How is it possible to hit .361 and hit 41 home runs without anyone noticing?  The answer is to perform that incredible feat the same year that Roger Maris hit 61 Home Runs.

The 1961 season was easily the high-water mark for Norm Cash’s career, and it is sad that it went mostly unnoticed.   Cash never had a season like that again, and though he was a very productive power hitter for the rest of his career, he still posted decent on-base percentages.  ‘Stormin” Norm Cash was a fan favorite in Detroit for his fun loving antic and genuine love of life.  He wasn’t thought of much outside of Detroit as the team was in the national shadow of Kaline, McLain, and Lolich, but this never seemed to be an issue to Cash.

Norm Cash may have been a good power hitter, but without remotely flirting with what he did in 1961, he has been reduced to a fun footnote rather than a legendary part of the game.  It is interesting to think about how he would be remembered if he had posted those numbers in 1962 instead.

History has given the pitching staff much of the credit for the Baltimore Orioles’ World Series runs in 1966 and 1970, but it was the heavy-hitting Boog Powell who was the favorite of Maryland fans.

Boog Powell was built like a bull. The power hitter easily won the hearts of Baltimore with his booming home runs and nice demeanor. He batted cleanup for over a decade and solidified the lineup, providing much-needed offense for the pitching-heavy Orioles. He was a good clutch hitter, and though he committed his share of errors, he was able to prevent many miscues for his infielders by scooping up many a low throw.

Boog Powell got injured a bit and missed a handful of games each season. This prevented him from increasing his career hit and power numbers, which would have made him a better Hall of Fame candidate. Powell did win an MVP and was a runner-up another year, but he was occasionally accused of having his popularity outweigh his ability, which may explain his low Hall vote.

A lot of baseball players take flak for their high salaries. One of those who did was Kevin Brown, who was the first man in professional baseball to sign a contract worth $100 Million. Sadly for Brown, his deterioration made that one of the worst contracts, as in the final years of his career, he was not a player who should have been among the game’s highest-paid.

This isn’t to say that Kevin Brown didn’t have flashes of brilliance because he certainly had enough of them to warrant such a huge contract in the first place. He was regarded as one of the most intense pitchers, and as much as his temper served to fuel his unparalleled competitiveness, it also would cause his unraveling on occasion. Nevertheless, Kevin Brown was a major reason that the Florida Marlins won their surprise World Series in 1997 and the Padres’ 1998 World Series appearance. He had a brilliant fastball and forkball and rarely gave up the longball.

Unfortunately, Kevin Brown was unable to maintain his skill set, and his production dropped off during his final years with the Dodgers and during his American League return to the Yankees. Had Kevin Brown lived up to the years leading up to his nine-digit contract, he would be a serious contender for induction. As it stands now, it doesn’t look good.

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.

Sadly, Carl Mays is not best remembered for his four World Series rings or his 208 career wins.  He is best known for a beanball he pitched that killed the Cleveland Indians’ Ray Chapman.  Mays was also not the most liked player and was a spitball pitcher (legal at the time) which has not necessarily shone him in the brightest of lights.  He was a very adept submarine style pitcher and though he won his share of games he could never shake the cloud of Ray Chapman.

Mays may eventually be considered, as the sting of his accident may have washed away.  What doesn’t is that he was a purveyor of the spitball, and that in itself could be enough to keep him out.