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.

Nicknamed “The Thrill”, Will Clark became an instant favorite as he homered on his first at-bat against the legendary Nolan Ryan.  Clark would become a major star in the Bay Area, exciting fans with his unequaled competitiveness and solid offensive play.  He was ranked among his peers as the top clutch performer in the game, as evidenced by his 1989 NLCS MVP.  The six-Time All-Star finished his career with a Batting Average over .300 and solid power numbers.  What hurt Will Clark was that the inflated power numbers that came after him (especially from other first basemen) made what he accomplished look less special.  It is very possible that “The Thrill” could pop up in a Veterans’ Committee discussion in the future.

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 they feel are Hall of Fame-worthy, but no matter how you slice it, it is hard to find anyone with more HOF credentials who has been completely abandoned than George Van Haltren.

A star of the last decade of the 1800’s, Van Haltren was a hitting machine who slapped away at singles like they were mosquitoes.  He was constantly in the top ten in multiple Batting categories, and he was a huge asset with his glove, as he led the league three times in outfield assists.  In addition, he could be called upon to pitch when needed and actually finished his career with a respectable won-loss record of 40- 31.  With over 2,500 career hits and 1,600 career runs, how is it possible that he is not even on the radar?

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.

Larry Doyle was above average in almost every category and put together a monster 1912 campaign, during which he won the 1911 MVP.  Although he had many very good seasons, his three World Series appearances were less than stellar, and he failed to lead his team to any championship.  Had he kept to the standards he set from April to September, it could be imagined that Larry Doyle would have been a serious Hall of Fame candidate, as opposed to the remote possibility he is today.  He famously quipped that it “was good to be young and a Giant.” It would have been better to be labeled as immortal.

An argument has been made that Ross Barnes was the greatest baseball player of all time in the League.  Unfortunately, that aforementioned League was the National Association, not the current Leagues known today.

The argument about Ross Barnes’ skills is easy to make.  He led the Baseball Association in both traditional and sabermetric categories multiple times and was called the most valuable teammate among his peers; many of whom would go on to Cooperstown themselves.  In 1877, Barnes fell ill with a severe fever and was never the same player afterward.  He was out of baseball by age 31, and many have speculated that had he not suffered from poor health, he would have been elected as a pioneer of the game.  As it stands now, he is a forgotten workhorse of a bygone era, and bluntly, we are not even sure eligible, as he only played nine seasons.  We know what that means in this century, but is that still the case for Barnes?