Here’s my take on this season’s HOF nominees. I’ve put them in 5 categories: No Doubt, Good Chance, Borderline, Short Career, and No Chance. The problem is that there are so many decent candidates, the vote gets split among them. I’ll be voting for the top 5, but if I had 10 votes I’d use them all. I mean, if you agree with my ratings, 725 HR Rudy Lombardi isn’t even in the top 5! And by the way, many players dropped off the list this year, and many more will soon. Please vote!
No Doubt
Rogers Glynn – Arguably Capra’s greatest offensive player, finished his legendary career at .296/.385/.608. Held the HR crown for a short time, and stands in second with 764 HRs. Also stole 526 bases! He drove in almost 2000 and scored over 2100. He split playing time evenly between LF and 1B, and also started over 400 games at RF. Went to 9 All Star games, won 7 Silver Sluggers, but bizarrely never an MVP (even batting .323 with 72 HR and 156 RBI!) You MUST vote for Glynn for the HOF!!! :-)
Hong-Gu Hyun – One of the great players of all-time, won 2 MVPs, went to 9 All Star games and won 9 Silver Sluggers! Hit almost 400 HRs, stole 250 bases, and had a blistering 1.000 OPS. Did I mention he did it all at CF?
Hal Randall – .336/.419/.563 (.982 OPS) Pretty much says it all. Over 600 2Bs, 375 HRs and 375 SBs. 2800 hits. And played a solid 2B. 11 All Star games and 8 Silver Sluggers. This guy is the definition of HOF.
Diego Santana – 8 All Star games and an MVP for our greatest catcher yet. He slugged 475 HRs, including hitting 60 in a season twice, and had a .950 OPS. The definition of a HOFer.
Good chance
Desi Rodriguez – Gold Glove winning SS who went to 7 All Star games and hit over 500 HR. Sounds like a HOF lock! His .850 OPS hurts him a bit, but a good hitting SS is one of the rarest finds in HBD.
Rudy Lombardi – Another of the all-time mashers retires this year and deserves a serious HOF look. .293/.365/.575 makes a .940 OPS. He hit 725 HRs, 2000 RBIs (exactly) and over 1500 R. Played a little OF, but mostly 1B. 3 ASG, 2 SS, 2 GG at 1B and an MVP. His numbers say HOF lock, but only 3 ASG make you look a little deeper. Certainly in the top group.
Jorel McGlinchy – A tough call, not an amazing offensive player, though respectable with over 500 2Bs, 200 SBs and an .812 career OPS. But an absolutely incredible defensive force, winning 10 GGs at CF and going to 8 All Star games. Racked up 424 (+) plays – the second most is 146. If you value defense, this guys is a HOFer.
Al Maurer – Career RF who slugged 485 HR while putting up .324/.407/.574 (.981 OPS). Amazingly consistent, he went to 10 All Star Games, won 3 SS and 2 GG.
Mikey Tatum – Lfer who went to 9 All Star games, won 4 Silver Sluggers and 4 Gold Gloves. With 300 HR, almost 600 SB, nearly a .900 OPS and 1500 R, he’s easy to vote for.
Stan Lee – Yet another player whose numbers would be good enough in another system, but will never see the HOF in HBD. 462 HR with over 1600 R & RBI, plus 380 SB. A .953 career OPS. 4 AS teams, 5 Silver Sluggers and 2 MVPs! But I doubt he’ll get enough support.
Alexander Henry – 500 HR, 1500 RBI, .971 career OPS. 4 All Star games and an MVP. Another 1B with HOF numbers, but how many can you take. Tough choices here.
Clinton Anderson – This RF hit an enormous 667 HR, drove in over 1800, and scored over 1600. His .921 OPS is very good but does not elevate him from this group. He won an MVP, but only went to 2 All Star games.
Evan Moore – Gets the accumulater vote, but was never as good as the rest of the guys in this category. A solid .869 OPS with over 500 2Bs is very nice, but the only reason he’s this high is because of the 3000 H. Only one All Star game. I personally wouldn’t put him in until a lot of these other guys get in. Played 1B for his whole career despite being listed as a 2B on his HOF card.
Denny Cooper – Second all-time in SBs with 721, this speedster also got on base and hit for power, giving him an .897 career OPS. 4 All Star games and 4 Silver Sluggers. He also played an excellent 2B. Another high-level candidate.
David Wanatabe – The all-time Saves leader by a mile, with 623. Went to 10 All Star games and won 5 Fireman awards. But he only pitched 50 IP more than Nerio, with a 3.67 ERA. Hard to say who was better. Some will vote for him. I probably won’t.
Ron Quantrill – I still haven’t figured out how to rate pitcher’s careers. 176 W and a 3.87 ERA aren’t mind blowing, but there are so few pitchers with those numbers that I think it’s much harder than it seems. 6 All Stars and over 2800 IP.
Borderline
Roosevelt Davenport – A victim of too many good players – he’s next in line to a lot of guys. Should get lots of respect for 586 HRs and a .920 OPS, but only went to 3 All Star games. He played a below average 2B for most of his career, then played an above average LF.
Darin McClellan – A Davenport clone, he hit 589 HRs and had a .921 OPS. Despite that he only went to 1 All Star game. Played 1B, LF and DH. Doesn’t really stand out.
Claude Long – More excellent numbers that don’t quite make it. 562 HR with a .922 OPS. Played most of his career at LF. 5 ASGs and 6 Silver Sluggers.
Ringo Weston – Played CF, SS and 3B, got over 2300 H and 1300 R, with an OPS of .845. Excellent all-around player, maybe not quite HOF quality.
Al Cedeno – A very similar player to Weston, played SS, 3B and RF, almost 2300 H and 1200 R, .840 OPS. Just one AS game, and a GG in RF, and he’s clearly not quite a HOFer.
Anthony Gipson – This excellent 3B went to 6 All Star games, won a Gold Glove and 4 Silver Sluggers. His 399 HR and .899 OPS ironically echo his HOF status: Not Quite.
Mel Barfield – This 2B went to 7 All Star games, won a Gold Glove and 4 Silver Sluggers. A very similar player to Gipson! Hard to complain about 300 HR, 500 SB and an .885 OPS, but with the difficulty of getting in, he probably won’t see the HOF.
Geronimo Ordaz – Almost made it to 3000 H as a SS and compiled an .850 OPS. He compares in some ways to Desi Rodriguez, but never won a gold glove and only went to 3 All-Star games. One step below.
Alberto Sosa – Hard to argue against players with 550 HR, but this RF is going to come up a hair short with his .890 OPS, and the fact he only played in 2 All Star games.
Clyde Unroe – 500 HR and 1500 RBI for someone who played 2B/LF is always good. Only 2 All Star games and an .895 OPS make me think twice.
Julio Iglesias – Played 3B and SS, went to 6 All Star games and won 3 SS and a GG. 300 HR and almost 300 SB, with a .903 OPS. I think he’s just below the HOF.
Don Wilson – Has the magic .300/.400/.500 mark, but just barely, registering a .910 OPS. Went to 4 All Star games, and was an excellent hitter. Too much competition here for him though, with Prieto and Henry in front of him.
Matthew Torres – Made 4 All-Star games and 1 Fireman, pitched a lot for a reliever, racking up over 1600 IP, 108 W, and 208 saves. His 3.72 ERA keeps him out of the elite reliever discussion.
Short Career
T.J. Smart – Another early C with huge seasons, but a too short career. Has a massive .998 OPS, but fewer than 1000 H and only 175 HR.
No Shot
Albert Tatis – A brilliant defender, Tatis won 5 GG as a SS and went to 4 ASG. But despite hitting a respectable .294, his OPS was just .723, and that’s just not enough for a HOF vote.
George Brow – He played a nice CF and came to play every day, and contributed with a .293 AVG. Not a real HOF candidate though.
Adam Williams – A C/DH who hit a nice .307/.413/.507 (.920 OPS), but only 261 HR and less than 1000 R/RBI. 3 ASG and a SS. Not enough.
John Kennedy – Won a CYA and has a 3.87 ERA. Again, I think 109 W and 1500 IP don’t cut it.
Matty Ortiz – His 3.98 ERA and 132 W probably won’t do it. He almost made it to 2000 IP though.
Zachrey Cohen Does not belong on this list.
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