Hall of Fame Jr.
Posted: February 4th, 2009 | Filed under: Baseball | 189 Comments »
So, I’ve been thinking about opening up my own Baseball Hall of Fame. This isn’t in any way a knock on the current Hall of Fame — I think everyone here knows that I LOVE the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown — but lately things have been getting so confusing that it seems to me that we need a second Hall of Fame just to keep up and give people a second view of baseball. My idea is to call it The Hall of Fame Jr.
My rules are simple:
1. These are only people who are NOT in the Baseball Hall of Fame. If they ever get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, they will be proudly escorted out of my Hall of Fame in a touching graduation type ceremony.
2. The Hall of Fame Jr. will be in Hoboken, because that’s where the first semi-official baseball game was played, on Elysian Fields, between the New York Knickerbocker Club and the New York Nine on June 19, 1846. This was almost certainly not anything close to the first baseball game played — baseball, in some form, probably goes back dozens, and maybe even hundreds of years — but this game was probably the first played under the Alexander Cartwright rules, which makes it probably the first semi-modern game played. Baseball, it is fair to assume, was not invented by any one person. It evolved over time. But this is probably as close as we will get to a starting point, and anyway Hoboken has a MUCH stronger claim to baseball’s beginning than Cooperstown.
3. The Hall of Fame Jr.’s only role is to fill the gaps. We make few character judgments and no one is ineligible.
Here are my first 20 inductees into the Hall of Fame Jr. I suspect there will be more nominations.
Peter Edward Rose
(Charlie Hustle)
Player
Reason not in the Hall: Lifetime suspension for gambling on baseball.
Achievements: All-time hit leader; Hit .303/.373/.409 in 24-year career, led league in hitting three times, in hits seven times. He is first all-time in singles, times on base and games, second in doubles, sixth in runs scored. He was MVP in 1973, World Series MVP in 1975. He is a 17-time All-Star and the only man to start the All-Star Game at five different positions (second base, left field, right field, third base and first base). He was suspended in 1989 for gambling on baseball; he denied the charge for more than a decade. He now admits that he did gamble on his team to win while managing the Cincinnati Reds, and he still holds out hope that he will someday be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It will probably not ever happen.
Joseph Jefferson Jackson
(Shoeless Joe)
Player
Reason not in the Hall: Lifetime suspension for his role in throwing the 1919 World Series.
Achievements: His career .356 batting average ranks third on the all-time list. He hit .356/.423/.517, and he hit .408 in his first full season, 1911, when he was only 21 years old. Babe Ruth said that he modeled his swing after Jackson. Ever since he was banned, there have been passionate debates about the guilt or innocence of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Once the museum makes enough money, we would put a Shoeless Joe Jackson computer exhibit here that would put out the facts and let people decide if he was or was not guilty.
Frederick Ernest Goldsmith
Player, pioneer.
Reason not in the Hall: Because the Hall recognized Candy Cummings as the inventor of the curveball.
Achievements: There are reasons to believe that Fred Goldsmith, and not Hall of Famer Candy Cummings, actually invented the curveball.* Won 98 games between 1880 and 1883 for the Chicago White Stockings^.
*I think I mentioned this: A few years ago, I was thinking about writing a book about the curveball. It wasn’t really about the curveball, but it was sort of a mystery, sort of a history, sort of … hard to explain because it was more or less an insane idea. Anyway, I did do a little work on it. Here’s a little bit about Fred Goldsmith:
When they found Fred Goldsmith, it was morning, and he was lying in bed, clutching a yellowed newspaper clipping. He had died in his sleep sometime during the night, and when friends saw his face, they would say Goldsmith finally looked to be at peace. The only other times he seemed at ease in the winter of his life was when he talked to the few newspaper reporters who came around to ask how, exactly, he had thrown the first curveball.
“That’s a funny story,†he would tell those reporters. But it was not funny, not at all, least of all to Fred Goldsmith. That moment when he threw that curveball was deadly serious, the moment of his life. Fred Goldsmith thought about that first curveball almost every waking moment for the last years of his life.
“I was 16 years old,†he would begin. Sometimes, for some reason, he remembered being only 14. He was 16, though. It was August 9, 1870. The sun was high and warm. A crowd had gathered in Brooklyn. A Yale philosophy professor named Hamilton Avery had written a couple of articles about how a baseball, thrown just so, could curve. People thought Avery was mad, but he knew it was true. He had seen a kid in his neighborhood back in New Haven, a kid named Fred Goldsmith throw curveballs.
On that day, Avery set up three poles on a straight line, each 20 feet apart. This was at the Canitoline Grounds in the heart of Brooklyn, and even though there were hundreds of people surrounding the field, the demonstration was set up for one man and one man alone: Pap Chadwick, the biggest, boldest and only baseball writer in America. Pap was from England, he had been a cricket writer back home, but he fell in love with baseball the first time he saw it. Pap did not know if a baseball could curve. But he desperately wanted it to be true.
Out walked Fred Goldsmith. He was tall and skinny and looked younger than 16. He also looked absolutely sure. “People laughed at me,†he would tell reporters many years later. “They called it an ‘optical illusion.’ But the ball curved. I could make it curve.â€
That day in Brooklyn, he threw ten pitches. The goal was to make the baseball go to the right of the middle post and then break sharply and bend to the left of the far post. Goldsmith pulled the trick off six or eight times. One of his pitches seemed to break a foot. The crowd was mesmerized. Chadwick was awed. Harry Houdini would not be born for four years, but in Brooklyn they believed in magic. “They had to accept the evidence of their eyes,†Goldsmith would say.
For a time, Goldsmith was a sensation. Pap Chadwick himself declared in the next day’s Brooklyn Eagle that Goldsmith had “won fame by developing a ball that twists, proving to countless skeptics that a sphere could cheat natural laws.†Over the next few years, several pitchers around the country repeated the Goldsmith Experiment, as it was called, in front of huge crowds. Soon, professional baseball teams – a new idea in the 1870s — came to Goldsmith and offered him money pitch. One team paid him $6,000, which by one measure of inflation would be more than $5 million today. Goldsmith, armed with his “amazing curved ball†pitched well for several years – for instance he won 21 games and lost only three for a new team called the Chicago White Stockings in 1880 – and people came from all around to see him.
Fame is fleeting. A few months after Goldsmith’s exhibition, a man named Arthur Cummings emerged. He was a small man, barely 100 pounds, and friends called him “Candy.†He claimed to have thrown the curveball years before Goldsmith. Candy was well liked, and he told a compelling story about throwing clam shells as a child. He would watch them twist and turn in the wind, and think: “I’ll wager that a baseball would do the same.†His story so enthralled Pap Chadwick that after some thought he decided Candy Cummings had invented the curveball. And like that, Fred Goldsmith found himself lost to history. He wrote to newspaper reporters, begged them to listen to his story. He showed them the original newspaper clip, the one that promised him fame. Sometimes, Goldsmith would go up to people and ask, “Who invented the curveball?�
They would, routinely say: “Candy Cummings.�
And he grew more and more despondent.
When he died in 1939 – the year Candy Cummings was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame — Goldsmith was found holding that news clipping from 1870, the one where Pap Chadwick credited him with the curveball. The New York Times ran a 48-word obituary.
“Fred Goldsmith, who played baseball with the old Chicago White Stockings under Cap Anson, and who claimed to have originated the curveball, died at his home in Suburban Berkley. He was 86 years old. He was a native of New Haven, Conn. A daughter, Mrs. Fred Stieier, survives.â€
“I threw it first,†Goldsmith told a reporter just a few weeks before his death. “I threw it first.â€
John Jordan O’Neil
(Buck)
Player, manager, scout, coach, ambassador.
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Complicated.
Achievements: Was a good player for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues (won the batting title in 1946 after returning from World War II and just missed another title in 1947). Was a very good manager for the Monarchs, where he won a couple of pennants. Was an outstanding scout for the Chicago Cubs, and he played a role in the signing of Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Joe Carter and Lee Smith, among numerous other Major Leaguers. Was the first African American coach in the Major Leagues when he was named in 1962. Was one of the game’s great ambassadors. Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
Marvin Julian Miller
Union Leader
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Bitterness, maybe? I don’t know.
Achievements: Transformed baseball while serving as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement between the union and the player, and this included arbitration. Boldly encouraged players to fight the reserve clause, which led to the era of free agency. Led the players union through three strikes, which changed the face of baseball. Red Barber called him one of the three most influential men in baseball history, along with Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth.*
*My own personal feeling is that having Bowie Kuhn in the Hall of Fame with Marvin Miller out is like having Bluto in the Hall of Fame with Popeye out.
Tom Greenwade
Scout
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Scouts are not eligible.
Achievements: Signed Mickey Mantle and helped encourage the Brooklyn Dodgers to sign Jackie Robinson. He signed numerous other players — Elston Howard, Hank Bauer and Bobby Murcer among them — and was generally perceived to be the most astute baseball scout of his time. His greatest achievement of all may have been the report he wrote on Jackie Robinson, which played a big role in Branch Rickey’s decision to sign Robinson.
Gil Hodges
Player/Manager
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: His playing numbers fall just short.
Achievements: Beloved first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers hit 30-plus homers six times and drove in 100 runs every year from 1949 to 1955. Hit .273/.359/.487 with 370 career home runs. He was a much-admired figure in Brooklyn, both for his style of play (he was a fine defensive first baseman who won the first three first-baseman-Gold Gloves) and his general sturdiness. In 1968, he would take over as manager of the New York Mets, and in 1969 he led the Miracle Mets to perhaps the most stunning World Series championship in baseball history. Hodges died of a heart attack two days before his 48th birthday.
Rik Aalbert Blyleven
Pitcher
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Did not win 300 games, was not perceived as great during his playing days.
Achievements: As of 2009, he ranked fifth all-time in strikeouts (3,701), ninth in shutouts (60), 27th in victories (287) and 14th in innings pitched (4,970). He only won 20 games once in his career, and many felt like he should have won more games.
