Why is Jackie Robinson in the HOF?

[jason.1969]

I think the OP asks a very fair question and only differ with the PC angle he brings in. When Jackie was inducted, we were a long way from PC. And baseball wasn't exactly an island of PC within a broader racist ocean. Reading the book, "After Jackie," you can see just how hard baseball was for guys like Dick Allen and Curt Flood who came up more even with Jackie's election.

But if we limit ourselves only to to MLB stats (which also would exclude nearly all Negro League inductees), Robinson is certainly no Ruth.

I would guess that had a white ballplayer posted identical stats to Jackie Robinson in that same era, played similar positions, and enjoyed similar team success, he would have indeed made the HOF eventually but not as soon.

So yes, I believe that Jackie Robinson's being black impacted his HOF standing. However, I don't think voters were giving charity here; I think they recognized his being black carried legitimate X Factors that supported his case as a HOFer.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk