Here’s my take on this season’s HOF
nominees. Way too many deserving players at this point – hopefully we can agree
on a few and get some people in!
No Doubt
Pablo Vincente – He’s been on the ballot for a
while, and I guess it’s because he’s slightly below guys like Owens and Glynn.
Stan Musial is slightly below Williams and Ruth, but he’s still a HOFer. Vincente is certainly one of the top 10
offensive players in the history of the league. He hit .305/.393/.603 (.996).
667 HR (7th all-time), 1927 RBI (5th all-time) 1591 R (11th
all-time). Won an MVP, went to 6
all-star games, and won 2 silver sluggers. Combines the great peak with excellent longevity, and gets
my nod.
Kelly Grace – The best pitcher on the list this
season, Grace went 213-143 (.598). He won a CYA, went to 6 AS games, and
finished with a 1.22 WHIP and a 3.52 ERA, half in the NL, half in the AL. Great
longevity with 3294 IP.
Kevin Myers – The sort of pitcher who only
exists in HBD, and the first of this type to truly deserve the HOF. Averaged
140 relief IP per season during his peak, and had a career ERA of 2.62 over
1800 IP. Went to 6 All-Star teams, and would have gone to more had he been a
closer, but he would have been less valuable. Double the innings and a way
better ERA than Bowie, and there’s really no comparison.
Solid chance
Domingo Padilla – The greastest base stealer in
Capra history contributed in more than one way. He smacked over 600 doubles and almost 400 HRs. He played 2B, LF and RF, solidly if
unspectacularly. His OPS of .828 is a bit low for the Hall, but by stealing
over 950 bases, he managed to score over 1750 runs, putting him at 5th
all-time, and in company of 4 other HOFers. He deserves to join their ranks. 6
All-Star games and 5 Silver sluggers.
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. He’s getting my vote this year for being one
of the best players at his position for an entire decade.
Damaso Colome – A full-time DH who obviously
suffers from not playing the field, but put up astounding offensive numbers.
.293/.370/.587 makes for a .957 OPS.
4th all-time in HR with 720 and 7th all-time in
RBIs with 1735. Won an MVP but
amazingly only went to 1 All Star game, and just 2 Silver Sluggers. He’s a
notch behind Vincente, and I put him behind Maurer too, whose overall
contributions were higher.
Jimmie Franco – Franco is the best example of why
we need more votes for the HOF. He
has an amazing slash line of .326/.414/.603 for a huge OPS of 1.017! He hit 442
HRs, 1284 RBI and 1103 R. He played quite a bit of (very poor) catcher, and
some DH. He only went to 3 ASG and won 3 SS. With those offensive numbers, he
should be a HOFer, but comparing one-to-one with all the players above him, I
just can’t move him up.
Rudy Hayes – He has a very high peak, winning
back-to-back MVPs as a 2B. He didn’t quite put up the gaudy numbers that some
of the other HOFers did, with 429 HRs, slightly under 1500 R and RBI, and an
.882 OPS. He did contribute over 200 SBs. He also only went to 5 AS games.
Without the great peak, he’d probably be borderline. But those 2 MVPs probably
put him over the top.
Claude Long – When does a guy with 562 HR, a
.922 OPS, over 1500 R, 1700 RBI and 150 SB not make the HOF? When there’s all these guys in front of
him. 5 ASG and 6 SS prove that this player was one of the best at his position
for a long while. I feel he’s deserving to be in, so hopefully some of the
better players get in and make some room for him!
Livan Lee – An excellent pitcher who pitched
at a very high level for a pretty long time. An astounding W/L of 212-109, with
a 3.86 ERA and 2679 IP. He twice
topped 20 W and was under 3.00 ERA two other seasons. And all this in the AL! A
very high level HOF candidate.
Wesley Smith – A difficult player to position,
Smith was the best hitting SS in the league for almost a decade. Normally, that
would be enough to get a HOF nod. He had excellent gap power, hitting over 500
2Bs, and adding 320 HRs and 439 SBs. Career OPS of .878, with over 1500 Rs. But
he was out of position at SS, and was a terrible defender (in 1650 G at SS he
made 389 E, 8 + and 92 – plays). Despite winning 8 Silver Sluggers at SS he
only went to 5 All-Star games. He certainly is not a poor choice for the HOF,
but I’m not 100% convinced myself yet.
Sammy King – It’s always funny when two
players are so similar, and these two catchers are neck-and-neck. They sport
nearly identical OPS – King one point higher at .899. King played a significantly
longer, with 7100 PAs. 6 ASG, 3 GG and 2 SS for King, who was better at
throwing out baserunners, but Alexander was the better pitch caller. Both are solid candidates for the
HOF. I would choose King first,
but it’s awfully close.