This chart would be next to his plaque:
Blyleven strikeouts > Whitey Ford + Carl Hubbell.
Blyleven strikeouts > Goose Gossage + Rollie Fingers + Bruce Sutter.
Blyleven strikeouts > Sandy Koufax + Denny McLain
Blyleven strikeouts > Juan Marichal + Bob Lemon
Blyleven strikeouts > Felix Hernandez + Joe Nathan + Ryne Duren + La Marr Hoyt + Carl Pavano + Tim Lincecum.
Joseph Paul Torre
Catcher/Manager
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Fell just shy as a player
Achievements: MVP in 1971, Gold Glove catcher in 1965, nine-time All-Star. Hit .297/.365/.452 and punched up a 128 OPS+ … that OPS+ is better than Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter. Trouble is, he spent only about half his career as a catcher and was viewed, fairly or unfairly, as a subpar defender. He has won 2,151 games and four World Series as a manager. He is only resting in the Hall of Fame Jr. … he’s certain to go into the Hall of Fame as a manager for his four World Series titles with the Yankees.
Mark David McGwire
(Big Mac)
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Strong suspicion of steroid use.
Achievements: Hit 583 career home runs and is the all-time record holder for home runs per at-bat (a homer every 10.6 at-bats). … He and Sammy Sosa spent the summer of 1998 chasing Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, and it was, for many across the country, a healing moment for baseball after the bitter strike in 1994 and eventual cancellation of the World Series. The healing moment, however, turned bitter later as rumors of steroid use began to circulate. McGwire admitted to using Andro, which at the time was legal in both baseball and the United States, but which later was banned. McGwire later refused to either admit or deny taking steroids when questioned by Congress.
This chart would be next to his plaque … it is something I’ve been playing around with (and something that I should have a larger post on later). I’m sure it has been done many times, but I thought it would be interesting to simply add up all the bases a player accumulates — total bases + stolen bases + walks + hit by pitch — and divide that by plate appearances. It’s sort of a super slugging formula.
Here are the ten highest ranked super sluggers in baseball history (5,000 plate appearances):
1. Babe Ruth, super-slugged .756
2. Barry Bonds, .726
3. Ted Williams, .712
4. Lou Gehrig, .695
5. Albert Pujols, .679
6. Jimmie Foxx, .673
7. Hank Greenberg, ..667
8. Mark McGwire, .658
9. Alex Rodriguez, .655
10. Manny Ramirez, .651
George William James
Writer
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Because he has never been a member of the Baseball Writers Association.
Achievements: Bill James changed the way many people across America have looked at baseball. We could spend days going over all of his inventions and innovations — Runs created, range factor, game scores, secondary average, win shares, power/speed number, the Keltner List, Hall of Fame Monitor on and on and on — but perhaps the most significant thing Bill has done is get people to question conventional thinking and at least consider the context of the time. Also has won two World Series rings as a Boston Red Sox executive.
I suspect no one has had more of an impact on the way people watch baseball the last 25 or so years than Bill. But he is a friend of mine. This would be a big exhibit.
Sy Berger
Innovator
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Because one of the Hall’s weaknesses is recognizing innovators.
Achievements: Sy Berger designed the first set of Topps baseball cards (1952) on his kitchen table in Hempstead, N.Y. He famously put “past year†by the statistics on the back rather than 1951 because he did not want to date the cards, he wasn’t sure they would sell. “We put ‘year’ so if they didn’t sell, maybe we could sell them the next year,’†he told Mike Dodd of USA Today. The cards sold, and baseball cards became a bit of Americana that, generation after generation, brought the game to kids and inspired mothers to throw out shoeboxes filled with Mickey Mantle rookie cards.
Hal Richman
Innovator
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Because one of the Hall’s weakness is recognizing innovators.
Achievements: Hal Richman created the baseball table game Strat-o-Matic. Many people have invented their own table-top baseball game — including On the Road author Jack Kerouac — but Richman’s invention was especially true to life, took great care to incorporate defense and brought countless people closer to the game.
Here, I would have an exhibit featuring several people’s memories of Strat-o. I would, sadly, be forced to include my own memory, which involves a classic seven game World Series between the 1988 Boston Red Sox and the 1988 Cincinnati Reds. I was managing the Red Sox, and my buddy Chardon Jimmy was managing the Reds. He had a 3 games to 1 lead (in large part because Wade Freaking Boggs was hitting like .122) and and he led 1-0 in the ninth inning of Game 4. I got a runner on, and he had a decision to make. He could leave Tom Browning on the mound — the guy was throwing like three-hit shutout — or he could go to the mount to get the almost unhittable Rob Dibble. He stuck with Browning.
I sent up Dwight Evans.
The dice came up: HOMERUN.
You Strat-o people will appreciate that … HOMERUN, all capital letters, all one word. That means a no-doubt blast. It wasn’t HR 1-9; DO 10-20 … meaning we had to go to the 20-sided die to determine whether or not it was gone. No. It was gone. It was GONE. It was Pujols hitting the bomb against Lidge.
And, we played Strat-o all night long. I don’t think it’s important to say who won the World Series. But I won it.
I would also put the Bob Costas/Gary Geiger story up there. I will save that for later … I’m hoping to get a quick interview with Bob about his move to the MLB TV. If I get him, I’ll DEFINITELY have him retell the Gary Geiger story.
Jack Norworth
Songwriter
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: There are no songwriters in the Hall of Fame.
Achievements: Jack Norworth, while riding the train to Manhattan, pulled out a piece of scrap paper and wrote a song called “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.†It took him 15 minutes. He wrote the song in 1908. He did not see his first baseball game until 1940.
Kevin Costner
Actor
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: He seems to have a few disagreements with the Hall of Fame Sr.
Achievements: Played two of the most memorable baseball roles in the history of Hollywood. He played Crash Davis, the switch-hitting down-and-out catcher in Bull Durham. And he played Ray Kinsella, the struggling Iowa farmer who built a baseball diamond in his cornfield. He has also played in numerous other baseball-themed movies, but just those two characters are enough to get him into the Hall of Fame Jr.
Jim Bouton
Player/Author
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Was not a good enough player, and authors are not inducted into the Hall.
Achievements: Won 20 games for the New York Yankees in 1963 and 18 games then next, and then spent the next 15 or so years trying to regain that magic. And while he was trying to comeback, wrote the groundbreaking book “Ball Four,†which gave readers a real sense of what it was like to be a Major League baseball player. The book was widely panned by people in baseball, who felt like Bouton was revealing secrets,* but it was in many ways a beautiful and wide-eyed book, perhaps best described in the famous last sentence: “You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.â€
*Sound familiar?
Billy Martin
Player/Manager
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Only won one World Series as a manager, and wasn’t a particularly admirable fellow.
Achievements: Managed four different teams to division titles, and was the manager of the famed 1977 Bronx Zoo Yankees that won the World Series. He began the 1978 season as manager of the Yankees as well, but was fired after making his statement: “They deserve each other … one’s a born liar (Reggie Jackson) and the other’s convicted (owner George Steinbrenner).†Had numerous altercations as a manager, and he was, for a time, probably the most famous man in baseball. He was also a scrappy player who in 1953 was given the Babe Ruth Award, which was the World Series MVP award given out by the New York Baseball Writers chapter.
Sadaharu Oh
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Played in Japan.
Achievements: Hit 868 home runs in 22-year career with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japan League. He led the league in home runs for 13 consecutive seasons, and he also led the league in hitting five times. It was said that he could not hit the curveball until he started to practice with a samurai sword. He was a two-time triple crown winner as well.
Dan Quisenberry
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Was not viewed to be a Hall of Fame player.
Achievements: Bill James wrote: “There has never been a pitcher who made fewer mistakes than Dan Quisenberry.†He was undrafted, and the first time teammates saw him pitch they said that he had no chance. But he changed to a submarine style, and his career he walked 1.40 batters per nine innings (20th all-time), threw only four wild pitches, and had a career ERA+ of 146, which ranks fifth among all pitchers who threw at least 1,000 innings. He led the league in saves five times and set the save record in 1983 when he save 45. He finished second in the ERA voting twice, and third twice more. He was also a poet and said many famous lines including his thoughts about the future: “The future is much like the present, only longer.â€
Tommy John
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Did not win 300 games.
Achievements. Tommy John won 288 games in a 26 year career, and he is 20th all-time in innings pitched (4,710). This is because a risky elbow surgery he underwent in 1974. The doctor, Frank Jobe,* replaced an elbow ligament with a tendon from somewhere else in the body. Jobe put John’s chances of recover at 1 in 100. John rehabilitated for 18 months, and returned in 1976 and pitched well. In 1977, he won 20 games for the first time. The surgery, which dramatically altered the course of baseball, came to be known as “Tommy John surgery.â€
*Dr. Frank Jobe will go into the Hall of Fame Jr. with John as sort of a double-entry.
We’ll stop there for now. You know, I think people would come visit this Hall, even if we don’t have Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.
Now, I imagine there will be numerous nominations … bring them on. Just remember to put them in the same form as above — Name, position, reason not in the Hall, and achievements. And make a case. We’re not just letting anyone into the Hall Jr., you know.
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Bobby Grich. Dave Parker. Steve Garvey. Dale Murphy. Don Mattingly. Keith Hernandez. Dwight Gooden. Vince Coleman. Kirk Gibson. I’d like to see the players from my youth inducted.
And in a twist, I’d like to see Bret Saberhagen there as well, but only on odd numbered years.
Not particularly inspired, but I have to nominate Tram and Whitaker, with Darrell Evans as the ‘Chance’ of the group (although more for his earlier work as a third basemen). Heck, Darrell and Dewey could make another great double.
Bart Giamatti should have a seat. And maybe Ring Lardner. And why not Ron Santo.
And definitely Buck O’Neil.
Jacob Rupert
Owner
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: The Hall is screwy when it comes to electing owners.
