More nominees for my Hall of Very Good:
Whenever HOF voting comes around, Jack Morris becomes a popular subject of discussion. There is some reason for his supporters: 254 wins, 3-time 20-game winner, 6 times with at least 18 wins, and 5 times in the top 5 of Cy Young voting. Morris was a solid workhorse for 13 seasons and is hurt by his 3.90 career ERA. He is certainly close to a hall-of-famer, but I rate him below Mussina.
Mark Grace is another big-time pro hitter with only fair power who sprayed hits all over the field for 16 years but falls short of HOF numbers. Grace hit over .290 for 12 seasons and finished at .303 with an OPS of .825. He also had 511 doubles and nearly 2,500 total hits. He was, yes Very Good.
Joe Carter ripped 396 homers including a walk-off to win a World Series. He had six 30-homer seasons and ten 100-RBI seasons, and was a consistent power threat, running off 12 straight seasons of 20+ dingers. He was also a stolen base threat for the first half of his career. For his entire career he averaged over 100 RBI per 162 games.
Dale Murphy was the rare back-to-back MVP winner in the 80's and considered one of the top 2 or 3 players in the game for a short time. He was really good for about 7 years and fell off quickly. But he totaled 398 homers and was one of the real good guys in all of sports.
A player with true HOF talent who was on a HOF trajectory before injury was Don Mattingly. For 6 seasons Donny Ballgame may have been the best hitter in baseball rolling up a batting title, an MVP, a 2nd place MVP vote, and leading the league in hits twice, doubles 3 times, RBI once, and slugging once. His average over that span was .327. Back problems derailed Mattingly who played 6 more seasons with no power. But he was on track to be an all-time great.
S
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
The Hall of Very Good (Part 2)
I'll pick up the nominations with our cajun friend Louisiana Lightning Ron Guidry. Guidry won 170 games for the Yankees with a .651 WL%. A 3-time 20-game winner, he of course threw down one of the greatest seasons in MLB history in 1978 going 25-3 with a 1.74. Guidry was a late bloomer clocking in at 26 years old when he became a full-time player so only had about 9 prime years, but he registered a Cy Young award along with a 2nd and 3rd.
A feared slugger from the pitching rich late 60's and early 70's was Dick Allen. Allen won an MVP award, had six 30+ homer seasons, and finished with 351. He hit .292 lifetime and most impressively had a .534 career slugging % and .912 career OPS. This was very close to a HOF career with his surly attitude likely hurting him with the voters.
Here's a great example of a very good player who falls just short of HOF; Al Oliver. A guy who hit over .300 11 times with a career avg. of .303. Had over 2,700 hits and over 500 doubles. Won a batting title in 1982. A total professional hitter who suffers a bit from mediocre power numbers, just 219 homers. A guy who just went under the radar for 18 seasons banging out hits.
A real favorite of mine was Matt Williams of the Giants. Williams was a classic slugging third baseman who smashed 378 homers and had some of the softest hands I ever saw at third. He scored 4 Gold Gloves while hitting over 30 homers 6 times with a high of 43. One of the few players that I actually looked forward to see play the field.
Can you bang out over 2,800 hits, 480 doubles, 380 homers, and 1,600 RBI and not land in the HOF? Apparently yes, as Harold Baines can attest. Baines hit .289 over 22 seasons with an .820 OPS but as quality as he was, he had a grand total of 1 item of black ink in his career, leading the league in slugging in 1984. A high quality player for a long time who never had any magical seasons or was dominant in any way. A perfect entry for the Hall of Very Good.
More to follow...............
S
A feared slugger from the pitching rich late 60's and early 70's was Dick Allen. Allen won an MVP award, had six 30+ homer seasons, and finished with 351. He hit .292 lifetime and most impressively had a .534 career slugging % and .912 career OPS. This was very close to a HOF career with his surly attitude likely hurting him with the voters.
Here's a great example of a very good player who falls just short of HOF; Al Oliver. A guy who hit over .300 11 times with a career avg. of .303. Had over 2,700 hits and over 500 doubles. Won a batting title in 1982. A total professional hitter who suffers a bit from mediocre power numbers, just 219 homers. A guy who just went under the radar for 18 seasons banging out hits.
A real favorite of mine was Matt Williams of the Giants. Williams was a classic slugging third baseman who smashed 378 homers and had some of the softest hands I ever saw at third. He scored 4 Gold Gloves while hitting over 30 homers 6 times with a high of 43. One of the few players that I actually looked forward to see play the field.
