How many people pointed at Bert Blyleven’s 287 career wins year after year and championed his Hall of Fame cause?  We don’t know the exact number, but we are sure that it is a lot more than those who created logs extolling the virtues of Tony Mullane’s 284 Major League victories.

Maybe people should marvel at those wins.  Mullane was an ambidextrous hurler who could easily baffle batters, as back in his day, pitchers did not wear gloves, thus they had no idea which arm he would throw with.  Mullane was an innings-eater who recorded 30 wins on multiple occasions.  Like many in his day, Mullane was a very much a free spirit who challenged the reserve clause, was suspended for the 1885 season, and sat out part of the 1892 season in protest over pay cuts.  This may have cost him the magical 300-win number, and the fact that he played in the American Association (and not the National League) and had subpar seasons late in his career has made the switch-pitching Tony Mullane a distant afterthought among the folks at Cooperstown.

It is strange to say that Willie Randolph played in a bit of a shadow as he was a long-time Yankee but that is somewhat true.  He was in the shadow of other more flamboyant New York stars, and his strong defensive play never got him a Gold Glove as he played at the same time as Lou Whitaker or Frank White.  Hell, even his current Coaching career seems to overshadow his accomplishments on the diamond.  It shouldn’t though as Willie Randolph was a very good ballplayer.

Will Clark is a justifiable member of the Mississippi Sports and College Baseball Hall of Fame but it looks like the big one in Cooperstown will elude him as he failed to get past his first year of eligibility.  A look at his career makes you wonder why he couldn’t get past that elusive first ballot.

One of the main staples of this website is to discuss the overlooked.  We certainly are not the only ones to do this, as other websites and blogs discuss those who they feel are Hall of Fame worthy, but no matter how you slice it, it is hard to find anyone with more HOF credentials that has been completely abandoned than George Van Haltren.