Achievements: A millionaire brewery owner and former US Representative from New York, Jacob Rupert purchased the New York Yankees in 1915 and owned them until his death in 1939. During that time he oversaw the building of Yankee Stadium, the purchase of Babe Ruth, and the development of the Yankees into the most successful professional sports franchise in the history of American sport, including 8 World Series titles during his ownership.
Shit, I misspelled “Ruppert”, twice. And after all that formatting.
Ron Santo
Player/Voice of the Cubs
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: I honestly have no idea.
Nine time all-star, five time Gold Glove winner, 342 home runs, OPS+ of 125 (7th all-time for third basemen, I think). Bill James named him one of the 100 greatest players of all time. More than that, he’s become the voice of the Cubs (“Oh nooooooo”) and a role model for diabetes patients all over. He’s raised a ton of money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and is a great ambassador for the game.
Let him in, Joe!
If anyone could invent a HOF that would be legitimate it would be you. I think you should keep this post up permanently, give it a nice separate link, and update it yearly. Use said criteria to set up your ballots and perhaps set up a vote with your readers (or just have your own). I really enjoy the site Joe, keep it up.
Peter Edward Rose
Hey, don’t forget – All Time Leader in outs.
…also, what MAO V said.
Tom and Jack Murphy, Groundskeepers, inventors of the pitchers mound and the first dedicated baseball groundskeepers
See the book “Level Playing Fields” by Peter Morris..
I think Frank White belongs. His gold gloves alone merit consideration, but he also played a prominent role on championship teams. If you take his career accomplishments and put a NY on his cap, he is in Cooperstown. Short of that, he belongs in HOF jr.
Curt Flood. That is all.
How could you not have Frank White on your list?
He should be a lock with all of the Gold Gloves that he won.
Can I nominate Ken Burns?
Has anyone had a bigger effect on the way Americans view Baseball still as not just even a National Pastime, but also a chronicle of America?
Well, how about James Andrews?
Tony Oliva
Thurman Munson
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Career cut short due to plane crash at the age of 32. He would’ve needed several more years of statistical compilation at an above average rate in order to gain serious HOF consideration.
Achievements: Munson played only 9 full seasons. 1970 AL ROY, 1976 AL MVP, 3x Gold Glove catcher. Hit .357/.378/.496 in 6 postseason series. The Yankees went 5-1 in those series, winning the WS twice. Career line .292/.346/.410, 116 OPS+. Chris Isidore who sponsors Munson’s page at baseball-reference.com writes: “1st Yank capt since Gehrig. 7-time All-Star in 10 years, Thurm was one of (the) game’s greatest clutch hitters. Stats & awards don’t do his career justice. Still loved decades after his death. Many Yanks achieved more but none meant more to team and fans.”
Ron Santo has to be in the first class of jr as well…..and how about a little love for Charles O Finley as an innovative executive
I’d want to put in a vote for Mark Fidrych, just because he was really famous, if only for a short time.
You probably already know this, but the “I have seen the future, and it is like the present, only longer” quotation is from Kehlog Albran’s “The Profit”. I seem to recall Quisenberry citing this as his source. (You can read “The Profit” online, if you seek enlightenment – for example, “Even the best of friends cannot attend each other’s funeral.”)
I saw Quisenberry speak when I was in Florida in 1991 for spring training. He came across as intelligent, amusing and thoughtful. I am still sad that he is gone.
Matt Christopher
Reason not in HOF: Authors are not in HOF
Achievements: Brought baseball to grade school boys who weren’t allowed to stay up and watch night games.
http://www.halloffamejr.org appears to be available!
If Costner is eligible, than I nominate my fictional namesake. He was brilliant but met an untimely demise on the diamond. It wasn’t his fault!
Ron Santo
Player/Broadcaster
Reason not in the Hall Of Fame: continuing underappreciation for the excellence he displayed at a difficult defensive position and during a difficult offensive era. Had several HOF teammates and yet never saw postseason play, and a collection of great players is supposed to win a berth, so someone has to be designated the weak link.
Primary position: third base.
Playing career: 15 seasons, 1960-74 — *Chicago Cubs 1960-73, Chicago White Sox 1974.
Standout season: 1964 (.312/.398/.564, 94 runs, 185 hits, 33 doubles, 13 triples, 30 HR, 114 RBI, 86 walks, 164 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1972.
Career highlight stat: 342 HR (28th all-time when he retired).
Honoraria and statistical crowns: nine All-Star selections, five NL Gold Gloves at third base, OBP twice, triples once, walks four times. Jersey #10 retired by the Cubs.
BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 43.1% (on his final ballot).
VC voting: 2003, 56.8%; 2005, 65.0% (tied for highest return); 2007, 69.5% (highest return); 2009, 60.9% (highest return).
Great player. Very good hitter with sustained seasons of greatness, excellent defense at a difficult position. Underappreciated in his own time, and still is today, though that iceberg appears slowly to be melting. Santo is, and I have no doubts about this, The Best Player Not In The Hall (eligible or not). And he deserves to lose that title. Just elect the man already.
I could name several others, but this HOFjr. has to have Santo in the charter class. Anyone else can wait.
…and, it is to be hoped, Santo will be the first HOFjr honoree escorted out of its doors and crossed off its rolls.
Joe, as someone you have once called “brilliant reader Andy,” I must insist: Curt Flood. Please, please, please educate people about Curt Flood. I realize maybe you feel like you partially covered this area in this round by having Marvin Miller (who is just as deserving), but please have Curt Flood in there in the next round. He had more of a pioneer effect on baseball than Buck, and you and I both agree that Buck needs to be in.
For anyone who’s interested, check out “A Well-Paid Slave” to learn about Curt Flood’s struggle to break the reserve clause. It was written by Brad Snyder, a professor at my law school (UW)!
Indian Bob Johnson
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Lack of incipient or decline phase to bulk up counting stats. Best player on many bad teams.
Achievements: Only player in major league history to 1) qualify for the batting title in every season of his career and 2) register a 125 OPS+ or higher in every season of his career. 71st all-time on Grey Ink test, and 4th all-time in outfield assists per 1000 innings. Fourth in RCAA among players from 1930-1950. Finished in top 10 in league HRs in 11 of his 13 seasons. 8-time All-Star.
Can I get some love for Tim Raines, Vada Pinson, Jimmy Ryan, Ross Barnes, Tip O’Neill, and Isao Harimoto?
Joe, your post is eerily in line with an idea that came to me a few weeks ago. I had a vision of what baseball might look like in 50 years. As I have nowhere else to put it, I’ll post it here. The first few lines are especially applicable to your HOF Jr. idea. Cut to the year 2059…
The Baseball Hall of Fame has become a repository for souvenirs, historical artifacts, & statues. It provides tangible experience of that which exists concurrently in cyberspace. The internet chronicles the history of the game with more accuracy (if you know where to look) and better perspective due to sabermetrics and the sheer volume of facts, anecdotes, comparisons, and eye witness accounts. Succeeding generations understand and embrace the beauty of the capabilities of modern analysis in providing historical perspective. None of this detracts from the enjoyment of the game. Bloopers still fall just out of reach of splayed infielders. Batters still wave helplessly at wicked curveballs. Roars have not grown quieter in the stadia. Managers still agonize over pitching changes. Almost no one sacrifice bunts. The mystery of clutch hitting has yet to be cracked. The fans of Cleveland and Kansas City cry tears of joy when their long droughts of losing finally end. The best pitchers still pitch inside–a bit too far inside sometimes, at least for the hitters’ liking. Medical advances mitigate the consequences, but injuries still occur. Players still succumb to the rigors of the long season. The beautiful idiosyncrasies of the game are still alive and well. In fact, the sale of sunflower seeds has increased substantially. The big show still sports the greenest grass in the world. The hearts of boys and girls still hang on the last out of each game. Joe Posnanski is old, but he finally gets into the writer’s wing of the Hall of Fame and hundreds of thousands of fans storm Cooperstown for the speech…
W.P. Kinsella
Author
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: The Hall doesn’t induct authors
Achievements: Author of numerous short stories and novels about baseball, most notably the Iowa Baseball Confederacy and Shoeless Joe (the basis of Field Of Dreams).
Dan Okrent, innovator. I know there are others with claims to creating fantasy-style baseball (Sam Walker’s Fantasyland has a great short history of Strat-O-Matic, Rotisserie, etc.), but it’s certainly changed the way many younger fans approach and follow the game.
Don Mattingly and Keith Hernandez
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Both fell just short as players. (Okay, how short is open to debate).
These two should go in together – neither of them was quite great enough for long enough to get in by himself, but as a pair? Who’d say no to that?
I think Hernandez probably has the slightly better Hall of Fame case (and also, the better mustache), but I’m a Yankees fan, so I don’t care — Don Mattingly was the Golden Calf of my childhood. People around my age (born in ‘81) didn’t really have a Mantle or a DiMaggio or a Reggie Jackson on the team to idolize, growing up; Mattingly was the closest thing. Intellectually I certainly understand why he’s not in the Hall of Fame, but on an instinctive emotional level, it just seems insane and wrong.
I’m okay with practically all of the above nominations – except for the wimpy Ken Burns. His PBS style documentaries aren’t all that original. Read a few good books on any subject that he is featuring and you’ve learned a lot more than Burns will or can ever tell you.
Dave Stieb.
Of course you mean “permanent ban,” not “lifetime ban.” When you’ve got an institution meant to celebrate baseball, whether it’s the big Hall of Fame or the Hall of Fame Jr., I don’t see any justification for including individuals who are (justifiably and through no one’s fault but their own) permanently banned from the sport you’re celebrating.
Dick Allen
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: big smelly jerkface
Achievements: so clearly the best eligible hitter not currently in the Hall that you can hardly even call the other guys “hitters,” if that’s what Allen is.
Norm Cash
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: not good enough.
Achievements: much better player than Gil Hodges at the same position.
Also, what Ben said about Ron Santo. How is that guy not in yet?
