Why is Phil Rizzuto in the HOF?

[moeson]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I did see Mantle play. My Dad and I took in a game at Yankee Stadium in 1956, his Triple Crown year, and, hard to believe but true, he hit 2 HR's from the left side and 1 from the right, I think I went away with stars in my eyes, a Mantle man forever. One of the things that sometimes gets overlooked with all his achievements on the diamond is that many consider him the best switch hitter ever. I saw and I believed.

It was actually a May 13, 1955 game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...95505130.shtml

[Yoda]

I happily stand corrected. Hell, it was a long time ago, but I remember clearly being with my dad, him having a couple of Ballantine Ales and the crack of the bat (it seemed to be louder and sharper) when the Mick launched one. It is very reassuring to know that there is a stats man ready for verification.

[moeson]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I happily stand corrected. Hell, it was a long time ago, but I remember clearly being with my dad, him having a couple of Ballantine Ales and the crack of the bat (it seemed to be louder and sharper) when the Mick launched one. It is very reassuring to know that there is a stats man ready for verification.

I hope you didn't mind. I share similar wonderful memories of going with my dad to the Stadium and rooting for the Mick!

[tedzan]

Hey guys

We cannot have a thread on The Scooter without some scans. Here are some not that often seen "oldies but goodies" of him.



........................ 1941 rookie card ...................................... rare Hi # variation ...................... color printing error





TED Z
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[Peter_Spaeth]

Phi's metrics really don't look very good. One does wonder, with due respect to Ted, how much Yankee bias played into his selection.

Hall Of Fame StatisticsPlayer rank in (·)


Gray Ink Batting - 46 (554), Average HOFer ≈ 144

Hall of Fame Monitor Batting - 87 (207), Likely HOFer ≈ 100

Hall of Fame Standards Batting - 23 (600), Average HOFer ≈ 50

JAWS Shortstop (35th), 40.8 career WAR/33.8 7yr-peak WAR/37.3 JAWS
Average HOF SS (out of 21) = 66.7 career WAR/42.8 7yr-peak WAR/54.8 JAWS

And look at the writers' voting:

Hall of Fame
1956 BBWAA ( 0.5%)
1962 BBWAA (27.5%)
1964 BBWAA (22.4%)
1964 Run Off ( 5.5%)
1966 BBWAA (17.9%)
1967 BBWAA (24.3%)
1967 Run Off ( 4.6%)
1968 BBWAA (26.1%)
1969 BBWAA (22.9%)
1970 BBWAA (26.3%)
1971 BBWAA (25.6%)
1972 BBWAA (26.0%)
1973 BBWAA (29.2%)
1974 BBWAA (30.4%)
1975 BBWAA (32.3%)
1976 BBWAA (38.4%)

[tedzan]

Hey Peter

You (and some others here) are wasting your time trying to play the "numbers game" regarding why Rizzuto should not be in the HOF.

As I have said twice already in this thread, Ted Williams thought very highly of Phil's team play. Furthermore, Ted considered Phil to be
a very key factor in the Yankees winning 8 - AL Championships in the course of 10 years.

Therefore, Ted was very instrumental getting Phil into the HOF.

Now, tell me....who are we to question Ted Williams' opinion of a player (Rizzuto) that he closely observed for 12 years of his career ? ?


TED Z
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[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hey Peter

You (and some others here) are wasting your time trying to play the "numbers game" regarding why Rizzuto should not be in the HOF.

As I have said twice already in this thread, Ted Williams thought very highly of Phil's team play. Furthermore, Ted considered Phil to be
a very key factor in the Yankees winning 8 - AL Championships in the course of 10 years.

Therefore, Ted was very instrumental getting Phil into the HOF.

Now, tell me....who are we to question Ted Williams' opinion of a player (Rizzuto) that he closely observed for 12 years of his career ? ?


TED Z
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Everyone including Ted Williams himself is subject to bias. Look at all the players Frank Frisch promoted, he saw them too. But most would argue he was guilty of cronyism.

[frankbmd]

If Ted Williams' opinions of the "Scooter" are frozen, I doubt that he will be changing his mind anytime soon regardless of what the forum thinks.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hey Peter

You (and some others here) are wasting your time trying to play the "numbers game" regarding why Rizzuto should not be in the HOF.

As I have said twice already in this thread, Ted Williams thought very highly of Phil's team play. Furthermore, Ted considered Phil to be
a very key factor in the Yankees winning 8 - AL Championships in the course of 10 years.

Therefore, Ted was very instrumental getting Phil into the HOF.

Now, tell me....who are we to question Ted Williams' opinion of a player (Rizzuto) that he closely observed for 12 years of his career ? ?


TED Z
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Interesting that Williams would be so high on Rizzuto and not on his own ss Pesky. Pesky's numbers are comparable to Phil's and he played fewer years.

[howard38]

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[tjb1952tjb]

Originally Posted by moeson

It was actually a May 13, 1955 game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...95505130.shtml

Attendance that day at Yankee Stadium: 7,177. Boy...times have changed!

[tjb1952tjb]

Scooter...............

[dabigyankeeman]

Because he was the greatest announcer in history!! Who else would say things like:

"Well, its Tuesday so that means that Scooter and Anne down in Florida are bar-b-queing some good on the grill right about now. And hey, i had a great cannoli at Luigi's last nite after the game, really great. Wasn't that traffic on the George Washington Bridge terrible today? Hey, its the 7th inning, I gotta leave to beat the traffic home!!".

[tedzan]

Ok guys......say what you may regarding Rizzuto. Here's an anecdotal story that I would like to share with you.

April 1984, I was at Newark Airport going to Chicago on business. Standing in front of me at the ticket counter was Phil flying out to Comiskey Park.

I tapped him on the shoulder, and we started talking about our old neighborhood. We proceeded to the gate for our flight. Our flight was delayed
for a couple of hours and Phil kept bringing over coffee as we reminisced about our neighborhood, our families, and our neighbors. Phil and Cora
still lived in their modest English Tudor home in Hillside, NJ. At that time, I lived in Toms River (NJ).

We boarded the 737. I was back in coach and Phil was in 1st class. Then, I saw Phil approaching me. He invited me to sit in 1st class with him. It
was fine with the Stewardess.

For 2 hours, Phil and I were "talkin baseball". Or, I should say Phil did most of the talking and I did most of the listening. Phil enthusiastically told
me about many of the big name ballplayers he played with. I asked him about several of my favorites back the late 1940's and 1950's and he had
an interesting story for each of them.

The 2-hour flight wasn't enough, I could of listened to Phil for many hours and hours. The man was an awesome person to know. I fully agree with
Ted Williams....Phil was a very important factor in the Yankees Championship years (1941..1942..1947..1949 - 1953).

"That's all folks !"


TED Z
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