Quote:
Originally Posted by darkhorse9
There are several players listed that should be considered that people have listed. Gil Hodges, Dale Murphy, Fred Lynn, Rocky Colavito and Dave Parker all certainly have the cred to be in the Hall Of Fame discussion.
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I'd add Cooper to your list of players with Hall credibility. Cooper's problem (and the thing ultimately keeping him out of some real serious consideration for the Hall) is that the Red Sox never used him as a full time player. He didn't play more than 125 games in a season until he was 27 years old.
In 1971 and 1972, he only played 26 games. Ok, he was still pretty young then (21 & 22 years of age). Figure he gets another 50 games played if the Sox have him on any kind of fast track towards being a starter.
In 1971, George Scott blocked him. Ok, Scott was a really good player.
In 1972, a guy named Danny Cater blocked him. This guy sucked. He hit .237 with 8 HR and 39 RBI in just under 100 games.
In 1973 and 1974, Carl Yastrzemski was at first.
In 1975, they used Cooper at DH, and kept Yaz at first. Interesting to me, as Cooper was a young guy, and a future Gold Glover at first base. One would think Yaz being DH would have been the best use of the future Hall of Famer. Keep him fresh for those at bats.
Anyway, Cooper hit .311 with 14 HR and 44 RBI in 1975 in 106 games (305 at bats). A player on the rise, right? He only played 123 games the next season before being traded. He was immediately a star in his first season as a starter in Milwaukee, hitting .300 with 20 HR and 78 RBI. His 193 hits were 6th best in the American League. But you had to figure that while in Boston, he should have played at least another 340 games. Two full years of his prime lost. Then, the 1981 strike cost him another 51 games.
Look at his 162 game averages for his career (which take into consideration the last few years of his career when his abilities had eroded:
628 at bats, 86 runs, 187 hits, 35 doubles, 6 triples, 21 home runs, 96 RBI.
All in all, he missed about 3 years in his prime.
Add in another 258 runs scored.
Add in another 561 hits.
Add in another 105 doubles.
Add in another 18 triples.
Add in another 63 home runs.
Add in another 288 RBI.
He's not a lock for the Hall, and he's likely never voted in on the regular ballot. But if these are his career numbers, he merits some real consideration from the veteran's committee down the road. And remember, I'm just adding in his career averages, not his averages during his prime. So the following numbers are a little low.
.298 career average
1,270 runs scored
2,753 hits
520 doubles
65 triples
304 home runs
1,413 RBI
He probably wins another Gold Glove, and another Silver Slugger. Maybe wins a batting title. There's no telling what he could have done if his career hadn't gotten underway so late.
I'll tell you what, though. He was one of my favorite players to watch. Coop had a sweet swing. He was smooth in the field. And the man was clutch. He had more big RBIs than any other hitter I've ever seen. Baseball Reference says he is a career .307 hitter with runners in scoring position, and a .303 hitter in high leverage situations. I feel those numbers are a little low. Or, they may have really been hurt in his final few seasons. Because between 1979 and 1983, his 535 RBI were the most by any hitter in the Major leagues. His 162 game averages those 5 peak years were sensational:
.320 AVG
103 runs scored
212 hits
42 doubles
28 home runs
120 RBI
341 total bases
.876 OPS
Pretty darned good.
Coooooooooooooooooop!