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Awards = HOF? Part Eleven: The Silver Slugger (Pitcher) (MLB)

Awards = HOF?  Part Eleven: The Silver Slugger (Pitcher) (MLB)
18 Jan
2016
Not in Hall of Fame
We here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to take a look at the major awards in North American team sports and see how it translates into Hall of Fame potential.

Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential.  In basketball, the team sport with the least amount of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher.  In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.

Up next, we are going to take a look at a relatively new award, the Silver Slugger, which is awarded to best offensive player at each position and is voted on by managers and coaches in each Major League Baseball team.

Keep in mind that this award, which has become quite a big deal, is stillrelatively new, only came into existence in 1980.

We now look at an award that appears to have zero relevance to getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Pitcher’s Silver Slugger Award.

Do you ever read an article about a respective Pitcher’s batting acumen in regards to the Hall of Fame?

Except for here of course.

None of these men below will have had 100 At Bats in those respective seasons, and none of these numbers will impress you.

Let’s go through the motions on this one…



The following are the past MLB players who have won the Silver Slugger at the Pitcher position who are eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame and have been enshrined.



Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves (NL: 1991)

0 HR, 6 RBI, .230/.288/.243 Slash Line.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves (NL: 1995)

1 HR, 8 RBI, .222/.258/.286 Slash Line.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves (NL: 1996)

0 HR, 3 RBI, .289/.333/.342 Slash Line.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves (NL: 1997)

0 HR, 4 RBI, .228/.307/.266 Slash Line.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves (NL: 1998)

0 HR, 7 RBI, .239/.250/.282 Slash Line.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.



Two.  But let’s be honest.  During the Hall of Fame discussions for Glavine and Smoltz, just how often were their batting skills discussed?

The overall batting lines for these Hall of Famer are:

Glavine: 246 Hits, 1 HR, 90 RBI, .186/244/.210 Slash Line.

Smoltz: 151 Hits, 5 HR, 61 RBI, .159/.226/.207 Slash Line.

What about those who didn’t make it?



The following are the players who have won the Silver Slugger at the Pitcher position who are eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame and have not been selected:



Bob Forsch, St. Louis Cardinals (NL: 1980)

3 HR, 10 RBI, .295/.313/.474 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 1995 and received 0.4% of the vote.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL: 1981)

0 HR, 7 RBI, .250/.262/.281 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for two years and finished as high as 6.2% of the vote in 2003.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Don Robinson, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL: 1982)

2 HR, 16 RBI, .282/.311/.412 Slash Line.  He was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1998 but was not on the ballot.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL: 1983)

1 HR, 9 RBI, .187/.194/.253 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for two years and finished as high as 6.2% of the vote in 2003.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Rick Rhoden, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL: 1984)

0 HR, 4 RBI, .333/.345/.405 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 1995 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Rick Rhoden, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL: 1985)

0 HR, 6 RBI, .189/.211/.230 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 1995 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.

Rick Rhoden, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL: 1986)

0 HR, 4 RBI, .333/.345/.405 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 1995 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.

Bob Forsch, St. Louis Cardinals (NL: 1987)

1 HR, 10 RBI, .278/.298/.411 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 1995 and received 0.4% of the vote.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Tim Leary, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL: 1988)

0 HR, 9 RBI, .269/.286/.313 Slash Line.  He was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2000 but was not on the ballot.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Don Robinson, San Francisco Giants (NL: 1989)

3 HR, 7 RBI, .185/.195/.309 Slash Line.  He was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1998 but was not on the ballot.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Don Robinson, San Francisco Giants (NL: 1990)

2 HR, 7 RBI, .143/.143/.254 Slash Line.  He was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1998 but was not on the ballot.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Dwight Gooden, New York Mets (NL: 1992)

1 HR, 9 RBI, .264/.274/.375 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 2006 and received 3.3% of the vote.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL: 1993)

0 HR, 6 RBI, .356/.373/.411 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for two years and finished as high as 11.2% in 2006.   Ranked #80 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Mark Portugal, San Francisco Giants (NL: 1994)

0 HR, 8 RBI, .354/.360/.500 Slash Line.  He was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2005 but was not on the ballot.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Mike Hampton, Houston Astros (NL: 1999)

0 HR, 10 RBI, .311/.373/.432 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 2016 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Mike Hampton, New York Mets (NL: 2000)

0 HR, 8 RBI, .274/.313/.274 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 2016 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame

Mike Hampton, Colorado Rockies (NL: 2001)

7 HR, 16 RBI, .291/.309/.582 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 2016 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame

Mike Hampton, Colorado Rockies (NL: 2002)

3 HR, 5 RBI, .344/.354/.516 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 2016 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame

Mike Hampton, Atlanta Braves (NL: 2003)

2 HR, 8 RBI, .183/.246/.350 Slash Line.  He was on the ballot for one year in 2016 but did not receive any votes.  Unranked on Notinhalloffame



How were these Pitchers overall in their careers with their bats?

