly.
One of the better players of the 1970s who seemed to fly perpetually under the radar was Andy Messersmith, who finished in the top five in Cy Young votes three times.
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. 
Willie McGee is one of the most important players in the St. Louis Cardinals in terms of the decade of the 1980s, but he was a lot more than a few good seasons as a Redbird.
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.
Ken Williams was a late bloomer of sorts, some by his own play, some by circumstance.
Bob Welch split his career between two California teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics, and he brought success to both of those squads.
Mel Stottlemyre is known more for his work as a Pitching Coach for the New York Yankees, where he won four World Series Rings, after winning one with the Mets.  This was impressive, but it should not overshadow what he was as a player.
Ian Kinsler made his first appearance in the Majors with the Texas Rangers in 2006, and he quickly cemented himself as one of the better Second Basemen in the American League. Over his career, Kinsler showed power and speed with four 20-plus HR seasons, blasting 257 in total with 1,999 career Hits.  He nearly matched his HR tallies in Stolen Bases, swiping 243 bags, and was underappreciated defensively.  Kinsler did win two Gold Gloves but could have won more, as the ones he did land were later in his career, and he had better defensive metrics in other years, namely with three…
There was a lot of hype for years around Dominican Pitcher Jose Rijo, so much so that the New York Yankees (likely due to the owner, George Steinbrenner) rushed him into the majors at age 18.  Rijo did not do well as a rookie, but what 18-year-old in the Majors does?
Ed Konetchy’s Major League career began in St. Louis in 1907, and the First Baseman would show remarkable consistency in the National League.
It seemed like Chris Carpenter spent far more time on Injured Reserve then he did on a Major League roster.  That wasn't the case but damned if it wasn't an unfortunate pie chart that was freakishly close to even.
The younger brother of Baseball Hall of Famer and New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, Dom DiMaggio, was quite the player in his own right.
A Louisville Colonel for the first season of his career (1899), Deacon Phillippe was one of many players to be transferred to the Pittsburgh Pirates when the Colonels folded before the century's turn.  In Western Pennsylvania, Phillipe played the rest of his professional career, which as it turned out to be a pretty good one.