I suspect that Duane Kuiper will headline the inaugural class, considering who founded the HOF Jr.
Vin Scully
Radio and TV Announcer
Reson not in the Hall of Fame: Announcers not inducted (as far as I know).
I’m sure there are plenty of announcers worthy of Jr. Hall of Fame status, many of whom have won the Ford Frick Award. Scully stands out, to me, because he’s been calling games for over 60 years, and represents the Dodgers in a way that no other man representes his team. As a Rockies fan, I didn’t grow up with Scully, and I’m sure I don’t appreciate him half as much as those hundreds of thousands in southern Cal who listen to him every night. But I do switch over to the Dodgers broadcast whenever the Rockies and Dodgers play, because Scully is just that good.
Addendum – I’m hazy as to whether the Ford Frick Award counts as an induction or not. Does anyone know for sure?
Rob Neyer. The most influential baseball writer of the last 15 years.
Charles M. “Sparky” Schultz
Cartoonist
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: BBWAA bias against writers who don’t appear in the Sports section.
Baseball is a game of failure, and nobody captured and illustrated that better than Schultz. Not content to chronicle the frustrations of Charlie Brown, he also managed to capture the perfect hero in Joe Shlabotnik (even though he wasn’t cute enough).
“Why couldn’t McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?”
“Addendum – I’m hazy as to whether the Ford Frick Award counts as an induction or not. Does anyone know for sure?”
It does not. Spink and Frick winners are “honorees”. FAQ
Dan Okrent
Innovator
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Because one of the Hall’s weaknesses is recognizing innovators. (stolen from Joe P.)
Achievements: In 1979 at a restaurant called La Rôtisserie Française in NYC, Dan Okrent and his buddies invented a fantasy baseball game which is still being played by many, many fans of the game today. While Roto, and other forms of fantasy baseball, can detract from team allegiances during the season (only if you let it), it can also lead to a deeper and fuller appreciation of the game in total. And force you to stay up for that late-night addition of Baseball Tonight.
I see Jfoels beat me to it. Well done.
Mentioned already, but worth repeating…
Ron Santo
Curt Flood
James Andrews
Dan Okrent (or whoever invented fantasy baseball)
And finally, worthy of a longer argument…
Frank White
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Didn’t hit a World Series-winning home run against the heavily favored Yankees.
Achievements: 8 Gold Gloves (should have been 9…die, Harold Reynolds). 2,006 hits, 407 doubles, 5-time All-Star. 1980 ALCS MVP. Countless contributions to Royals and game that go beyond his on-field play. Classiest Royal ever.
Bill Veeck should be the only guy in both Halls of Fame.
He’d get a kick out of that.
I could come up with dozens of these. Here are two who I think are especially deserving…
Joe Nuxhall
(The Ol’ Lefthander)
Very Young Pitcher/Voice of Cincinnati
Reason not in the Hall: The Ford C. Frick Award only goes to play-by-play guys for some reason.
Achievements: His former broadcast partner Al Michaels once told Dave Letterman that, after every game, Nuxhall would consume a six pack of Michelob and a full stick of Cracker Barrel cheese. That’s every game, including spring training and the postseason, so around 200 times a year.
And, as far as I know, Nuxhall is the only nominee so far whose statue stands in front of a big league ballpark.
Francis Joseph O’Doul
(Lefty)
Injured Pitcher/All-Star Hitter/Ambassador/Bartender
Reason not in the Hall: Playing Numbers Fall Short
Achievements: Came to the Yankees from the PCL as a pitcher, blew out his arm. He reinvented himself as an outstanding hitter and returned to the majors five years later, winning two NL batting titles. He played in the first All-Star game. Career slash lines: .349/.413./.532
Lefty became an incredibly successful manager in the PCL and helped develop the career of some kid named Joe DiMaggio. He also (almost single-handedly) established baseball in Japan. The Tokyo Giants are so named because the New York Giants were Lefty’s team.
His namesake bar in San Francisco is still going strong almost 40 years after his death.
Gavvy Cravath
Player
Reason not in the Hall: His lack of Major League experience
Cravath spent most of his time until age 31 in the PCL and the American Association (he spent two years in the majors, in 1908 and 1909 at age 27 and 28, but went back the American Association due to a lack of opportunity.) Widely regarded as the best player in minor league baseball (both before and after his early jaunt in the majors), Cravath joined the Phillies in 1912, and for five years (1913-17, age 32-36) was indisputably the best player in the National League.
1913-17: .298/.390/.500 (161 OPS+)
MLB Career: .287/.380/.478 (151 OPS+)
I’d also put Larry Doyle up there.
Speaking of Damon Rutherford and Kevin Costner, I always thought the Universal Baseball Association would make a great movie.
as time goes by, i begin to regret majoring in ‘english’, due to my desire to be a ‘writer’..because, so many people these days do not realize or care about proper sentence structure..they say ‘you know what he meant’..and i suppose that if i had not also taken a swing thru law school, i would be ok with it..but i did, so i’m not..but now that a writer as gifted as joe the pos will write that :”McGwire later refused to either admit or deny taking steroids when questioned by Congress”..and no one notices, or cares, i guess i give up..but, for the record, i do not understand why taking steroids while being questioned by congress would keep a person out of the hall of fame.
I LOVE THIS IDEA!
This would be a place that people LOVE to visit because it’s a celebration of baseball and people that showed their love of baseball through their contributions to the sport.
I love Cooperstown, I visit every year, but this would be the anti-Cooperstown in a sense. A fun place that celebrates baseball without the pomp and circumstance. It’s a Hall-of-Fame people can relate to. And, because people who contributed to the game will be there, it’s a place that every visitor might be able to say, somewhat realistically (or at least more realistically than Cooperstown), “Maybe, someday I’ll be enshrined here…”
Inducting Hal Richman, Charles Schulz, Kevin Costner, Jack Norworth, Jim Bouton, Bill James, Marvin Miller, Tom Greenwade, Sadaharu Oh… FANTASTIC. Just Fantastic.
YES, THEY ALL BELONG!
I would love to see the displays. I wish I had the money to buy a building in Hoboken to do this. Fantastic.
One Addition: ERNEST LAWRENCE THAYER – he wrote “Casey At The Bat.” This must be included.
Oh, I can just hear the debate as well.
“Hal Richmond in the Hall? That’s fine, but if he’s in, then (whoever invented APBA) should be in as well. APBA is every bit as good as Strat-o-Matic.”
For the recond, there is no baseball board game that is the equal of Strat-o-Matic.
And I love the ideas above of Keith Hernandez and Don Mattingly going in together.
And Bret Saberhagen only inducted in odd numbered years. CLASSIC.
With Sadaharu Oh, we can induct Hideki Matsui to this Hall-of-Fame someday. He won’t make Cooperstown (I think Ichiro will), but Matsui belongs in a Hall-of-Fame for his play in Japan and America combined.
THIS IS SIMPLY THE BEST!!!!
Let me know when construction starts, I’ll be there with a shovel and a hammer.
I nominate Mighty Casey and Snoopy
Reason not in Hall: Hall does not admit fictional characters.
Achievements: Each had a sterling reputation even if actual statistics are lost to time. Casey is officially 0-1 .000/.000./.000, but contemporary sources attest to his greatness. Snoopy was an excellent defensive shortstop who played behind terrible pitching and who had no opposable thumbs.
Kirk Gibson, and Joe Carter. And Bobby Thomson.
Pete Reiser, defeated by walls.
Ted Giannoulas, a bird among men.
Sean Forman, master of Baseball-Reference.com.
Eddie Gaedel. The most obvious omission so far.
Bugs Bunny, creator of the powerful paralyzing perfect pachyderm percussion pitch.
And lastly, Who.
Who is in the Hall of Fame Jr.?
Well, it’d be a fine Hall of Fame Jr. if he weren’t.
I’m asking you. The Hall of Fame Jr includes Who?
That’s the man’s name.
Who’s name?
Yes.
One team paid him $6,000, which by one measure of inflation would be more than $5 million today.
Which measure of inflation would that be? According to http://www.westegg.com/inflation, which uses CPI, 6000 1870 dollars were worth about $97,000 in 2007.
I nominate Bill Lee – because he was Spaceman, and a pretty darn good pitcher. Won a college world series with USC, won 17 three years in a row as a lefty in Fenway, got hurt thanks to Billy Martin’s brownshirts (especially Graig Nettles – who even though he’s a thug should probably be nominated as well), came back won 16 games, finally got kicked out of MLB but still travels the globe pitching in semi pro and amateur leagues.
I also think you should nominate Rick ‘Wild Thing’ Vaughn, Willie Mays Hayes, Pedro Cerrano, and Jake Taylor for bringing the Cleveland Indians their first pennant in over thirty years.
Janet Marie Smith
Innovator
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Not famous; never played the game; a woman
Achievements: Convinced the Baltimore Orioles and Maryland Stadium Authority to build Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the model of a retro ballpark rather than follow HOK Sport’s initial design that was similar to the new Comiskey Park, setting off a building boom with far reaching consequences that saw 20 of the 30 MLB teams build similar parks, three more teams (Kansas City, Anaheim, Chicago White Sox) undergo significant renovations, and three others (Oakland, Tampa Bay, Florida) lobby hard for new stadiums, leaving behind only Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, and the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Bob Costas was in Salina, KS yesterday. He gave a seach at our local Chamber of Commerce. I sadly was unable to attend, but a friend of mine did. Said he is a great speaker, and although my friend does not like baseball, he loved Bob’s baseball stories.
Dale Murphy
Center fielder
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Statistical record falls just short because he didn’t play long after his peak to pad his counting stats
Acheivements: The most iconic ballplayer for Southern baseball fans in the 1980. The most common phrase uttered by baseball fans south of the Mason-Dixon Line is “I rooted for the Braves back when they had Dale Murphy.” Two-time MVP and five-time Gold Glove winner. His numbers are fairly irrelevent. In the days when there was only one team in the states comprising the former Confederacy, the Braves, he was the player for a generation of fans in a large region of the country. Won’t make the Hall because that region was not New England or the Midwest.
