Why is Jackie Robinson in the HOF?

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I forget if Bill James addressed the Forbes Field factor. The notion that he could hit HRs when he wanted to, though, strikes me as absurd. Who would NOT want to, ever?

For what it's worth, there's a few sources that would make me believe it's was and is common to not try to hit home runs. Either by the players choice, or because of the attitude of the manager or the organization.

The biography I read of Hank Aaron (admittedly a 70's paperback so it may be a bit inaccurate) Said that one manager he had early on believed home runs were fortunate accidents and wanted the players to focus on line drives.

And more recently one of the bios of David Ortiz mentions that when he came to the Sox he was trying to hit opposite field line drives until Francona asked him why. The answer was that that's what the Twins wanted so he figured that's what every team wanted.

Steve B