I'd like to submit Andy Cooper as the Negro League entry.
But this thread loses credibility by the fact that Sisler was even mentioned in it. I don't care that his career OBP was .379, which is not as horrible as some are trying to argue it is. If that was the only category careers were judged by, then I would agree that he should not be in the Hall. Fortunately, it is not. His career BA was .340. Three-freakin-forty! He batted over .400 twice. He also led the league in stolen bases 4 times.
It's true that he didn't walk a lot, because he was too busy hitting the ball. For those who actually watch the game of baseball, there are many situations where a hit is infinitely better than a walk. With less than two outs and a runner on first, would you rather have the next batter be a guy who walks a lot or a guy who hits .340? Runners don't advance from first to third on walks. Unless they are Rickey Henderson.
I'm a statistics nerd as much as anyone here, but baseball is not a home run derby. Offensive statistics should not be the only measure of a player's worth. Most board members would make the absolute worst general managers in the world because they'd assemble teams without ever considering defense. Their ace pitchers would have horrible stats from all the balls that would drop behind them due to lack of range in the outfield instead of being caught. Plus all the singles that good infielders would have turned into outs. Not to mention all the inning-ending double plays that would instead result in 3 or 4 run rallies.
Defense matters. What is it that wins in the playoffs? Is it pitching and on-base percentage?
Bill Mazeroski was the best defensive second baseman of all-time. Unless his career average was under .180, anyone who is considered the best ever at his position means he's a legit HOFer to me. In the 1960s Maz led the league in assists 9 times! Think of how many of those outs might have been hits. Turning hits into outs helps you win games.
Along those lines, Omar Vizquel should absolutely be a HOFer as well. Forget about his 2,800 hits and 400 stolen bases. No one has ever played more games at shortstop and he has the highest fielding percentage in history outside of future HOFer, Troy Tulowitzki who has played 2,000 fewer games.
Also, for you guys who only judge players by stats, why does Dizzy Dean never get brought up in these discussions? Go look at his career stats. You'll be shocked.
-Ryan
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