gold star for USAHOF

Baseball

Established in 1936, and currently based in Cooperstown, New York, the Baseball Hall of Fame may be the most prestigious of any Sports Hall of Fame.  Although Baseball may have taken a backseat to Football in recent years, there is no doubt that Baseball’s version of the Hall of Fame is by far the most relevant and the most difficult to get enshrined in.  At present, a player has to receive seventy five percent of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, which has proven to be no easy task.  Failing that, a player could be inducted by the Veterans committee, though few have been inducted this way.  Our list will focus on the players only, and although we could easily do a tally focusing on mangers, broadcasters or other vital personnel, as always it is far more enjoyable to discuss the merits of those on the field as oppose to those off of it.

Until Then, Let’s get some peanuts and cracker jacks and cast some votes of our own!

Sincerely,

The Not in Hall of Committee.
You would think it would be hard to rank a Pitcher who once lost 20 games in a season on a list for Hall of Fame consideration. Actually, it wasn’t that hard at all. In the year that Jerry Koosman lost twenty games, his stat lines were actually decent. In fact, he led the National League in Strikeouts per Nine Innings that season; however the run support that he received from his woeful Mets was virtually non-existent. It wasn’t always that way, as he was the lefty half of a powerful combination (with Tom Seaver) that propelled the “Miracle Mets”…
Bartolo Colon was a rotund individual, but pound for pound he was one of the most charismatic players in baseball, and doesn’t that say something?
As much as we keep studying Baseball, we can’t help but be amazed by the staggering amount of innings pitched by the pre-1900 hurlers. Would they look at us with a puzzled look if we went back in time and suggested a “pitch count”?
The start of Vada Pinson’s career showed promise of a Hall of Fame career as he was a five-tool baseball player.  So just how does a player who had this much promise, still compile over 2,700 hits and yet have what was considered a journeyman career?
It is strange to say that Willie Randolph played in a bit of a shadow as he was a long-time Yankee but that is somewhat true.  He was in the shadow of other more flamboyant New York stars, and his strong defensive play never got him a Gold Glove as he played at the same time as Lou Whitaker or Frank White.  Hell, even his current Coaching career seems to overshadow his accomplishments on the diamond.  It shouldn’t though as Willie Randolph was a very good ballplayer.
How is it possible to hit .361 and hit 41 home runs without anyone noticing?  The answer is to perform that incredible feat the same year that Roger Maris hit 61 Home Runs.
One of the more consistent hitters in his era, Carlos Delgado was only named to two All Star teams due to the glut of top tiered First Basemen in his time. He had great power numbers (473 Home Runs and 1,512 Runs Batted In) and had a very good career OPS of .929 which sound like Hall of Fame numbers, but his career WAR of 44.3 while although good, is not on par with a lot of the current players they are looking at.
If you look at the career of Harry Stovey, accumulatively, the offensive statistics seem very good but not Hall of Fame good.  1,775 Hits, 122 Home Runs, and a .288 Batting Average don't stand out, but another look shows that is not the case at all.
Virtually every write-up you will find on Rick Reuschel you find the word “portly”. He did have a stocky frame and lived up to his “Big Daddy” nickname, but he was as athletic as they came. Frankly, we think there are better adjectives that should be thought of immediately when you think of Rick Reuschel
Mickey Lolich spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, where he was a proven starter for a dozen seasons in Motown.
Playing all but one game of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Babe Adams was one of the best control Pitchers of his day.
We are going way back for this one, as the career of Tommy Bond began in 1874, where he became the first Irish born baseball player to be a professional.
Dustin Pedroia debuted in 2006 with the Red Sox two seasons after being drafted in the second round, and it did not take him long to prove that he belonged in the upper tier of American League players. Playing at Second Base, Pedroia was still considered a rookie in 2007, and he would win the Rookie of the Year award with a .317 Batting Average and 165 Hits.  That season, he helped the BoSox win the World Series, and Pedroia was cemented as a nationally known baseball star.  Pedroia had an even better 2008, winning the AL MVP, leasing the…
Playing his entire career with the New York Mets, David Wright would become one of the better Third Baseman in his time in baseball.
How many times is an athlete described as “small in stature but big in heart”?  This analogy has been used more times than we can determine but far too often but it was an accurate assessment when describing the turn of the century ballplayer, Tommy Leach.
History has given the pitching staff much of the credit for the World Series Runs of the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 and 1970, but it was the heavy-hitting Boog Powell who was the favorite of the fans in Maryland.
Seriously, is this not the coolest name on this list?  Just that name alone would make him a star in any era.  Make no mistake, Shocker was a star, but as his best years were with the St. Louis Browns, he was often not in the spotlight despite having dominating seasons in the early 1920s.
Although Wilbur Cooper is considered one of the best pitchers in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was so long ago, his legacy is often forgotten. From 1917 to 1924, Cooper was at his best and was in the top ten regularly in virtually every pitching category in the National League. He was the first left hander in the NL to hit 200 wins, but his overall total in that department did not exceed much more than that. Advanced metrics have given Cooper a bit more of a look again, but at the very least he should be remembered…