I second the nomination of Dan Okrent for the development of fantasy baseball.
Every year on the final Saturday in March, eleven of my best friends and I return to our university roots to have the draft and catch up and mock each other. Next month will be the 17th consecutive such gathering, with the same guys, and we have seen each other through graduation, marriages, and all the other stuff that happens as 20 year olds turn into 37 year olds.
In my defense, it should be noted that Dewey’s HR (Jojo rolled a 1-5) was HOMERUN against a lefty or a righty, so had I brought Dibble in, he’d have crushed it off him, too. And, we played full rules with injuries and both Oester and Esasky got hurt, leaving me to play either Jeff Treadway or a 500-year-old Concepcion at second and shuffle the OF/1B, with O’Neill at first and either Tracy Jones, Herm Winningham or Dave Collins in the OF. Not that I’m bitter or anything. And he also left out that while Boggs didn’t hit at all, Marty Freaking Barret batted about .800.
Regardless, between that and our many football battles, we fell fully in love with SOM, which is easy to do when you are living in Augusta, Ga., with no life. It’s a fabulous game and nothing else I’ve played has come remotely close to simulating the pressure a manager/head coach feels during the ebb and flow of a game, or a series. Richman is a no-brainer.
Roger Dorn?? Anybody??
Tony Oliva
“Tony O”
Player
Fantastic numbers in a career shortened by injuries. Extremely productive offensive player in an era dominated by pitching.
ROY and batting title in 1964.
How about Whitey Herzog?
This is the best column yet!
God bless
Glenn B. | February 5th, 2009 at 2:03 am [#45]
for the Joe Nuxhall nomination. The last two years, he has DOMINATED the fan voting for the Ford C. Frick award, but it’s unfortunate that he may not ever get it because he was more of a local icon instead of a national one.
I also absolutely LOVE the idea of Bret Saberhagen, but only on odd-numbered years.
Some other ideas/names that popped into my head:
How about a two-sport wing (Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders headlining)?
Can we have a middle reliever wing too, you know they never get the credit they deserve?
Roy Hobbs
Sidd Finch
The inventor of Cracker Jacks
And Joe, what’s the eligibility rule? Five years after retirement like Cooperstown?
Great idea! The only problem is that I’ve never been to NJ and really don’t want to go there.
Joe,
If you believe that Fred Goldsmith story, I have some subprime mortgage securities I’d like to sell you.
Small additional point: The Chicago National League franchise in the 1880s was called the White Stockings, not the Cubs. I’m guessing you know that…trust your readers to be able to handle a little confusion.
Eddie Cicotte:
Pitcher
Reason not in the HOF: Crook who threw 2 WS games.
Hey, if we have no qualms about morals or ethics, ala Jackson and Rose, we just as well put Eddie in. Yeah, he almost certainly was more complicit in the Black Sox scandal than Shoeless Joe, but he had a HOF career, or at least would have, if he wasn’t thrown out of baseball after the 1920 season. He was a clutch performer, with a career WS ERA of 2.22, which is pretty remarkable given the fact that he intentionally lost 2 of the 5 games he started in the WS.
Carl Mays
Pitcher
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Noted for killing a man with a pitch to the head.
While this is Mays’ unfortunate legacy, he had comparable career statistics to other Hall of Fame pitchers like Stan Coveleski and Chief Bender. Mays had a career 2.92 ERA with 862 K. He was a submarine style pitcher, which at the time probably meant he pitched underhand. Even though he pitched in the so-called dead ball era, his numbers are still HOF worthy.
Snuckles,
If you put Who in, you absolutely should put Abbott and Costello in.
Joseph Henry Nuxhall
Pitcher/Announcer
Reason not in Hall: Was a mediocre pitcher, and for some reason can’t get the Frick award even in death.
Achievements: As far as we know, he’s the youngest person ever to have played in a modern Major League game (15 years old in wartime 1944). His 2/3 of an inning at that tender age resulted in a 67.50 career ERA after 1 game, which he rapidly whittled down in a career lasting from 1952 (age 23) to 1966, spent mostly with the Reds. Wound up with 135 victories, 19 saves, and a 101 ERA+. His second career was as a broadcaster for the Reds, which lasted from 1967 until his death in 2007. He was known for his folksy, sometimes inaccurate observations, and a refined homerism that resulted in upbeat observations during victories and grudging respect for the opposing players in defeat. He developed a famous partnership with Marty Brennaman, with whom he called 3 Reds victories in the World Series. Nuxhall coined the indisputed greatest sign-off in broadcasting history: “This is the Ol’ Lefthander rounding third and heading for home.” Nuxhall became synonymous with baseball in Cincinnati, and is the only figure in Reds history who is arguably more beloved than Pete Rose, which is a major accomplishment in its own right.
Whoops, make that two votes for Nuxhall, I guess!
Joe, in regard to 09/09/09….perhaps I’ve missed it when you’ve wrote about the book, but has Sparky Anderson been available for you to talk to about those years? I’m a Tigers’ fan so I’m hopeful there will be plenty of Sparky-moments in your book.
Tony Lucadello.
Scott Boras
Agent
Reason not in the HOF: Universally reviled, agents aren’t eligible.
Scott Boras is better at his job than just about anyone else on the planet. He’s challenged more rules (successfully and unsuccessfully) and gotten more for his clients than any other agent in sports. He’s changed the draft, free agency, and virtually every facet of baseball that takes place off the field.
I used to regularly comment on Joe’s blog posts, but since the blog’s popularity has grown, and the number of comments to each post has grown in kind, I have mostly stopped commenting. It’s not as much fun to put in your two cents when you are commenter #73, if you know what I mean.
That being said, this post and this comment thread are too thoughtful, well-written and enjoyable to let pass without notice. Thanks.
Put Scott Boras’ space next to the dirtiest outhouse in Jersey in my opinion.
Concepcion gets in 09/09/09, right?
Lefty O’Doul
Player/Manager/Ambassador
Reason Not in Hall: Hall doesn’t care about players with short careers in the majors but amazing minor-league careers. And he’s something of a jack-of-ALL trades…
Hit .350 for Major League career, including 2 League Batting titles (hitting .398 in 1929), and that’s after a pretty great stat-line as a pitcher. Minor league numbers among the best ever for a player there (I think amazing minor leaguers deserve more recognition in Jr-hall than they get in Papa-hall). Won over 2000 games as a minor-league manager, and was instrumental in developing Dimaggio, among others. Was pioneer of US/Japan baseball relations, making dozens of trips back-and-forth over the years, and even named the Tokyo Giants, “Japan’s Team.” Lefty O’Doul, for your consideration, unique dude.
I second Janet Marie Smith… but you left out the fact that she has worked to preserve and improve the existing Fenway Park instead of replacing it with a new facsimile.
Furthermore, if you’re putting in JMS, you need to include the person who brought her to Baltimore and Boston, Larry Lucchino (who also drove the creation of Petco Park in SD).
And Saddaharu Oh’s plaque needs to include his two Japan Series titles he won as manager of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.
Throw in Ernie Tyler, the real Orioles Iron Man, who’s been the O’s umpire attendant every game since Opening Day 1960. His streak ended at 3,819 regluar and post-season games when he went to see Cal inducted into the HOF Sr. in 2007.
Mike Sweeney
Reason not in the Hall of Fame Sr: Numbers fell short
Achievements: One at-bat summarizes his reason for entry. The Kansas City Royals were being no-hit a couple years ago (the details are a little foggy in my mind, but I have the general idea). I believe there were either 2 outs in the eigth inning or it was the ninth. Anyway, it was embarrassing. Well, Mike had been injured and had not played for some time (maybe a month or two). He was brought in to pinch-hit. He broke up the no-hitter. I know the Hall of Fame Sr wouldn’t recognize this accomplshment, but for a die-hard Royals fan, Mike became a lock for some kind of Hall of Fame in my book on that night. He belongs because he refuses to let his teammates and this city get embarrassed. For an additional reason, see the time he charged the mound.
Saturino Orestes Armas (Arietta) “Minnie” Minoso
Reason not in the Hall: segregation. Did not get to play in the majors until age 25 or 27, depending on which birthdate you credit. Held back after 1947 by unofficial quota system. Unlike Jackie and Doby, Minoso was a non-college-educated Spanish speaker, very dark skinned, and had to wait.
Achievements: For the 11 years he was a regular, he ranks, in runs created, behind only Mantle, Musial, and Mays. http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/JUxv
Minoso was also a great fielder (Gold Gloves at ages 31, 33, 34) and a game-changing baserunner. In integrity, sportmanship, and character, Minoso’s record is outstanding, and his contributions to his primary team, the White Sox, have been enduring. Had he been able to have a career as long as theirs, Minoso’s career record would have been the equivalent of his near-contemporaries Al Kaline and Roberto Clemente.
Cy Buynak
Longtime Indians Clubhouse Attendant
Category – Characters
You need a category for the truly memorable characters that are part of the game. Anyone who grew up in Cleveland would list Buynak as a legendary character.
Just want to second the votes for Lefty O’Doul, Lardner and Boras.
Never really played strat and I guess Pursue the Pennant/Diamond Mind was just kind of a natural progression, but Tom Tippett should at least get a mention somewhere.
Also, regarding Kostner – How about movies not actors being eligible for the Hall Jr?
…and of course most people would spell Kostner with a ‘C’
Bob Sheppard
Public-Address Announcer
Reason not in the HoF: Public-Address Announcer; everyone hates the Yankees
Bob Sheppard has been the New York Yankees public-address announcer since 1951. He was the public-address announcer for the New York football Giants from 1956 through 2006. Sheppard has called more than 4,500 Yankees games. During his tenure, the Yankees have won twenty-two pennants and thirteen World Series. “The first lineup he ever announced contained five future HOFers: Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto.”
