[ls7plus]

Ted Kluszewski versus Hack Wilson as HOF'ers--Should Hack be in, when Ted is out? Their careers are really quite similar, with each having 5-7 really good seasons, some of them extraordinarily dominant, then petering out quite quickly to the point where their only really retained value was as utility/role players who would occasionally rise to the occasion, and seemingly reach back into the past for a bit of their former greatness once in a while. Hack is in Cooperstown; Ted is only in the Reds HOF, with his uniform # retired.

Ted was a four-time all-star who finished fairly well-up in the MVP voting a number of times, hitting 171 homeruns over four consecutive seasons, and batting .300 or higher in seven differnent seasons. I don't know that there are any other players who have done both who are not in the hall of fame. Ted's biggest season was 49 HR, 141 RBI, .326. Not as impressive as Hack's 1930 season on the surface, but then again, the entire NL hit over .300 in 1930! If Hack is in at Cooperstown on this basis, and considering their obvious career trends and similarities, should not Ted be in also??? He was generally regarded as a good fielding firstbaseman.

Comments if you care/dare?

Larry