HOF Golden Era Results

[bigtrain]

The Hall of Fame just announced that no one received the necessary 12 of 16 votes to be elected by the Golden Era committee. Dick Allen and Tony Oliva each fell one vote short. I was surprised that Gil Hodges got so little support (fewer than 3 votes). Jim Kaat got 10. Maury Wills 9, Minnie Minoso 8, all others 3 or fewer.

[Peter_Spaeth]

+1
I am surprised Dick Allen got that close.

[z28jd]

Dick Allen has great hitting stats for the amount of time he played, but his defense was very bad and he flamed out quick. I think he needed to stay on the field a little more during those 11 prime years he had. He missed 344 games during that stretch.

Oliva doesn't stack up to Allen and he missed even more time. I think he looks better because he led the league in hits and average numerous times, but he didn't walk much, so he never led the league in OBP. Unfortunately for him, injuries took away his real chance at the Hall, at least that is what I thought

Hodges dropping to three or less votes is shocking. He spent two years in the military and came back as a catcher for a short time, those two facts have to help his case.

If I had a vote and had to stick to four votes maximum, I probably would have only picked Hodges and Kaat, though Allen and Tiant are real close for me and I've gone back and forth with them. Everyone else falls short.

I don't get the Maury Wills pick at all, .661 OPS and his SB% is below average, plus his career stats don't stand out. He didn't draw walks, hit for zero power and did that as a .281 hitter. The most comparable player all-time to Wills is Luis Castillo and I'd be shocked if he got more than one pity vote. You could make a case that Castillo was slightly better. Wills gets too much credit for his short reign with the SB record and his MVP.

[brian1961]

Gil Hodges got fewer than 3 votes? Really. I find that hard to fathom, unless some of those voters had received some poison pen letters or remarks from some now deceased Veterans Committee members prior to their being selected as committeemen. I know of two now deceased voters who had very, very sharp axes to grind on Gil, and would never forgive him. ---Brian Powell

[pclpads]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Gil Hodges: I know of two now deceased voters who had very, very sharp axes to grind on Gil, and would never forgive him. ---Brian Powell

Care to elucidate?

[insidethewrapper]

Sounds like good news. The Hall has already let in too many . When I was growing up the names like Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Kaline, Snider etc. that's the HOF, not Boyer, Maz, Rizzuto, Oliva etc. Good players but not HOF.

[ksabet]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

Sounds like good news. The Hall has already let in too many . When I was growing up the names like Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Kaline, Snider etc. that's the HOF, not Boyer, Maz, Rizzuto, Oliva etc. Good players but not HOF.

+1

Totally agree! I wrote an article about some guys on the NFL side that have no business getting in. All the Halls of Fame are very biased towards certain teams and certain personalities. Joe Namath is the biggest joke Hall of Famer ever!

I am actually baffled that Maris and Hodges are not in given all the NY bias.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Speaking of Namath, it's interesting that his rookie card is so visible and valuable when he is at best a top 20 quarterback.

[SmokyBurgess]

Originally Posted by bigtrain

The Hall of Fame just announced that no one received the necessary 12 of 16 votes to be elected by the Golden Era committee. Dick Allen and Tony Oliva each fell one vote short. I was surprised that Gil Hodges got so little support (fewer than 3 votes). Jim Kaat got 10. Maury Wills 9, Minnie Minoso 8, all others 3 or fewer.

Yes, all these are perfect candidates to my recently instituted "Net 54 Hall of the Very Good".

[Donscards]

I would have voted for Gil Hodges--Dick Allen--Tony Oliva----Another thought is Roger Maris (is he off the ballot) Also for a 4 year run Check Ted Kluszewski 1953 .320 40HR--108RBi 1954 .316 49HR 141 Rbi---1955 .326 47HR 113 Rbi 1956 .314 35HR 102 RBi---I don't know what happened to him after that maybe injuries but if he would have hit like that for 10 years Wow----As for Joe Namath, he gets my vote--The Super Bowl of course was unique, but he had injuries most of his career---What would he have done in todays football Passing crazy era.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Don he probably would do just what he did in his day -- throw a lot more picks than touchdowns.

[ksabet]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Don he probably would do just what he did in his day -- throw a lot more picks than touchdowns.

+1

I am not a stats only guy if I was Dave Krieg would have been in the Football Hall a long time ago.

[pclpads]

Brian - thanks for taking the time to give a very interesting analysis.

Dave F.

[Peter_Spaeth]

For what it's worth.

Similar Batters
View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
Compare Stats to Similars
1.Lance Berkman (903)
2.Reggie Smith (894)
3.Ellis Burks (890)
4.Brian Giles (889)
5.Jermaine Dye (880)
6.George Foster (880)
7.Fred Lynn (875)
8.Tim Salmon (875)
9.Shawn Green (875)
10.Rocky Colavito (873)

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

For what it's worth.

Similar Batters
View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
Compare Stats to Similars
1.Lance Berkman (903)
2.Reggie Smith (894)
3.Ellis Burks (890)
4.Brian Giles (889)
5.Jermaine Dye (880)
6.George Foster (880)
7.Fred Lynn (875)
8.Tim Salmon (875)
9.Shawn Green (875)
10.Rocky Colavito (873)

Similarity is sometimes useful, sometimes not. Dick Allen was a dominant force in his era, leading the league in OPS four times and finishing with a career OPS+ of 156. Listing his "similar" guys doesn't really show how truly dominant he was during his career.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by bigtrain

The Hall of Fame just announced that no one received the necessary 12 of 16 votes to be elected by the Golden Era committee. Dick Allen and Tony Oliva each fell one vote short. I was surprised that Gil Hodges got so little support (fewer than 3 votes). Jim Kaat got 10. Maury Wills 9, Minnie Minoso 8, all others 3 or fewer.

For what it is worth, the ballot got it right in my opinion. Of the group, I like Hodges and Kaat the best but to call them Hall of Fame players, not so much. You could argue positive for any player on this list but to vote somebody in just because they are on the ballot does nothing for the Hall.

Now the crime of the balloting for the Hall of Fame is not having voted Lee Smith into the Hall already. In his day, he was the premier closer in an era when the closers ofter threw more than one inning. On top of it, he is a first rate human being. Probably won't be elected this year due to some really good players coming on to the ballot for the first time but he does belong in the Hall.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Dick Allen had 9 post season at bats. Wow. That didn't help him I guess.

[packs]

Looking forward to the pre-integration ballot next year and seeing what names are on that list.