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Posted By: howard

Johnny Evers was a fine player but to make a HOF case for him you have to give him too much credit for intagibles such as being smart or fiery or a team leader. Was he THE driving force behind the Miracle Braves in 1914? I don't think so. I doubt he was responsible for Dick Rudolph and Bill James having seasons way beyond their career norms. They also had Rabbit Maranville at SS who also has been credited with being the driving force behind the team. Yes, Evers won the MVP (with Maranville a close second and Ruldoph and James not far behind) but there are plenty of players who won the award that either did not deserve them or were not HOF caliber players or both (O'Farrell and Peckinpaugh come to mind).

The fact that he and Tinker and Chance were all elected in the same year tells me that if a certain poem had never been written Evers never would have gotten in the Hall.

I don't think he is the worst of the players in the HOF, by the way. I think I would go with Lloyd Waner.