packs,
If you want to think Rizzuto is a Hall Of Famer because of his broadcasting career that is fine (then I will counter that if having a lengthy MLB career and then an even longer broadcasting career are good criteria to use for people getting elected to the HOF then Joe Nuxhall should be in).
However, the fact is, Rizzuto was NOT elected to the HOF by the people responsible for electing sportswriters and broadcasters. he was elected by the Veterans Committee. This means he was elected based on what he did as a player.
Even Ted Z, a self-proclaimed Rizzuto fan, admits that Ted Williams used his influence to get Rizzuto elected. So, Rizzuto was not elected to the HOF when he was on the regular ballot and it took an all-time great like Williams to lobby for him with the Veterans Committee.
To me, that is like George W. Bush getting into Yale because of who his Father and Grand Father were. Both Rizzuto and George W. made it into prestigious institutions but neither did it on their own merits. They had outside influences help to get them in.
Again, like I said in another post, so what that Rizzuto lost time due to serving in WW II? Just because he lost time doesn't mean his stats would have gotten better. Sure, he could have played during all of that time and performed well. Conversely, he also could have been taken out at Second Base by a guy trying to break up a Double Play, had his knee ruined and never played again. Nobody knows.
So one cant just assume he would have played, played well and put up better numbers. You have to look at what he did on the field and the numbers he actually put up.
Again, I say there were other players on the Yankees who were better than Rizzuto and had more input to them winning games than Rizzuto did. Just because Rizzuto happened to be a starter on those teams that won World Series doesn't mean he automatically should be considered a better player than what he was.
David
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