I think most everybody who grew up in our era wouldn't have a bad thing to say of Murphy and Mattingly (and my favorite, Dwight Evans). They were absolutely wonderful role models and have continued on this path as time has moved on.
From a personal standpoint, I wouldn't be as "offended" to see Dale or Don inducted as I would some other almost-deserving candidates, but they unfortunately fall short. I think Mattingly stands a better overall chance of getting in vs. Murphy. He's a lifer and still in the game.
I really think that Dwight Evans is more deserving than the other two. He was more consistent over his entire career. He was not a "loud" player, constantly overshadowed by teammates. I think that this is why he is so often overlooked; almost a footnote.
To echo others on here, where on earth is Whitaker (and Evans) on this ballot? It's rather pathetic that the two most deserving candidates didn't make the list. Are they to be relegated to some other kind of list? I don't understand.
At least Bobby Grich wasn't mentioned that I could see. Tell me something: before all this talk of his possible induction, when was the last time you even thought of Bobby Grich or heard his name? It was mentioned earlier in this thread that, had things like WAR been important in his era, Steve Garvey would have obviously adjusted his type of play to reflect that. Is Grich perhaps not the opposite of this? His numbers look great by modern metrics, but I have no recollection of anybody extolling his virtues when he was active. Maybe he received more regional praise than national and I simply missed out due to location, or that his best seasons were already behind him before I came along. My question is this: if a player's numbers suddenly look phenomenal using modern metrics, should that really even matter? If he was so incredible, why was he so forgettable for the past 40 years? Perhaps one could postulate that Grich's numbers, reflective of stats that weren't even taken into consideration when he played, make him appear ahead of his time, but is that not almost meaningless? I'm assuredly showing some of my ignorance by asking these questions, so perhaps some people may be able to help educate me on this.
Last edited by BillyCoxDodgers3B; 11-18-2025 at 05:41 AM.
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11-18-2025, 05:02 AM
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