“Sheppard was originally a speech teacher in John Adams High School and at St. John’s University. He considered teaching his main job. He claims that public address announcing is his part-time job. That same part-time job has lasted 56 years for the Yankees. He believes that the most important thing any public speaker has to have is audibility.”
Though one of his mikes is apparently in Cooperstown, the man himself deserves inclusion. He was too sick to work this year, and though his replacement was very good, Derek Jeter paid tribute by using a recording of Sheppard’s voice when he came up to bat.
Details and quotations shamelessly taken from Zell’s Pinstripe Blog: http://zellspinstripeblog.com/. This was the guest post on Peter Abraham’s Lohud blog (now being manned briefly by Sam Borden): http://yankees.lhblogs.com/.
I think that covers my due diligence.
I just love to hear his voice. When he greets you at the Stadium, it’s clear that no matter who you are, for one night or afternoon, you are a lady or a gentleman.
Nice post, Joe.
Curt Flood. Most courageous act in baseball (and maybe sports) history that has not been honored in any way.
Actually, I think the Hall of Fame Junior should be for guys who did amazing, unforgettable things for short periods of time.
Even if Don Larsen’s career was nothing special, for one afternoon, he was unhittable. He belongs
Even if Roger Maris didn’t have a Hall of Fame career, he belongs for his 1961 season alone.
Mark Fidrych didn’t have much of a career, but in 1976, he was THE story of the baseball season.
Max Patkin
“The Clown Prince of Baseball”
Reason Not in Hall: Clowns not allowed in hall.
Achievements: After career as pitcher fizzled due to arm injury, went on to entertain countless thousands over many years with his clownish baseball antics. Reported to have made over 4,000 appearances at ballparks from coast to coast. Universally loved by baseball fans everywhere. Appeared as himself in the movie “Bull Durham”, endearing himself to a new generation of fans.
Is there any sentiment in the Jr. for Surething Sr. Hall of Famers who shone too brightly and fell from the sky? I’m thinking Doc Gooden, Mark Fidrych, and Fernando.
Basically anybody who causes a “mania”.
Whoops. Didn’t see #86. What he said.
Joe, you have created a monster. I like the idea. Frank White wasn’t in your original list for what reason???
…has Sidd Finch been mentioned?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidd_Finch
McKingford:Peter Edward Rose
Hey, don’t forget – All Time Leader in outs.
Hey, McKingford, shall we kick Cy Young out of the actual HOF? After all, he’s the all time leader in losses.
You have to be a pretty damn great player to become the all-time leader in outs.
Mario (Aizpuru) Mendoza
Player
Reason not in Hall of Fame: Was a terrible baseball player.
Achievements: Managed to eke out 9 seasons while compiling a career .215 batting average and 41 (!?) OPS+. Compiled a sub-.200 batting average in 5 of those seasons. Contributed to the lexicon of the game with ‘The Mendoza Line’. When you have something in your sport named after you, you have to be in some sort of Hall of Fame, don’t you?
Roger Angell — Writer
Reason not in the HOF — Not a BBWAA member, I assume
Achievements — Wrote several essays a year for the New Yorker for over 40 years, which were published in several wonderful collections. Best baseball writer who ever lived.
Voice of Unreason: Right on. Charles Shultz should go in on the first ballot, easily. “Sandlot Peanuts” is a fantastic collection, and represents only a small sample of his Peanuts baseball cartoons.
Also I second all the Curt Flood nominations.
San Diego Chicken, a true innovator.
I was going to include Frank White in there, but your guys beat me to it.
Should hold the American League record for gold gloves but got screwed in voting one year. Became a good hitter after a tough start. Was a clubhouse leader and a steadying force. Was a key member of the only title won by the Royals (battled cleanup in the World Series and responded by smashing a HR in game 3). Probably turned the double play better than anyone in history.
Hey, what about that guy sitting in the stands at Cleveland for years…banging that drum? He has to be inducted as …like… an uber fan. He did that when the Indians weren’t any good.
And can we make the Rally Monkey be the mascot or something? That would be way too cool
I’d like to second the Matt Christopher nomination. He’s probably more responsible than anybody else for my love of the game.
William Adolph Wambsganss
Second Base
Reason Not in Hall – not that good, actually
Case for Induction in HoFJr – completed first (and to date, only) unassisted triple play in a World’s Series; seventh all-time in sacrifice hits (323); career slugging average was lower than career OBA; it should be fun to watch a plaque-maker try to spell WAMBSGANSS without looking it up
(For the record, I had “Wambsngass” on my first try, which ain’t too shabby.)
I second Perry’s nomination of Roger Angell. Probably the best baseball writer of all time until Joe passes him up.
Also,
William Nuschler Clark, Jr.
(The Thrill, The Natural)
Player
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Fell just shy as a player
Achievements: 6-time All Star. 1989 NLCS MVP. 4 Top-5 MVP finishes. 1 Gold Glove. Put up .303/.384/497/137 OPS+ over 15 seasons. Batted .333/.409/.547 in 117 post-season at-bats.
Played with intensity and awesome eye-black. Was my favorite player as a kid.
If we are doing the HOFjr I would nominate the following (just to name a few):
Pete Rose Jr.
John (Johnny) Junior Roseborro
Junior Spivey
Sandy Alomar Jr. (is he retired?)
Ken Griffey Jr. (soon to be retired)
Junior Felix (another KC Royal to be inducted into the Halljr)
Otis Junior Nixon
etc., etc., etc.
Similar to the Bret Saberhagen in odd numbered years. I nominate Brady Anderson, Tino Martinez and Kevin Seitzer BUT only for one year since that is how many HOF JR worthy years they put together. Then it’s back to the Hall of Scrubs for the three of them.
Hello Joe. Another great post!
I’ve often thought since Rose was banned that the BHOF is historically inaccurate for his exclusion. Now all these examples prove it!
I think it’s a no-brainer to proceed with a permanent structure. New Jersey would love it. And I’m sure it would be a big hit with fans once the word got out.
Well done!
Robert Moses – Innovator
Acheivements – Strong-willed New York City building supervisor changed the face of modern baseball. Refusal of Walter O’Malley’s plan to build a new park for his Dodgers in Brooklyn led to the teams relocation to California, with the Giants in toe, makign the Major Leagues a coast-to-coast institution for the first time.
Bill James
Mathematical Statistician and Author
Reason not in HoF– One of the creators of Sabremetics which is still not universally accepted in baseball; authors are not eligible
I am sure Bill James did not create sabremetics all by himself but he was the most influential because he is a great writer. Who would have ever thought that a math guy would be one of America’s best writers. Bill in his abstracts proved and disproved many baseball assumptions, created many new statistics some of which have gone by the wayside and some of which are used today. I can remember one time in the 80’s Joe and Tony on the game of the week on NBC mentioning runs created for a player (most likely fed to them by one of their younger staff) and not knowing what it meant. Look at what we have available today — Retrosheet, Baseball-Reference, Baseball Prospectus, Baseball Think Factory to name a few — all because of the influence and writing of Bill James.
Grich and Santo seem to me to be no-brainers.
I love the Matt Christopher nomination, and would add Alfred Slote — “Hang Tough, Paul Mather” is a classic, along with many others that are unfortunately out of print.
I would also add, if we’re putting scouts in, Paul Krichell, legendary Yankee scout who signed Gehrig, Dickey and Rizzuto among others.
Pete Grey — one-armed outfielder for the Browns during the war.
Gene Rye — hit three home runs in one inning for Waco in the minors.
Nancy Faust — White-Sox organ player. I don’t know why I know that, but if I do, it must be somehow note-worthy.
Freddie Patek — All-star SS despite being only 5′-4″.
Barry Bonds — he could have two busts; one from his rookie year and one from when he broke the home run record. People can come marvel at the difference.
Maury Wills — can be in the same wing as Larson, Maris, etc for guys whose single accomplishment convinces a small, yet loud percentage that they belong in the HOF Sr.
Wow, just wow! This is such a great idea, and I love the breadth and depth of the choices (both by Joe and the commenters). I love the real HOF too, but this museum would be way cooler. I also like the Bouton nomination (and he also co-invented Big League Chew). All the Torre talk led me to Google and Wikipedia Bouton/Ball Four just yesterday, so the nomination definitely made me smile. The Strat/Fantasy nominations are inspired too, as of course is Bill James.
Hal Richman actually deserves his own Hall of Fame.
Every time I read about people obsessing over Rotisserie baseball I want to scream. “Fantasy” baseball like that is about as exciting as playing the stock market. Hal created a realistic, old-time baseball world over 40 years ago that you can ENTER, with players you manage as they perform the way they do in real life. How else can a baseball freak find the clutch hitting and weather factors for 1911? Answer: there is no other way. Rotisserie baseball is a hobby; Strat-O-Matic is a freaking time machine.
Mark Harris
Reason not in Hall: Author
Should be because: Wrote one of the best sports novels ever, The Southpaw and two other great baseball novels, Bang the Drum Slowly (the movie does it no justice) and A Ticket for a Seamstitch…if you haven’t read em do so immediately.
Also worthy of consideration for just 1 feat of writing:
John Updike (for his Ted Williams piece) and Ernest Thayer for Casey at the Bat.
Joe Posnanski
Innovator
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Because one of the Hall’s weaknesses is recognizing innovators.
Achievements; Inventor of the Hall of Fame, Jr.
Bruuuuuuce
Reason not in the Hall: Has nothing to do with baseball
Should be because: Then Joe would get to meet him at the induction.
Nominated: Joe Hardy
Why he is not in: He is fictional and he sold his soul to the devil. Also his career, while fantastic, apparently lasted less than one season
On the plaque:
A true rags to riches story, Joe Hardy led the Washington Senators to their only pennant after 1933, then mysteriously disappeared prior to their 4 game sweep at the hands of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hardy was a 5 tool player for the Senators and the .650/.750/2.000 he put up against the Yankees in his 15 games against them that year are the stuff that legends are made of.