Can you bang out over 2,800 hits, 480 doubles, 380 homers, and 1,600 RBI and not land in the HOF? Apparently yes, as Harold Baines can attest. Baines hit .289 over 22 seasons with an .820 OPS but as quality as he was, he had a grand total of 1 item of black ink in his career, leading the league in slugging in 1984. A high quality player for a long time who never had any magical seasons or was dominant in any way. A perfect entry for the Hall of Very Good.
More to follow...............
S
Monday, July 18, 2016
The Hall of Very Good (Part 1)
I've joked for years about certain MLB players who had great careers, but for various reasons won't see the hall of fame. Maybe they were really solid every year, but didn't lead the league in anything, maybe they had a short prime, or had debilitating injuries. But in their window, they were playing at a near or even at a hall of fame level. I'm going to start nominating some players as time allows for my "Hall of Very Good".
First would be Nomar Garciaparra who I posted on recently. A 2-time batting champ who finished with a .313 career average along with a .521 slugging avg. and .882 OPS. Garciaparra was on a HOF trajectory before injuries derailed him. He had about 7 really good years but for those who remember his first 6 healthy ones in Boston, he was about as good as anyone.
Another favorite of mine is Mike Mussina. Mussina won 270 games pitching mostly in the steroid era. 270 wins is higher than many in the HOF. He won in double figures 17 years in a row, and had at least 18 wins 6 different times. I actually would have voted him in before Smoltz. His 3.68 ERA is his downfall, but in that era, it wasn't bad, and he was a workhorse.
One of your favorites, and mine was Will Clark of the Giants. Will also suffered from comparisons of the steroid freaks, and was injury prone. Injuries frequently robbed him of partial seasons, so his career averages look better than the single seasons. Career .303 avg., .497 slugging, and .880 OPS. He hit over .300 in 10 of 15 seasons, had a 2nd and 4th place MVP finish, and had one of the sweetest lefty swings ever.
In my opinion, probably the best player ever not in the HOF might be Tony Oliva of the Twins. Oliva had 8 great seasons in a row in the mid to late 60's, lost a year to injury, and came back to 3 solid seasons before early retirement. The classic case of not building enough career totals for the HOF. Oliva won 3 batting titles and led the league in hits 5 times, doubles 4 times, and finished 2nd in MVP voting twice. Career avg. was .304, OPS .830. The black ink alone looks like a HOF'er.
Who can forget "the Cobra" Dave Parker? Parker actually rose to the level of arguably the best player in baseball in 1977-1978, winning back to back batting titles and an MVP. He had over 2,700 career hits, over 500 doubles and 330 homers, and also had a 2nd and 2 3rd place MVP seasons to go along with his win. He was also a physical specimen with a cannon in right field.
More to follow.....
S
First would be Nomar Garciaparra who I posted on recently. A 2-time batting champ who finished with a .313 career average along with a .521 slugging avg. and .882 OPS. Garciaparra was on a HOF trajectory before injuries derailed him. He had about 7 really good years but for those who remember his first 6 healthy ones in Boston, he was about as good as anyone.
Another favorite of mine is Mike Mussina. Mussina won 270 games pitching mostly in the steroid era. 270 wins is higher than many in the HOF. He won in double figures 17 years in a row, and had at least 18 wins 6 different times. I actually would have voted him in before Smoltz. His 3.68 ERA is his downfall, but in that era, it wasn't bad, and he was a workhorse.
One of your favorites, and mine was Will Clark of the Giants. Will also suffered from comparisons of the steroid freaks, and was injury prone. Injuries frequently robbed him of partial seasons, so his career averages look better than the single seasons. Career .303 avg., .497 slugging, and .880 OPS. He hit over .300 in 10 of 15 seasons, had a 2nd and 4th place MVP finish, and had one of the sweetest lefty swings ever.
In my opinion, probably the best player ever not in the HOF might be Tony Oliva of the Twins. Oliva had 8 great seasons in a row in the mid to late 60's, lost a year to injury, and came back to 3 solid seasons before early retirement. The classic case of not building enough career totals for the HOF. Oliva won 3 batting titles and led the league in hits 5 times, doubles 4 times, and finished 2nd in MVP voting twice. Career avg. was .304, OPS .830. The black ink alone looks like a HOF'er.
