Will Roger Maris ever get into the HOF?

[nat]

Originally Posted by Brianruns10

I was wondering, is there ANY single season achievement that might get someone in the HoF? Like, suppose someone broke DiMaggio's hitting streak, or batted .400 for a season, but then their career fell apart due to an injury. Do you think that single season's achievement would be HoF worthy?

The instructions that the hall sends to voters explicitly say that players are not to be elected for a single achievement. They're not clear about a whole lot, but they are clear that it's a lifetime achievement award.

Someone else said:
"I always felt that the Hall should be reserved for those players that were iconic at their position within the era that they played, and numbers in line with the elites of the game"

It hasn't been this since the 1940s. Tommy McCarthy was elected in 1946. Frank Chance was elected the same year. Pie Traynor was elected two years later, along with Herb Pennock. And so on. Except at the very beginning, the hall has never been just for the Babe Ruths.

That said, Maris doesn't belong. Even by the hall's rather lax standards, there have been some notable mistakes. Maz is one. Harold Baines is the most recent example. These guys are far below the hall's usual standards. So to say that Maris is better than some of the guys in the hall isn't much of an argument. Maris burned brightly but briefly. And given that the hall prohibits electing players for single achievements, he burned too briefly.

[jchcollins]

People like to bitch and moan about Harold Baines, but truth is the HOF has a long history of enshrining "borderline" players - at least back to the 1940's. Herb Pennock? Rube Marquard? I'm a 30+ year Cubs fan, and I will give you that even I don't know that all three of the "Tinkers to Evers to Chance" poet laureates deserve enshrinement. Frank Chance probably has the strongest case.

Others - Bobby Doerr? Ted Lyons? Ducky Medwick? Bill Mazeroski?

It's much more a Hall of popularity than it is only a collection of players like Ruth, Mays, Musial, Williams, and Ken Griffey Jr. That much is for sure.

[jingram058]

Well, after reading through all of these very well thought out discussions, I guess in the end it really just doesn't matter. Frankly, I have my own HOF. There are quite a few non-actual-HOFers in it. Roger Maris is well included, and there are folks who would pay a lot of money for some of these cards. Maybe not 52 Mantle or Honus Wagner money, but a lot nevertheless. I'm not in it for that. I have what I like, and I will keep it that way, HOF or not.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by jingram058

Well, after reading through all of these very well thought out discussions, I guess in the end it really just doesn't matter. Frankly, I have my own HOF. There are quite a few non-actual-HOFers in it. Roger Maris is well included, and there are folks who would pay a lot of money for some of these cards. Maybe not 52 Mantle or Honus Wagner money, but a lot nevertheless. I'm not in it for that. I have what I like, and I will keep it that way, HOF or not.

Well said, bro. --- Brian Powell