Posted By:
Frank WakefieldIf I could just get one guy in, it would be Ed Reulbach.
Jim Kaat would go in if I were allowed a second selection.
And Lefty O'Doul can go in third.
If I had more selections, I'd start "picking" guys to take out of the Hall. I'd need a couple of dozen votes for that. Kirby Puckett honored with Babe Ruth??? Gary Carter in there with Cy Young??? Insanity, or ignorance. Put those guys in the Hall of Popularity...
Mr. Reulbach should go in. Anyone who does not see that should read Bill James' section on Ed in the first version of the Historical Baseball Abstract, and then read his Politics of Glory which is about the Hall itself. Then read the 1915 (I think) Baseball Magazine article about Ed, and you'll understand how "managment" curtailed Ed's career as punishment. Then you'll undersand that Ed being out is inexcusable.
At least Ed is on that great long list. Hope those folks quit suffering from rectal craniums and vote Ed in.