Who can forget "the Cobra" Dave Parker? Parker actually rose to the level of arguably the best player in baseball in 1977-1978, winning back to back batting titles and an MVP. He had over 2,700 career hits, over 500 doubles and 330 homers, and also had a 2nd and 2 3rd place MVP seasons to go along with his win. He was also a physical specimen with a cannon in right field.
More to follow.....
S
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Duncan Era Ends
Below is a re-post that I did on Tim Duncan in 2012. Duncan leaves after 19 seasons, never missed the playoffs, never saw a season with a winning % below 60%, ended up with 5 rings. I looked up a few stats; Duncan was twice league MVP, 3 times finals MVP, 10 times first-team all-NBA, 13th all-time in career PER, and if you believe any defensive metrics, 2nd all-time in defensive win shares. I heard Avery Johnson talk this week about how shocked the team was in Duncan's rookie year when he showed up at camp and began outplaying David Robinson in practice. He was boring, so we tend to forget the talent. I'm not sure where I rank him; top 15 certainly, not sure about top 10. But, who cares? An all-time great any way you cut it and the most humble superstar we'll ever see.
I just read the new article in SI about Tim Duncan. It really made me think about how we choose our favorite players. We gravitate toward the mega-talents with big, exciting games who do the fantastic things; like Josh Hamilton, Kevin Durant, etc. The funny thing is I sit down and watch my favorite players and typically get frustrated. Hamilton swings at anything he sees despite the game situation. Durant too easily settles for long jumpers. But when I watch Duncan, I just shake my head in appreciation of how he does everything right.
Imagine a player coming along with these attributes:
1. Supremely gifted athletically – 1st team all-pro talent
2. 7 feet tall
3. Concentrates on fundamentals
4. Has little ego
5. Can put up any numbers necessary but doesn’t care about stats
6. Works to improve all facets of game, not just the flashy ones
7. Leads quietly and by example
8. Is proficient as a scorer, passer, rebounder, defender
9. Has no use for the trappings of fame and adulation
10. Never undermines management
I would challenge you to look at Duncan’s run in San Antonio and compare to any player/team/coach situation ever. Since Duncan arrived, SA has the best winning % of any team in any American team sport. They built that organization around Duncan and have a .700+ winning % and 4 championships to show for it. In truth, Duncan is the holy grail of athletes. Someone who has hall of fame talent, cares about winning, is a leader, is loyal, works hard, and doesn’t chase money/fame.
As a sports fan, I’m kind of embarrassed that we put any other type of player above Duncan in our attention. He is the guy we should all value the most, especially in this age of 24/7 news and twitter. He hit the league, made all-NBA and all-Defensive 13 years in a row and won 4 championships. His game is a training video waiting to happen and he does it all exactly right. No commercials, no twitter, no tabloids, no drama, just hoops.
S
I just read the new article in SI about Tim Duncan. It really made me think about how we choose our favorite players. We gravitate toward the mega-talents with big, exciting games who do the fantastic things; like Josh Hamilton, Kevin Durant, etc. The funny thing is I sit down and watch my favorite players and typically get frustrated. Hamilton swings at anything he sees despite the game situation. Durant too easily settles for long jumpers. But when I watch Duncan, I just shake my head in appreciation of how he does everything right.
Imagine a player coming along with these attributes:
1. Supremely gifted athletically – 1st team all-pro talent
2. 7 feet tall
3. Concentrates on fundamentals
4. Has little ego
5. Can put up any numbers necessary but doesn’t care about stats
6. Works to improve all facets of game, not just the flashy ones
7. Leads quietly and by example
8. Is proficient as a scorer, passer, rebounder, defender
9. Has no use for the trappings of fame and adulation
10. Never undermines management
I would challenge you to look at Duncan’s run in San Antonio and compare to any player/team/coach situation ever. Since Duncan arrived, SA has the best winning % of any team in any American team sport. They built that organization around Duncan and have a .700+ winning % and 4 championships to show for it. In truth, Duncan is the holy grail of athletes. Someone who has hall of fame talent, cares about winning, is a leader, is loyal, works hard, and doesn’t chase money/fame.
As a sports fan, I’m kind of embarrassed that we put any other type of player above Duncan in our attention. He is the guy we should all value the most, especially in this age of 24/7 news and twitter. He hit the league, made all-NBA and all-Defensive 13 years in a row and won 4 championships. His game is a training video waiting to happen and he does it all exactly right. No commercials, no twitter, no tabloids, no drama, just hoops.
S
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