What a year 1988 was for Orel Hershiser.  He didn’t just win the Cy Young that year, getting better to the point of being unstoppable as the season wound down.  He broke Don Drysdale’s consecutive scoreless innings record to end the regular season, then went on to win three games in the postseason (including one save) and propelled the Dodgers to a World Series win, and won the World Series MVP in the process.  What a year!

Hershiser did not duplicate that year (who could), but he suffered a severe shoulder injury that threatened his career.  Hershiser did come back and was an effective pitcher, but he never again dominated or reached All-Star levels.  Still, with a career of 200 wins and 2,000 strikeouts, he had a record that was envied by most.

The issue for the Hall is that Hershiser was considered the best Starting Pitcher in baseball for a two-and-a-half-year period and a solid number two or three man after his shoulder surgery.  If Hershiser was a dominant ace for a longer period of time, his 1988 season would have helped make him a serious contender for the Hall.

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 has one of the most impressive winning percentages in Baseball, his longevity is questioned in comparison to the immortals. Regarding the Hall of Fame, this generally doesn't matter!

Talk about being forgotten.  Darrell Evans is one of the few eligible players to hit more than 400 Home Runs and not get elected to the Hall of Fame.  He actually never made it past the first ballot.  He only made the All-Star Team twice.  He was a great fielder but Mike Schmidt won all the Gold Gloves at third.  He won a World Series with Detroit but was overshadowed by Whitaker, Trammell, Morris, and Hernandez.  A lot of this may have happened because he had a lifetime Batting Average of .248.

Darrell Evans did get a lot of notoriety for being the oldest player to ever win a Home Run crown when he belted 40 at the age of 38.  He was always a consistent power hitter, but received a lot of flak from amateur statisticians for his low Batting Average.  Those who saw that forgot to see how often Darrell Evans earned free passes as he walked an awful lot.  This was not due to pitchers intentionally walking him, but to a very keen and underappreciated batting eye.  Evans is currently twelfth all-time in the Bases on Balls category.

If Darrell Evans had a Batting Average just ten points higher, would it make a huge difference?  Probably, as the sub .250 career average really hampers what was a great and consistent career.  He has been called one of the most underrated players in baseball history.  It is hard to argue that statement.

Athletes are competitive by nature, but 99.9 percent of them paled to the competitive juices of Wes Ferrell.  He was known to get violent whenever he lost and take it out on himself and inanimate objects.  He may have been animated himself at times, but his teammates have always said they wanted him on their side.

Wes Ferrell’s first four years as a regular in the Indians’ rotation saw him win twenty games.  He would do so again on two more occasions, utilizing a brilliant fastball and an assortment of pitches.  He was one of the only pitchers to retire with a winning percentage over .600, and he did so as an innings-eating starter.  Ferrell also may be one of the game’s greatest hitting pitchers as he has decent power numbers and a lifetime .280 average.

His numbers began to decline sharply as his arm gave out, and he was not able to make the career numbers that would have ensured him a Cooperstown plaque.  If he had similar metrics in the last thirty years, he would likely not have to fight for that spot in Cooperstown