More Deserving of the HOF? Travis Jackson or Sherry Magee

[bmcnutt]

Well, if it's a "museum to learn about the history of the game, not a golf club", then why call it the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Why not just call it the National Baseball Museum?

[Tyruscobb]

Sometimes numbers mean something, and sometimes they do not. I’m not saying he deserves a Cooperstown plaque, but I’ve always it boggling that the player with the fourth highest all-time career batting average is not a Hall of Famer. Lefty O’Doul played 11 seasons and has a .349 career average.

[David W]

He was unpopular with his team mates early in his career, and was suspended for punching an umpire.

I would suspect that had some sway with early HOF voting and by the time the huge push in the 60's and 70's came along for pre-war players, he was probably largely forgotten.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/303fac26

[Bridwell]

Travis Jackson was a shortshop and that position has been more critical to team success than an outfielder. There aren't too many good hitting shortstops.
Jackson was also named in MVP voting 7 times in his career so he was highly regarded during his paying days.

Magee was a very fine player, too, of course. I think New York players get more attention from the media.

[Wite3]

I have wanted Magee in for a long time. His numbers are very solid for his time. He was also a decent fielder (6 seasons in the top 10 fielding %).

I think he was an outsider though and rubbed people the wrong way.

Joshua

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Jackson was one of the two or three best in his era, Magee too, both should be in.

[Chris-Counts]

Travis Jackson got into the Hall of Fame thanks to an assist from his former double play partner, Frankie Frisch, who somehow managed to gain control of the gate to Cooperstown for a number of years. Before the gate was closed, a whole bunch of old Giants (like Highpockets Kelly) and Cardinals (like Jesse Haines) were let in, permanently crashing the criteria for what establishes a Hall of Famer. To be fair, the 1945 Hall of Fame election was a serious joke, but Frisch was the king of lowering the Hall of Fame's standards.