Neither are the worst selections, they are both “lower tier” in relation to others in the Hall of Fame but I don’t have a major problem with either of them. I feel that Smith compares rather favorably to Bruce Sutter and Baines was a steady performer that made a lot of All-Star teams so I’m not sure why all the hate.
I am as guilty as anyone at overusing WAR, it is a fun stat to throw around but it is a bit arbitrary. People with fairly mediocre numbers can emerge with WAR numbers that are off the charts while others get absolutely killed. Keep in mind Doc Cramer who had some traction for the HOF in the 1970’s has a career WAR of 8.5 according to Baseball-Reference despite over 2,700 hits and a .296 career average (this seems almost impossible to be that low) while Rick Reuschel has a career WAR of 69.7 despite a near .500 career W-L record (214-191) and only ever really led the league in losses and hits allowed.
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