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Todd SchultzHoward, I didn't mean to belittle either Brett or Gwynn--just meant to say you can throw out those partial rookie seasons they put in when looking at their first twelve years and Puckett still beats their numbers.
The ONLY rationale for keeping Puckett out is that his career total raw numbers don't reach prolific heights. That's because he only played twelve years. Look at anyone's twelve year numbers, especially from Puckett's era but most others as well (which is why I made the comparison to Rose), and Puckett absolutely stands out, even among several in the Hall. If you don't like the raw totals, change the eligibility rules so that a player must play more than 12 years. Otherwise, deal with it. Look at Kiner and Hack Wilson and you'll likely get the same debate, minus the sympathy argument that Frank incorrectly relies upon when giving us his "informed" opinion. BTW, HAck Wilson, he of the 191 RBI record season, has fewer career RBI than Puckett.