Every year you hear it. This guy got snubbed!
Doesnt it ever really make a difference? Not usually, unless youre Jim Rice who made it in with Ricky Henderson - a more sure-fire hall of famer (in my opinion) than the two men who got in a few years ago (Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr.).
But some guys did get ripped off.
No. 1 on my list every year (only because Pete Rose is still technically banned from baseball) is Bert Blyleven. Why this guy is not a Hall of Famer is beyond me. His support goes up every year. But how much longer will it take before his 15 years runs out? Think about this, Blyleven missed two full seasons due to injury - in a time when greenies was your only way out and not steroids. Still, he managed to pitch as many innings as pretty much everyone around him. Look at his strikeout to walk ratio compared to Nolan Ryan? Wins to losses? Blyleven missed out on 300 wins by about a dozen games.
Now, I may be alone on this, but I see Blyleven as an unfortunate mans Express. Just look at the numbers. Outside of no-hitters and overall career strikeouts, Blyleven did just as much with less than Ryan had. He didnt have a 101 mph heater - but that doesnt guarantee a Hall of Fame vote. I would give up watching baseball forever if someone told me Joel Zumaya was a first ballot HoFer because of his cannon arm after just three injury-riddled seasons.
Blyleven 4970 IP 287 W 250 L 60 Shutout 242 CG 3701 K 1322 BB 3.31 ERA 1.198 WHIP
Ryan 5386 IP 324 W 292 L 61 Shutout 222 CG 5714 K 2795 BB 3.19 ERA 1.247 WHIP
But despite the numbers, Blyleven continues to get overlooked.
Next on the list is Andre Dawson. Now, Im not much of a Cubs fan, so I look at Dawson as an Expo. Even then, his numbers, though borderline Hall of Fame in my mind, still puts him over the edge based on the players of his era and what he encountered every day at the office.
Then I go to a slew of pitchers:
-Lee Smith - a save machine before saves became the soup de jour.
478 saves, 3.03 ERA, 1289.3 IP
-Jack Morris - a solid career with the epic 10-inning shutout in the playoffs for the Twins.
254 W, 186 L, 175 CG, 28 Shutout, 3824 IP, 3.90 ERA, 1.296 WHIP
-Tommy John - Like Blyleven, had it not been for injuries (and a subsequent surgery nearly required for young pitchers today named after him), he may have won 300 games and we wouldnt be having this discussion.
281 W, 231 L, 162 CG, 46 Shutout, 4710.3 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.283 WHIP
After these three, I discuss hitters.
-Tim Raines - despite his people problems, he was a fabulous player. Just look at his numbers and dare to disagree.
808SB, 2605 hits, .294 BA, .385 OBP, .425 slug, 1330 BB, 966 K
-Mark McGwire - I didnt get sucked into the summer of 1998 like a lot of people (my mom did, but I hated McGwire and Sosa - and both the Cardinals and the Cubs). His batting outside of home runs was bad enough that he would have been lucky to be a bench player on pretty much every team. I would likely take Tino Martinez to play first base for me every day before Marky. However, you cannot stop 70 home runs, and you cannot stop 583 career dingers from being in the Hall. Even though that summer of 98 is tainted in steroid suspicion, it help re-energize the game in a way that had not been seen since the M&M boys of Mantle and Maris in 1961.
After these guys, I cant really vote for anyone based solely on numbers. Then again, I cant vote at all.
Why am I still talking?
Until next time sports fans.
**Editors note: Stats were found via www.baseball-reference.com
Doesnt it ever really make a difference? Not usually, unless youre Jim Rice who made it in with Ricky Henderson - a more sure-fire hall of famer (in my opinion) than the two men who got in a few years ago (Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr.).
But some guys did get ripped off.
No. 1 on my list every year (only because Pete Rose is still technically banned from baseball) is Bert Blyleven. Why this guy is not a Hall of Famer is beyond me. His support goes up every year. But how much longer will it take before his 15 years runs out? Think about this, Blyleven missed two full seasons due to injury - in a time when greenies was your only way out and not steroids. Still, he managed to pitch as many innings as pretty much everyone around him. Look at his strikeout to walk ratio compared to Nolan Ryan? Wins to losses? Blyleven missed out on 300 wins by about a dozen games.
Now, I may be alone on this, but I see Blyleven as an unfortunate mans Express. Just look at the numbers. Outside of no-hitters and overall career strikeouts, Blyleven did just as much with less than Ryan had. He didnt have a 101 mph heater - but that doesnt guarantee a Hall of Fame vote. I would give up watching baseball forever if someone told me Joel Zumaya was a first ballot HoFer because of his cannon arm after just three injury-riddled seasons.
Blyleven 4970 IP 287 W 250 L 60 Shutout 242 CG 3701 K 1322 BB 3.31 ERA 1.198 WHIP
Ryan 5386 IP 324 W 292 L 61 Shutout 222 CG 5714 K 2795 BB 3.19 ERA 1.247 WHIP
But despite the numbers, Blyleven continues to get overlooked.
Next on the list is Andre Dawson. Now, Im not much of a Cubs fan, so I look at Dawson as an Expo. Even then, his numbers, though borderline Hall of Fame in my mind, still puts him over the edge based on the players of his era and what he encountered every day at the office.
Then I go to a slew of pitchers:
-Lee Smith - a save machine before saves became the soup de jour.
478 saves, 3.03 ERA, 1289.3 IP
-Jack Morris - a solid career with the epic 10-inning shutout in the playoffs for the Twins.
254 W, 186 L, 175 CG, 28 Shutout, 3824 IP, 3.90 ERA, 1.296 WHIP
-Tommy John - Like Blyleven, had it not been for injuries (and a subsequent surgery nearly required for young pitchers today named after him), he may have won 300 games and we wouldnt be having this discussion.
281 W, 231 L, 162 CG, 46 Shutout, 4710.3 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.283 WHIP
After these three, I discuss hitters.
-Tim Raines - despite his people problems, he was a fabulous player. Just look at his numbers and dare to disagree.
808SB, 2605 hits, .294 BA, .385 OBP, .425 slug, 1330 BB, 966 K
-Mark McGwire - I didnt get sucked into the summer of 1998 like a lot of people (my mom did, but I hated McGwire and Sosa - and both the Cardinals and the Cubs). His batting outside of home runs was bad enough that he would have been lucky to be a bench player on pretty much every team. I would likely take Tino Martinez to play first base for me every day before Marky. However, you cannot stop 70 home runs, and you cannot stop 583 career dingers from being in the Hall. Even though that summer of 98 is tainted in steroid suspicion, it help re-energize the game in a way that had not been seen since the M&M boys of Mantle and Maris in 1961.
After these guys, I cant really vote for anyone based solely on numbers. Then again, I cant vote at all.
Why am I still talking?
Until next time sports fans.
**Editors note: Stats were found via www.baseball-reference.com
