Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
I could be wrong, and I'm just speculating, but maybe Baines was good in that he opened the way for players who historically had been thought not good enough like Hodges, Oliva, Minoso, Allen, Parker.
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Only catch is I don't think they're HOF'ers either. Out of that group Allen is the only one I really like and I could live with it if he was the best non-HOF'er.
I have a soft spot for Hodges and if there was some kind of Contributor category that took a man's entire body of work into account I'd put him and Lefty O'Doul in in a heartbeat, but he comes up short for me as just a player. I know Torre got in as a manager and Baker will too, but they'd both be no-brainers in my Contributor category. I think it would seriously help guys like Pinella and Davey Johnson as well.
Having the Contributor category would also make me like guys like Schoendienst being in a lot more than I do. It might also open the doors to guys who weren't particularly close as players or managers yet their overall contribution to the game was massive. Thinking guys like Zimmer, Pesky and Johnny Sain in addition to the previously mentioned O'Doul.