I've always looked at it as the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Statistics. I value peak performance more than longevity: Koufax over Sutton. If a player was among the very best in the game for several seasons and is otherwise eligible I am OK with his enshrinement. Judged on what he did [not what might have been] as recounted in that SABR article, Hafey isn't a top-flight HOFer but he isn't a Harry Hooper punchline either.
Tony Oliva would have been a HOFer with a few more elite level seasons but he was effectively finished by age 32. I think for him "what could have been" has actually damaged his chances at the hall because so many HOF electors saw how great he was before he tore up his knees. Mattingly too; he has two careers, before and after back injuries, that are so markedly different that it might as well be two different players. That had to have affected the voters.
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