To get an idea of how hard it will be for a 19th century player to get in, here are the winners of SABR's Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legends annual election.
Besides these players, among recent nominees are Tommy Bond, Charlie Buffinton, Lave Cross, Paul Hines, Grant “Home Run” Johnson, Dick McBride, Jim McCormick, Cal McVey, Jim Mutrie, Dickey Pearce, Lip Pike, Al Reach, Jimmy Ryan, Ben Shibe, George Stovey, Chris Von der Ahe, and George Van Haltren.
If 19th century fans are lucky, maybe two of these will be among the eight to be nominated. And there's no guarantee any of them will get on the ballot because they are competing with players from 1900-1980 and I have a feeling Luis Tiant, Dick Allen, Thurman Munson, Ken Boyer, Dave Parker, Tommy John, etc. will be more familiar than any of these players...not to mention Sherry Magee, Wes Ferrell, Stan Hack, Vern Stephens, Bob Johnson, Bobby Veach, Vada Pinson, Babe Adams, Billy Pierce, Wilbur Cooper, Bucky Walters, etc.).
And once they are on the ballot, they will need 75% of the votes.
__________________
My avatar is a drawing of a 1958 Topps Hank Aaron by my daughter. If you are interested in one in a similar style based on the card of your choice, details can be found by searching threads with the title phrase Custom Baseball Card Artwork or by PMing me.
Last edited by molenick; 05-05-2024 at 04:51 PM.
|