Here’s my take on this season’s HOF
nominees. The problem as always 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.
No Doubt
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, 1100+ BBs. And played a solid 2B. 11 All Star games and 8 Silver
Sluggers. This guy is the definition of HOF. I’m amazed he doesn’t seem to
appear on more people’s lists.
Diego Santana – Out of 46 MVPs, how many are
catchers? Only 1 – Diego Santana.
Add another 8 All Star games 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.
Pablo Vincente – Finally a 1B who stands out of
the crowd! He hit .305/.393/.603 (.996) with 667 HR. 5th all-time with 1927 RBI. 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.
Rudy Lombardi – One of the all-time mashers who
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.
Good chance
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Zachrey Cohen Does not belong on this list.
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