5fouls Baseball Hall of Fame

[5fouls]

3rd group of 14 with less detailed analysis.  This gets us to 42 and sets us up for the final 8 (positionless) spots of our Top 50 as well as our 'First 5 Out', and our look at those who could take a spot once they reach eligibility.  

Catcher:  Gary Carter's across the board numbers, including the highest WAR7 (peak) for any catcher, help him edge out Yogi Berra and his 3 MVPs.

First Base:  Going to give this one to Frank Thomas, at a position where multiple better candidates are excluded due to pre-1900 careers (Cap Anson, Roger Connor, etc.) or not yet eligible (Albert Pujols).

Second Base: Joe Morgan edges early 1900's star Nap Lajoie for this spot.  Morgan holds the edge in Advanced Offensive stats, while Lajoie has the edge defensively. In that situation, I will usually lean offensive because it's easier to identify its impact. 

Third Base: Giving it to Wade Boggs for having the best balance among offensive and defensive prowess.  Brooks Robinson was obviously the best ever defensively.  Chipper Jones was an offensive beast, but actually has a negative Defensive WAR.  George Brett was kind of a hack in the field in his own right.    

Shortstop: Alex Rodgriguez is sure to be a controversial pick, but his final numbers so far exceed those of other notable shortstops like Ozzie Smith, Derek Jeter, Robin Yount, and Ernie Banks, it's hard not to just accept the fact that he had a great career, tainted as it may be.

Outfield:  Barry Bonds's numbers say 'first-teamer'.  The steroids tell me this is probably where he would have landed had he stayed clean.

Outfield:  Many feel that Mickey Mantle could have been the best ever if he only had a good pair of knees.  My dad's favorite player.  

Outfield:  I'll admit to being a little conflicted to give the last outfield spot to Frank Robinson over Ken Griffey Jr., because I got to see Jr. in his prime while I saw Robinson only at the very end of his career.  The numbers, however, say that Robinson is the correct choice.

Utility: Jackie Robinson's 'standard' numbers don't match up to others because he had a short career.  However, if you look beyond the surface, he had the second highest WAR/162 of any 2nd baseman.  He had 6 top-10 WAR finished in his 10-year career.   He won an MVP and was selected for 7 All-Star games.  Oh, and he displayed enormous courage in breaking MLB's color barrier.  He deserves this spot.  

S. Pitcher: Bob Gibson topped 3,000 strikeouts before it became a 'thing'.  He had an MVP, 2 Cy Young Awards, 9 Gold Gloves, and 9 All-Star appearances.  His career numbers are a little lower than some others, but most of those pitchers had the benefit of longer careers.

S. Pitcher: Randy Johnson, otherwise known as the Big Unit, transformed himself from being an average major league pitcher over the first 6 years of his career, to being one of the most dominant pitchers ever to take the mound over his last 16 big league seasons.  10th in JAWS, 10th in WAR, 2nd in career strikeouts, 5 Cy Youngs, and 10 All-Star Games.

S. Pitcher:  Pedro Martinez, 6th in career ERA+, 10th in career WAR/162.  The peak of his career took place in the era of the juiced ball and the juiced player.  Yet from 1997 through 2003, he exceeded 200 ERA+ 5 times, including a ridiculous 291 in the year 2000.  By contrast, during Sandy Koufax's 6-year dominant stretch in his career, he NEVER had an ERA+ exceeding 200, peaking out at 190 in his final year.

S. Pitcher:  Nolan Ryan's numbers beyond strikeouts can be picked apart.  His career WAR lands him between Mike Mussina and Tom Glavine.  His career ERA+ is only 112.  He never won a Cy Young Award, and he is the all-time leader in extending Base on Balls. But, what he could do was strike out batters, even in an era where striking out batters was not so easy (finishing with over 800 batters more than career 2nd place Randy Johnson).  And, he could be virtually unhittable at times (7 career non-hitters).  All of this was done over a career that spanned 27 seasons.    

R. Pitcher:  In 1952, Hoyt Wilhelm led the league in ERA without starting a single game.  And, remember, to qualify for the ERA title, a pitcher must average an inning per game played by his team.  He was from a time when relievers didn't just come into games to face 3 batters just to record a cheap save.  he is one of only 3 relievers with a JAWS mar greater than 36.5, behind only Rivera and Eckersley.  He ranks 6th in all-time games pitched despite not making his big league debut until age 29.

 

 

 

 

[jv1972iu]

I'm going to be upset, perturbed and generally po'd if Warren Spahn doesn't make your next team.  And I'd like to know if/how much you figured in or took into account pitchers batting averages?  Fielding?  I don't know when Gold Gloves were first awarded, but Spahn could both hit and field his position.  😊

Edited February 5, 2023 by jv1972iu

[Steubenhoosier]

How did this guy not make it?

[5fouls]

1 hour ago, Steubenhoosier said:

How did this guy not make it?

The Top 50 still has 8 spots yet to be revealed.  I encourage you to check back to see if your guy makes it.