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.
One of two things could happen when you play with a collection of superstars. Either you get lost in the shuffle or you become incorrectly elevated among them. Neither was the case for the Dave Concepcion who became nationally known playing alongside Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez, but deserved the attention that came with it.
With a magical season, a pair of exceptional ones, and a few very good ones, Ron Guidry had an excellent career in Baseball all with the Yankees. Theoretically, “Louisiana Lightning” did everything you want to accomplish in a career as he won the Cy Young Award (and was in the hunt for a few others) and won the World Series, which he did twice. However the knock on Guidry, is that he was only a full-time player for nine seasons, and though he does have one of the most impressive winning percentages in Baseball, his longevity is questioned in regards…
Regardless of the era, it is an impressive feat to be a key member of Chicago's rotation for a decade. The Chicago White Sox may not have won a World Series in the ’50s, but they were a good team and much of the success they did have, was through a big part of the pitching of Billy Pierce.
Another forgotten star in the pre Babe Ruth era was Larry Doyle who was easily amongst the most likable players of his era. Not only was he a natural favorite, but he was also one of the most consistent players too.
Omar Vizquel was considered one of the best defensive Shortstops of all time, earning eleven Gold Gloves and posting a career Defensive bWAR that is ranked in the top ten time.
In the late 70’s Hall of Fame pitcher, Don Sutton famously noted that Steve Garvey was not the best player on the Dodgers, it was Reggie Smith. Garvey may have been the most popular, but Sutton was not alone in his assessment of Reggie Smith.
If the main criteria for the Hall is perseverance and effort then Rusty Staub should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. His hard work resulted in over 2,700 hits in a Major League career that many people who saw him early on would never have pegged him for an amount that high.
If you look at the Wikipedia article on Albert Belle you will find that the section on his controversies is longer than his accomplishments. He fought with sportswriters, with fans, with other players and his temper was legendary. So was his prowess with a bat.
Baseball Players are notorious for being superstitious. We really don’t know if Bret Saberhagen consulted the Psychic Friends Network, but it always seemed curious that he performed significantly better in years that ended in odd numbers than he did in even ones.
We admit we made a mistake not ranking Bernie Williams last year. Were we rebelling against a Yankee bias, or was it that we just considered him just not good enough? Regardless, that is the beauty of Baseball is that you can easily reevaluate what you may have missed the first time. Lord knows it happens all the time during the actual balloting process for the Hall of Fame.
For a seven-year period, Johan Santana was regarded was regarded as one of the top Pitchers in Baseball, where he won the American League Cy Young Award Twice, winning the ERA Title three times and leading his league in WHIP four years in a row.
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Felix Hernandez played his entire MLB career with the Seattle Mariners, the team where he would become the "King" of the Pacific Northwest and all of Baseball. “King Felix” made his first appearance in the Majors in 2005, and after showing gradual improvement over his first few seasons, Hernandez took the throne in 2009, leading the American League in Wins (19), H/9 (7.5), and finishing second in Cy Young voting. Hernandez was better in 210, winning the Cy Young, with a league-leading 2.27 ERA and 7.0 H/9, while also finishing atop the leaderboard in Innings Pitched (249.2). Hernandez would not win…
Marty Marion won the NL 1944 MVP based primarily on his leadership and fielding skills as opposed to anything he did with his lumber. His victory is certainly a reminder that there is a lot more to baseball than sexy offensive stats.
If you win the Triple Crown in Baseball should be considered somewhat immortal right? Well, if you do in the age before film and before Home Runs meant anything, that accomplishment becomes a hidden accolade.
What more would Thurman Munson have accomplished had he not been killed in a plane crash on August 2, 1979? We will never know but prior to his untimely death, Munson’s accomplishments on the diamond were already sizable.
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 as Roy Face deserves to be considered in that discussion too.
It is often the case for various Halls of Fame to discriminate based on the likeability of the candidate. Carl Mays was not necessarily the most liked player in his day, and his brushes with controversy probably pushed Mays on the opposite side of the bubble.
Maury Wills did not make the Major Leagues until he was 26 years old yet still managed to rack up over 2,000 hits in his career. What numbers would he have put up if he cracked a big league roster earlier and would it have been enough to make him a member of the Hall of Fame?
It seemed like Bobby Bonds was always in someone’s shadow. As a kid breaking into the Giants he shared an outfield with Willie Mays. In his final years, he remained a talented pro but was regulated to journeyman status bouncing around the league. Currently, he is Barry’s father. We prefer to think of him as one of the early prototypes to the modern baseball athlete.