Forsch: 190 Hits, 12 HR, 84 RBI, .213/.235/.321 Slash Line.

Valenzuela:  187 Hits, 10 HR, 84 RBI, .200/.205/.262 Slash Line.

Robinson: 146 Hits, 13 HR, 69 RBI, .231/.252/.330 Slash Line.

Rhoden: 181 Hits, 9 HR, 75 RBI, .238/.253/.323 Slash Line.

Leary: 36 Hits, 1 HR, 19 RBI, .221/.247/.276 Slash Line.

Gooden: 145 Hits, 8 HR, 67 RBI, .196/212/.262 Slash Line.

Hershiser:  163 Hits, 0 HR, 50 RBI, .201/.230/.242 Slash Line.

Portugal:  89 Hits, 2 HR, 36 RBI, .198/.232/.260 Slash Line.

Hampton:  178 Hits, 16 HR, 79 RBI, .246/.294/.356 Slash Line.

Let’s update our tally shall we?



Award in Question

Percentage of recipients who have entered the HOF

Percentage of recipients by year who have entered the HOF.

NBA MVP

100%

100%

NHL Norris

90.5%

96.4%

NHL Lady Byng

63.8%

76.0%

NFL Super Bowl MVP

60.6%

64.9%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (Shortstop)

23.5%

52.6%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (Catcher)

20.0%

22.5%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (Pitcher)

18.2%

20.1%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (Second Base)

16.7%

32.7%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (Outfield)

15.7%

25.2%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (Third Base)

13.6%

14.3%

MLB (NL/AL) Silver Slugger (First Base)

13.6%

13.3%

MLB (NL/AL) Rookie of the Year

13.3%

13.3%



So who is up next?



The following are the players who have won the Silver Slugger at the Pitcher position who have retired but have not met the mandatory years out of the game to qualify:



Livan Hernandez, Montreal Expos (NL: 2004)

1 HR, 10 RBI, .247/.256/.370 Slash Line.  Hernandez will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (NL: 2006)

6 HR, 11 RBI, .151/.160/.397 Slash Line.  Zambrano will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Micah Owings, Arizona Diamondbacks (NL: 2007)

4 HR, 15 RBI, .333/.349/.683 Slash Line.  Owings will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018, provided he is exempted.  He did not play ten seasons.

Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (NL: 2008)

4 HR, 14 RBI, .337/.337/.554 Slash Line.  Zambrano will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (NL: 2009)

4 HR, 11 RBI, .217/.225/.464 Slash Line.  Zambrano will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.





How were these Pitchers overall in their careers with their bats?

Hernandez: 215 Hits, 10 HR, 85 RBI, .221/.231/.295 Slash Line.

Zambrano: 165 Hits, 24 HR, 71 RBI, .238/.248/.388 Slash Line.

Owings: 58 Hits, 9 HR, 35 RBI, .283/.310/.502 Slash Line.



The following are the players who have won the Silver Slugger at the Pitcher position who are still active:



Jason Marquis, Washington Nationals (NL: 2005)

1 HR, 10 RBI, .310/.326/.426 Slash Line.  Currently a Free Agent.  38 Years Old.

Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers (NL: 2010)

4 HR, 10 RBI, .254/.329/.508 Slash Line.  Currently with the Texas Rangers.  30 Years Old.

Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks (NL: 2011)

1 HR, 14 RBI, .277/.309/.369 Slash Line.  Currently with the Arizona Diamondbacks.  29 Years Old.

Steven Strasburg, Washington Nationals (NL: 2012)

1 HR, 7 RBI, .277/.333/.426 Slash Line.  Currently with the Washington Nationals.  27 Tears Old.

Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL: 2013)

0 HR, 4 RBI, .328/.409/.379 Slash Line.  Currently with the Arizona Diamondbacks.  32 Years Old.

Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants (NL: 2014)

4 HR, 15 RBI, .258/.286/.470 Slash Line.  Currently with the San Francisco Giants.  26 Years Old.

Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants (NL: 2015)

4 HR, 15 RBI, .258/.286/.470 Slash Line.  Currently with the San Francisco Giants.  26 Years Old.



How were these Pitchers overall in their careers with their bats?  Here are their numbers to date:

Marquis: 130 Hits, 5 HR, 57 RBI, .196/.214/.278 Slash Line.

Hudson: 24 Hits, 1 HR, 21 RBI, .226/.265/.302 Slash Line.

Strasburg: 32 Huts, 1 HR, 13 RBI, .145/.200/.191 Slash Line.

Grienke: 64 Hits, 6 HR, 14 RBI, .220/.261/.337 Slash Line.

Bumgarner: 67 Hits, 11 HR, 40 RBI, .183/.222/.300 Slash Line.



Wow….

It kinds of make you wonder why they give a Silver Slugger in this category doesn’t it?

So what’s up next? 

As you can imagine, it is the Designated Hitter that is left, and if you think that because the Hall of Fame seems to disregard that position, you might be a little surprised!

Look for that soon and as always we thank you for your support!

Last modified on Monday, 21 November 2016 18:35
Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

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