Sidd Finch
Pitcher
Reason not in Hall of Fame: Never pitched in the big leagues.
Achievements: Threw 168mph fastball. Pitched barefoot. Was the subject of one of Sports Illustrated’s most famous stories. Took the moral high ground and decided that yoga was more important than baseball.
Hmm… maybe an accompanying nomination for George Plimpton would be appropriate.
Bill Lee.
“I would change policy, bring back natural grass and nickel beer. Baseball is the belly-button of our society. Straighten out baseball, and you straighten out the rest of the world.”
Gotta leave room for Johnny ‘Back To Back’ Vander Meer
I know this is kind of blasphemis, but I have to disagree with Shoeless Joe. From my understanding he admitted to being a part to throwing the series, but people seem to think he was innocent because his numbers during the series were good. Maybe thats just because he was a good actor and made little key errors to lose. Why would he admit throwing the series if he actually didn’t? Just my two cents.
Steve Palermo
Umpire
Reason not in: umpire
Palermo was a great umpire, the kind you noticed as a great umpire without really even trying to study the umpires. Then, he is shot and nearly killed while helping a mugging victim and can no longer umpire, but goes on to create a new career as a teacher of umpires and ambassador for the game.
I may have missed it, but I’m surprised no one mentioned him in the 117 preceeding posts, given his connections to KC.
David N Mullany
Innovator
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: Hall fails to acknowledge Wiffle Ball
Achievements: Invented the Wiffle Ball in 1953; Brought the joy of throwing filthy breaking balls to millions of children of all ages; popular plastic ball prevented breakage of untold thousands of window
If Max Patkin and the San Diego Chicken go in, maybe you need to put Morganna the Kissing Bandit in there. She made those late 70s-early 80s allstar games a little more interesting. You know George Brett would advocate it.
Oh, obviously Toe Nash would be in there to. Joe must have just forgotten him
Jimmy Wynn
Toy Cannon in domed grand canyon
hit a ball onto a Los Angeles Freeway
J.R. Richard
The one pitcher I would never have been coaxed into facing
Player: Jim Kaat
Reason Not in the Hall: Many of the same reasons Bert Blyleven isn’t in the hall. Didn’t win 300 games.
Achievements: Won 283 games over four different decades. Was one of the all-time great fielding pitchers, winning 16 gold gloves (if you’re into that kind of thing). Would have won a Cy Young in 1966 but (I believe) they only gave out one Cy Young for both leagues during that time. Only 15 players in big league history have ever started more games than Kaat and only 30 have won more.
I love the super slugging idea, probably because I’ve always thought that the total bases statistic is probably the best traditional stat for illustrating a player’s offensive value. Adding stolen bases seems to muddy the waters a little though, as you’re not accounting for times caught. Regardless, you should post the leaders in this category regularly.
Was your Strat buddy really named Chardon Jimmy, or was he better known as Jimmy Chardon?
Johnny Sain: Won twenty games three times. Best pitcher in baseball twice, according to Bill James. Led the Boston Braves to the pennant in 1948, finishing second in the MVP voting. Widely considered the best pitching coach of all-time. Coached 16 20 game winners in 17 seasons. If we are to believe “Ball Four,” at least as quotable and as free a thinker as Bouton himself.
Leo Mazzone: With Sain, regarded as the second greatest pitching coach of all time.
Dr. James Andrews: Didn’t invent the surgery like Dr. Jobe, but has saved several hall of fame career’s worth of innings through the surgeries he’s performed.
Maury Wills
Player and Coach
Reason not in Hall of Fame – not quite good enough
Maury Wills hit the majors at the advanced age of 27 following nmerous seasons where his unique set of talents were not recognized. We can infer he was probably ready earlier by his finishing high in the MVP balloting in his first full season.
Seven times ranked in MVP voting, winning in 1962. Five time All-Star. Two time Gold Glove winner.
Played in 165 regular season games in 1962 despite the rigors of playing shortstop. Led league in stealing six straight seasons, setting all time record in 1962 (since broken).
Wills established the ground rules for the modern speedster. Numerous players owe their careers at least in part to his example: Lou Brock, Vince Coleman, Juan Pierre, Brett Butler, Steve Sax, Davey Lopes. Wills reintroduced the stolen base into the baseball lexicon, reflecting in part the low offense pitcher friendly era in which he played.
Joe, you have to like Don Zimmer for the jr hall, no?
Frank Howard
Player and Coach
George Toma, long rumored to be headed to “both Halls” done many an All Star Game, Series, KC Royals, nice guy.
Forgot Toma is already in football HOF I am told by Gretz who says he won the Dan Reeves award a few years ago for contributios off the field so he is one down one to go
I second Sain and Mazzone, Janet Marie Smith, Ernie Tyler…hell, everything.
I think you’re going to have to have DAILY classes for this thing, Joe!
Herman Munster
Hitter, father, monster
Reason not in the Hall: The designated hitter rule had not been instituted yet. Also, his teammates refused to play with him, apparently fearing their own safety.
Achievements: Believed to be the only man, or monster, to hit a ball through a player’s glove.
My god, there are people that like John COUGAR Mellencamp?
Nice one Spud. I’m still laughing.
how about wild thing vaughn ?
and let’s be honest, you probably have to have abbott & costello in there, too.
and what about eckstein? he’s gritty!
I nominate Graig Nettles, David Cone, Tim Raines, Ron Santo and Ted Simmons. But more importantly I nominate Lawrence Ritter, surely you’ve got a story up your sleeve of reading Glory of Their Times…
I’m seeing Kevin Costner in concert tonight.
Steve Bartman, fan
Reason not in the Hall Sr.: Fans aren’t let in; even if they were, a significant fan base would probably express disgust
Achievements: Everybody knows what you mean when you mention “The Bartman Game”. He is the personification of what the sinking feeling in your gut when your team blows a late-game lead, except it’s multiplied by 50 because somehow a freak even occurred that makes it possible that it’s partly your fault. His very name brings to mind words like “fate” while at the same time invoking the knowledge that secretly, we all would probably have probably done exactly what he did.
I second the “Whiffle Ball Guy”….Rarely have I had more fun with baseball than when a Whiffle Ball was involved.
Horace Stoneham
Owner, NY/SF Giants
Although I’m a Dodger fan, I think that if Walter O’Malley is in the Hall of Fame, then Horace Stoneham should at least be in the Hall Jr. With O’Malley, he brought baseball west, and although O’Malley tends to get most of the credit, he probably couldn’t have made the move unless another team went with him. Stoneham and O’Malley together helped baseball go coast to coast.
You hit a home run with that one SPUD!
My candidates: Somerset Maugham and Howard Taft.
Maugham was probably the most famous English Writer not knighted – for various reasons.
Howard Taft was the only US President who became a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court… afterwards. Plus he was the “largest” president ever.
Charlie Lau
Hitting Coach extraordinaire
If Mazzone goes in, then Lau should get some consideration for how he changed hitting.
Bill Virdon
Player, manager, guru.
Charlie Kerfeld
Flake
Smoky Joe Wood
Began his career as a cross-dressing “Bloomer Girl.”
117 wins and 57 losses, ERA+ of 146 in almost 1500 innings before his arm went dead. Won 16 games in a row in 1912 and 3 in the Series. #11 all-time in WHIP, #10 in winning percentage, #5 in adjusted ERA+, and #4 in ERA.
Came back as an outfielder and had an OPS+ of 111 in almost 2000 AB.
Only man besides Ruth to win WS games and titles as a pitcher and outfielder.
Coached at Yale for 20 years, worked as a scout, great chapter in Ritter’s book, and stayed involved in baseball into his 90s.
And one of the great “might have been” cases in baseball history.
Finally, he gave rise to the great quotation by Walter Johnson: “Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen, my friend, there’s not a man alive can throw harder than Smoky Joe Wood!”
Name Withheld
Player
Reason not currently in Hall: Was not considered a great player during his playing days.
7th all-time in the AL with 2,830 games played.
10th all-time in the AL with 1,628 RBI.
37th all-time in MLB with 2,866 hits; more than any other eligible player.
.289/.356/.465 with 384 career home runs.
He was lifetime .324 hitter in the post-season.
6 time All-Star
#1 overall pick in 1977, more career hits than any other #1.
Achieved all this despite career-threatening knee injury 6 years into his big league career.
Currently serves as a 1st base coach despite having 34 career SB and 34 career CS.
No less an authority than Bill James said, in 1984, while citing him as his favorite opposing player,
“He is gorgeous, absolutely complete. I’ve seen him drop down bunts that would melt in your mouth, come up the next time and execute a hit and run that comes straight off the chalkboard. I’ve seen him hit fastballs out of the yard on a line, and I’ve seen him get under a high curve and loft it over the fence.”
He was a Professional. Hitter.
He was Bert Blyleven with a bat.
He is Harold Douglas Baines.
Leo Mazzone
Pitching Coach
Reason not in the Hall: Ok, he’s still rocking the dugouts, but I doubt he’ll make it and if he does I’d totally go to his Hall Jr. graduation. HOF generally does not acknowledge bench coaches.
Accomplishments: Tutored, coached and oversaw one of the greatest, most consistent pitching staffs of all time. Nurtured three hall of fame pitching careers. Lowered the average pitcher’s era by about half a run (!) according to this:
http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2005/03/the_mazzone_eff_1.php
Has one World Series Ring. Is credited with reviving many pitching careers thought to be lost (Burkett, Hampton, Wright, etc.).
[...] [...]
Billy Martin: NOT a HOF Jr. (ruined too many pitchers as a manager).
That story with Martin and Mickey Mantle hunting? IN.
There should be more Black Sox in if you include Shoeless Joe.
Eddie Cicotte, Buck Weaver (WHO DIDN’T CHEAT!), and Lefty Williams.
All could have made the Hall of Fame if they had continued their careers.
Annie Savoy
Fictional character
Reason not in the HOF: HOF does not induct fictional characters
Achievements: Every player she slept with had a great year.
