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