HOF expansion era ballot

[packs]

In my mind Albert and Vlad are both HOFers.

[Big Six]

How many folks would be upset if Mattingly WAS elected...if you think about the 80's, how many guys would you say were better than he was? Would he look out of place in the Hall of Fame? I don't think he would...

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by packs

In my mind Albert and Vlad are both HOFers.

Vlad will likely be elected once he becomes eligible, maybe not a first ballot but he'll get there. Belle made too many enemies amongst the writers, and I'm not justifying that, but those are the people who vote. So, he kind of made his own bed.

Puckett and Mattingly are comparable on the surface. I'll preface this by saying Donnie Baseball was and is my absolute all-time favorite player. He's a class act on and off the field and was amazing to watch even well into his decline. That said, Puckett was more deserving.

One thing about Puckett that puts him ahead is his postseason. While I don't necessarily agree with a team accomplishment being used to measure an individual, that is the reality. It also didn't hurt that Puckett was an above .300 hitter in October and won an ALCS MVP on his way to 2 World Series rings. Puckett was also a fan favorite, people loved seeing a guy who looked like he should be doing log-rolls racing around CF and scaling the wall to rob opposing hitters of home runs. He just won people over with a constant smile...think the ANTI-Albert Belle.

Puckett reached 2000 hits faster than any player in the history of the game, leading the league in hits four times (3 consecutive) in 6 years. Mattingly led the league twice, and finished with 150 or so fewer hits than Kirby, even though Mattingly played 14 seasons to Puckett's 12. Mattingly continued to play through his injury and saw his numbers decline (what some players wouldn't give to have a Mattingly "off" year!), so I don't think voters give him a lot of consideration when trying to project his stats out to say, a 20-year career, since we saw 70% or more of his career. With Puckett, his eyesight forced him out while he was still extremely productive - his last season, he hit .314 with 39 doubles, 23 homers, 99 RBI and an OPS of .894. The year prior, .317/32/20 and a league-leading 112 RBI, with a .902 OPS. While I don't usually like the HOF voters to get into the "what-if" game, for someone like Puckett it's understandable. It's also much easier to speculate what he "might have" done as compared to someone like Mattingly whose production decline was actually witnessed. We never saw that in Puckett.

I still hold out hope that Donnie will win 15 World Series with the Dodgers and get in the same way Torre did today. After all, even though I get why he's not a HOFer, he's one in my book and he's still my favorite player!

[murphusa]

my list of HOF'ers would only include about 125 players not the 300 that are currently in there

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by murphusa

my list of HOF'ers would only include about 125 players not the 300 that are currently in there

Not to be a pedant, but there are only 208 former MLB players and 35 Negro Leaguers currently in the Hall. That is a pretty damn small number, but your point is taken.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

Not to be a pedant, but there are only 208 former MLB players and 35 Negro Leaguers currently in the Hall. That is a pretty damn small number, but your point is taken.

As the number '208' relates to 'great' former MLB baseball players, I think it's quite large. In a 'Hall of Average' it would be small. In a 'Hall of Above Average' it is probably about right.

[murphusa]

From their site

The Hall of Fame is comprised of 300 elected members. Included are 208 former major league players, 28 executives, 35 Negro leaguers, 19 managers and 10 umpires.

In my number I would not include the umps, managers, exec's or most of the Negro league players, only those who had a significant MLB career.

My feeling on this point is that the league while professional was on par with the PCL, Texas leagues etc. and not a major league

[dgo71]

Your HOF would have a lot of glaring oversights.

[UnVme7]

Originally Posted by packs

In my mind Albert and Vlad are both HOFers.

Albert Belle or Pujols?? If you say Belle, I'm done. :-)

[Scott Garner]

Albert Belle = 'Roid Rage personified

Tell me this guy wasn't a steroid user.
IMHO, he left baseball just in time to not be one of main players on the PED list.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

Albert Belle = 'Roid Rage personified

Tell me this guy wasn't a steroid user.
IMHO, he left baseball just in time to not be one of main players on the PED list.

+1 My thoughts exactly.