Does Lance Parrish deserve to be in the HOF?

[todeen]

Someone posted on Twitter about Lance Parrish. He retired right as I was gaining interest in baseball. His stats and highlights seem pretty impressive. What's the argument against him? He seems to have been a great combo catcher with hitting and defense.

From Twitter user @NotGaetti

Not enough people talk about Lance Parrish

• 324 HR, 1070 RBI, 3113 TB, 39.5 WAR
• 8x All-Star, 6x Silver Slugger, 3x GG
• 1984 World Series Champ with DET
• Only C to reach 42 2B and 114 RBI
• Tied with Gary Carter at 324 HR
• Threw out 50+ base stealers 5x
• (Pudge Rodriguez only did it 2x)
• One of just seven catchers in MLB history to hit at least 300 homers; the other six are all in the Hall of Fame

Despite being tied for 5th all time in home runs at his position and having a diversified trophy case that includes six Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves, and a World Series ring, Parrish was a one-and-done on his only HOF ballot appearance in 2001, receiving just 1.7% of the vote. An injustice!

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[Peter_Spaeth]

The HR and AS appearances are strong, but overall, he feels like hall of very good to me, similar to his namesake Lance Berkman in a way. Although he had a bit better power, he feels south of Posada to me, and Posada just isn't on the radar.

[steve B]

One of those guys who are almost there.

Playing for mostly smaller market teams doesn't help. That shouldn't matter but it does.

And when he played was interesting. Pretty much contemporary with Fisk. Same with Bench for his first few years. And Gary Carter.
And of the years I spot checked, there were other guys having a better year, plus a few that came and went with similar performance.

The last 3 years of bouncing around and backup level stats and playing time couldn't help.

[D. Bergin]

His OBP really killed him from compiling more WAR throughout his career.

I completely forgot how many guys he used to throw out.

I’m all for more catcher’s getting in the Hall though. I think they should be judged on a completely different skill set than other position players.

I think it’s odd how few catchers are in the HOF, when you consider an everyday catcher is involved in literally every pitch and play throughout the course of a game when his team is on the field.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

His OBP really killed him from compiling more WAR throughout his career.

I completely forgot how many guys he used to throw out.

I’m all for more catcher’s getting in the Hall though. I think they should be judged on a completely different skill set than other position players.

I think it’s odd how few catchers are in the HOF, when you consider an everyday catcher is involved in literally every pitch and play throughout the course of a game when his team is on the field.

Posey and Molina should get in which would rectify that a bit.

[packs]

I wonder what will happen when Salvador Perez comes up for voting. He's similar to Parrish and is ranked near him on BR (26 for Parrish and 32 for Perez). Big power guy who isn't helped at all by OPS+ or WAR. Might have more of a resume than Parrish though with his World Series MVP and his monster 48 homer season.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I think it’s odd how few catchers are in the HOF, when you consider an everyday catcher is involved in literally every pitch and play throughout the course of a game when his team is on the field.

I'm completely with you about judging catchers on a different set of criteria. JT Realmuto deserves consideration among modern catchers. His productivity has helped the Phillies compete offensively and defensively. Here's a list...
https://baseballegg.com/all-time-pla...s-of-all-time/

Realmuto #23 slots in between Parrish #24 and Piazza #22 on this list of best catchers of all time, and ranks higher than Salvador Perez #27. HOF'er Ernie Lombardi #33 sits below him, but he was helped by two batting titles and back to back WS appearances. Ahead of Perez and Realmuto on the list are Posey #8, Posada #14, Molina #15, Jason Kendall #17.

This same argument will eventually come up in 15 years about pitchers from 2015 - present. It is very doubtful we will see 200 wins from this group of pitchers, they will have pitiful Innings Pitched numbers, but monster strikeouts and WHIP.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by todeen

I'm completely with you about judging catchers on a different set of criteria. JT Realmuto deserves consideration among modern catchers. His productivity has helped the Phillies compete offensively and defensively. Here's a list...
https://baseballegg.com/all-time-pla...s-of-all-time/

Realmuto #23 slots in between Parrish #24 and Piazza #22 on this list of best catchers of all time, and ranks higher than Salvador Perez #27. HOF'er Ernie Lombardi #33 sits below him, but he was helped by two batting titles and back to back WS appearances. Ahead of Perez and Realmuto on the list are Posey #8, Posada #14, Molina #15, Jason Kendall #17.

This same argument will eventually come up in 15 years about pitchers from 2015 - present. It is very doubtful we will see 200 wins from this group of pitchers, they will have pitiful Innings Pitched numbers, but monster strikeouts and WHIP.

Mickey Cochrane at #19 and Roy Campanella at #20? That list can't be real.