Abbott and Costello
Comedy team
Reason not in the HOF: HOF only inducts comedians who were officially part of the baseball establishment
Achievements: “Who’s on First?”. Immortal sketch and funny no matter how often you hear it.
I would like to also nominate the big three that led the Yankees to five series wins in a row – Allie ‘Chief’ Reynolds, Vic ‘the Springfield Rifle’ and Eddie ‘F***ing’ Lopat*. They were probably the best three pitchers in the AL from 49 to 53 and the biggest reasons that the Yanks were so good then.
* Lopat’s nickname comes from Ted Williams, according to the Halberstam book Summer of ‘49. Williams called him that and would explain by saying, “The problem with that f***ing Lopat is that he always selects his pitches a**-backwards.” I think Lopat gave Williams problems….
Great idea, lame name.
How about “Baseball Hall of Honor” or “Legends of Baseball History” or something? “Hall of Fame Jr.” just diminishes everyone in it.
Tom Emanski
Contributor to the Game
Reason not in Hall: The HoF is weak on general contributions to the game.
Achievements: back-to-back-to-back AAU championships. What, you haven’t heard? Allowing Fred McGriff to continue to be part of our lives in one of the most dated and unintentionally funny commercials of our time. Did you know he made $75 million from those videos? Oh, and also when you inspire an Onion piece you deserve some dap.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/49108
Oscar Gamble
Player
Reason not in Hall – fell short as a player
Why he should be in – greatest afro in baseball history
Chris in Dallas – hahahahahaha! Perfect comment. Add to his plaque: “Made Fred McGriff rock the trucker’s mesh cap. Players led league in throwing baseballs into trash cans from the outfield, 1985-1988.”
Vote #3 for Roger Angell.
His collections have a special place on my bookshelf. I return to them again and again.
Grich, Trammel, Freehan, Blyleven, Reggie Smith, Dwight Evans on talent and Iron Mike Marshal for breaking the mold.
How about the inventors of fantasy baseball? Sure, make fun of it .. but it helped baseball make a lot of money
http://www.rotowire.com/blogs/viewcomments.htm?id=516
TL- I remember well the day Oscar reported to the Yankees. Team rules dictated that he get a haircut. So, he did, while his gorgeous wife Juanita bawled!
Juanita was a very good singer, and actually got to perform the national anthem at Yankee Stadium several times.
Bert Campaneris, Cesar Tover, Scott Sheldon, Shane Halter
Players
Reason not in Hall – fell short as players
Why they should be in – Played every position in same game
Extra Credit: Campy pitching ambidextrously. Tovar breaking up five no-hitters.
Curt Flood, Ken Burns, Bob Costas, George W. Bush
Jim Abbott
Reason not in: Statistics sub-par
Why should be: Famous for pitching with only one-arm. Pitched a no-hitter. Pitched for the USA olympic team. Stand out college pitcher. All-around good guy.
The museum will basically be right in front of my apartment.
Eddie Gadell
Player
Reason not in: Banned for being short.
Reason should be in: Famous for appearing in one plate appearance with the St. Louis Browns. Wore the number 1/2. Only midget ever to appear in a professional baseball game. Is the reason baseball now has height requirements for players.
Moonlight Graham.
Moonlight Graham
Reason not in: Major lerague career too short
Not to knock the entirety of your list, Joe, but Costner?
God, he’s a lousy actor. Every time Bull Durham comes on TV I want to watch it but his performance is just so flat, monotone and godawful, I have to turn it off.
Great movie, wonderful cast. Susan Sarandon is cute, exotic and adorable. Tim Robbins is funny and plays a perfect dimwit (“meat”). But Costner is awful.
Dolf Luque
Player, Coach, Manager
Reson not in HOF: Accomplishments on the field not up to HOF standards.
Luque was the first true Latin American star of the Major Leagues. He won nearly 200 games, twice played for teams that won the World Series, and in 1918 had an astonishing 27 and 8 record with a 1.93 ERA while playing with the Cincinnati Reds. Luque would win at least ten games in a season eleven times during his career and posted 194 wins before he retired in 1935. He appeared in 550 games during his career and had lifetime 3.24 ERA, during which time the league ERA was 3.81.
Some believe that Luque’s contribution to how US owners, fans, newscasters and players viewed Latin American players, as well as his outgoing, aggressive personality, and ability to float back and forth between professional Cuban and American baseball at all levels of organization, delivered a key ingredient for the eventual breaking of the race barrier.
RON SANTO!?!?
let it be known that i am a brewers fan and despise the cubs
Johnny Vander Meer
Player
Reason not in: Didnt have the numbers
Pitched consecutive no-hitters and will for this reason forever be ingrained in the minds of all baseball historians and fans as the man who created the most unbeatable, unbelievable, fabulous pitching feat in the history of the game.
Norm Cash
Reason not in the Hall of Fame: not good enough.
Achievements: much better player than Gil Hodges at the same position.
I loved Norm Cash, who was a really fine player and possibly one of the most likeable characters to play in my lifetime, but Gil Hodges never admitted cheating. That may have disqualified Cash for the HOF, though in truth I doubt that he was ever seriously considered. Sammy Sosa never admitted doing it during a game (so far as I know) so he’s probably eligible. Hitting .361 in a season sort of loses its glamour when you say you used a corked bat. I wonder if that was true–Cash joked around a lot. He seemed to have difficulty accepting praise.
I should have said Sosa never admitted INTENTIONALLY using a corked bat during a game. It was supposedly a trick bat he kept around just to use during batting practice.
George Steinbrenner, Tim Raines,
Frank white, the best defensive 2nd baseman I have seen. Hal Mcrae, who defined the DH position and has a rule named after him.
Fabulous idea – and one I’ve seen around the Web a bit, to be fair (Baseball Immortals, Hall of Very Good, etc.) – but your idea of a “graduation” to Cooperstown, and your welcoming of the Hal Richmans, Max Patkins, etc. makes your idea better and more fun.
I would hope that the players would have to have something that sets them apart, so that some of the players I’ve seen above – John Roseboro, Junior Spivey, Sandy Alomar Jr., Junior Felix and Otis Nixon – don’t water it down.
So for my own two cents, and off the top of my head:
Hal Trosky, Steve Garvey, Richie Allen, Gil Hodges, Don Mattingly, Ted Kluczewski, Boog Powell, Buck O’Neill, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Max Bishop, Snuffy Stirnweiss, Alan Trammell, Vern Stephens, Dave Concepcion, Maury Wills, Al Rosen, Ron Santo, Bob Elliot, Graig Nettles, Joe Torre, Sal Bando, Ted Simmons, Thurman Munson, Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Dave Parker, Dwight Evans, Dale Murphy, Charlie Keller, Curt Flood, Indian Bob Johnson, Tony Oliva, Spud Chandler, Smokey Joe Wood, Luis Tiant, Vida Blue, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Tommy John, Dick Radatz, Jim Kaat, Allie Reynolds, Sal Maglie, Don Newcombe, Lee Smith, Sparky Lyle, Tug McGraw, Dan Quisenberry.
Sorry – I forgot – in addition to Hal Richman (and Strat is the one and only, sorry APBA, et al), I want Dan Okrent, Glen Waggoner and the rest of the “Rotisserie Baseball” crew, Ken Burns, the inventor of the Whiffle Ball, Bill James and the guy from Baseball-Reference.com.
Jose Canseco
Player/Muckraker
Reason not in HOF: Jerk, admitted steroid user, numbers may fall just short in the steroid era
Achievements: First 40/40 player, 462 HRs, 132 OPS+, 1986 ROY, 1988 MVP. Also may have almost single handedly brought in the Steroid Era early in his career, and then may have single handedly ended it with his book. Also only player who at any point told the truth about steroids in the game.
Arod makes Canseco’s enshrinement required does it not?
Curt Flood
Outfielder
Reason Not Inducted: Short-ish playing career, failure of voters to appreciate pioneers
In addition to challenging the reserve clause that directly led to free agency and a complete change of the entire baseball landscape, Flood was a damn good player. He hit .300 or better 6 times, and although his OPS was never spectacular, he was one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball over his career, leading the NL in putouts 4 times. He was a 3-time all-star and a 2-time World Series champion with the Cardinals. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but has to be in the Hall of Fame Jr.
Here’s one guy who really does deserve some “Junior HOF” recognition….Pirates relief pitcher, Elroy Face. I don’t have his career stats to post here but his 1959 season was incredible. I believe “Little Elroy” (he was maybe 5′8″?) went 18-1 as a reliever that campaign and won 17 of those in a row! (The Pirates finished a disappointing 4th in ‘59.) Saves were not kept then so I don’t know how many of those he would have had. In Pirates ‘60 World Championship season he was again a most reliable arm in the pen year and their “closer”. Face threw a fork ball, a GOOD fork ball. I think it was a rather unique pitch at that time. He finished 3 of the 4 Pittsburgh wins vs Yanks in WS, they would all have been considered saves I believe. Only Face, Vern Law and Harvey Haddix had any clue how to get the Yankees out in that series. In the end, that was enough!
I think this idea has legs. Make it so that inclusion in the Hall is 100% decided by fans.
And I’m all for cutting out the “Jr.” Any real Hall of Fame would have the Hit King in it, whether he bet on baseball or not.
Curt Flood. Begging for the important one first, the fun ones can come later.
Lyman Bostock…. The story of his death will make you cry in disbelief.
If nominations are still being accepted …
Billy Pierce, the prototypical “little left-hander.”
Also, “a player to be named later,” who was traded more than Harry “Suitcase” Simpson.
And will we have a recording of Junior Walker and the All-Stars playing on induction day?
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re: Gil Hodges
Don’t forget about the shoe polish cheating incident in the 1969 World Series. There were several fishy things that happened in that Series to make you wonder if it was fixed. (J.C. Martin runners’ interference, trap “catches” in the outfield, …)
As a first baseman, he just wasn’t HOF material.