Doug Alexander – Another member of the Fargo
Woodchippers dynasty, and another guy who isn’t a bad choice for the HOF. A spectacular slash line of
.327/.425/.473 gives him an OPS of .898. He finishes with 5800 PAs, so his career
is a hair on the short side. But he’s one of the best catchers we’ve seen in
the league.
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.
Javier Leon – Another DH whose peak was even
higher than Colome, but had a little less longevity. Leon went .318/.379/.623
for a 1.002 OPS! 556 HR and 1482 RBI, 1 MVP and 3 All-Star games. He was a
great player, and worthy of a vote, but there’s just too many players ahead of
him.
Stan Lee – Yet another player whose numbers
would be good enough in another system, but will probably not 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.
Taylor Bowie – One of the top closers we have
had in the league, but still maybe not quite dominant enough. He has roughly
the same amount of saves (500) and innings (900) as Nerio Miller, but his ERA
(3.24), is a bit higher than Miller’s (2.93). And remember, Miller played in a
higher offensive era. And most importantly, Nerio didn’t make the HOF. In
Bowie’s favor, he went to 8 All-Star games and won 5 Fireman awards. He’s not a
bad choice.
Borderline
Denny Martin – Another 200-game winner retires, but
this one is probably a hair short of HOF. He went 221-124 (.640), and pitched
2925 innings to a 4.09 ERA. Went
to 5 All-Star teams and won a CYA.
Desi Martin – The other Martin also has some
impressive numbers, retiring at #4 all-time in wins, with 247. But his
longevity is his only Hall claim – his career ERA is 4.45. He didn’t even have
a high peak; his best season was probably when he went 19-10, 3.72 for Fresno.
Only 2 All-Star games underscore this highly-consistent yet average player.
Justin Terry – Another excellent catcher on this
year’s list is not quite good enough to make it. A very solid .883 OPS with 477
HRs, but lacks either superior longevity or the massive peak. Won 4 Silver Sluggers,
but only 2 All-Star games.
Darin McClellan – A solid hitter in the long-ball
era, 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.
Sid Watson – Another solid closer, but clearly
inferior to Bowie. Mostly similar
numbers – 479 Saves, 9 ASG, 850 IP, but a higher ERA at 3.61. Not quite.
Jim Heathcott – Played 2B/3B, and batted
.300. Comes in with a mediocre
.813 OPS. His claim to HOF is his
3153 H, and would probably deserve some consideration if we had 10 votes
each. But despite his high level
consistency I just don’t think he was as good as the players above him. I know some will disagree, but how many
HOFers only play in 1 all-star game?
Lou Witt – Played 2B and CF, got just over
2000 H, batted over .300. A very
nice player who finished with an .882 OPS and over 270 SB. He was very good,
but not unbelievable. He went to 3 All-Star games and won 4 Silver Sluggers.
Al Perez – Played a long and productive
career, amassing over 2300 H and almost 1500 R. A career OPS of .830 while
playing some CF and more RF. He went to 8 All-Star games, demonstrating that he
was well above average consistently, but just didn’t quite put up big enough
numbers.
Ringo Weston – Played CF, SS and 3B, got over
2300 H and 1300 R, with an OPS of .845. Very similar to Al Perez, he was an
excellent all-around player, but maybe not quite HOF quality.
Al Cedeno – Three similar players in a row,
Cedeno played SS, 3B and RF, almost 2300 H and 1200 R, .840 OPS. A notch behind the other two, he played
in just one AS game, and a GG in RF, and he’s clearly not quite a HOFer.
Short Career
Dean Brennaman – Won an MVP, went to 3 all-star
games, and put up an amazing 1.045 OPS.
But he only played 5 full seasons.
Was old when the league started. How is he still getting nominated?
No Shot
Rob Ojeda – An above average reliever, but
not spectacular. 850 IP with a 3.92 ERA, plus 284 saves. His closing got him to
6 All-Star games, but it’s not enough to stand out in this crowd.
Carlos Pulido – Gets a HOF nomination for his 527
HRs, but a 1B with a .913 OPS and only 1 ASG doesn’t get a sniff in this HOF.
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.
Chuck Coleman – A solid player at SS with an .899
OPS, but a fairly short career with fewer than 1500 H and 1000 R. 5 ASG, 1 SS,
1 GG. Nice, but not a HOFer.
Jorge Lima – Had some huge seasons early, but
for his career was much too pedestrian for this HOF. 353 HR and and .886 OPS
for an outfielder won’t quite do it.
Alex Lopez – I’m a fan of the everyday
reliever in this game, but the overall numbers have to be higher. He pitched over 1300 innings, but 1.37
WHIP and 4.04 ERA aren’t HOF numbers, even in Capra.
Aurelio Astacio - A sub .800 OPS and no really outstanding moments mean Astacio
doesn’t even belong on this list despite being a CF.
Luis Ramirez – Not close
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