Gil Hodges

[Seven]

I think Hodges resume, as a player, person and manager speak for itself and he should get into the Hall of Fame. The Hall isn't perfect, it's far from it. I think once the floodgates opened with the Veterans committee becoming a thing, the "Small Hall" Mentality went out the window.

Really the barometer for a player being Hall of Fame worthy, should be the his contributions to the game, and how well he performed. Some will also argue that a players character should be a part of that equation. I flip flop on this part, but I can't fault someone for not voting for a player who was a detestable person, just like I can't fault someone for voting for someone because he was a great man who contributed a great deal, both on and off the field.

With Hodges, I see a player that was robbed of three years because of the War, had he had those three years, I think statistically speaking his Hall of Fame case would have been much better around the first time he retired. I think him leading the Miracle Mets to their World Series title, adds to his resume as a baseball professional.

[egri]

Originally Posted by Seven

With Hodges, I see a player that was robbed of three years because of the War, had he had those three years, I think statistically speaking his Hall of Fame case would have been much better around the first time he retired.

There is another way the war hurt him; he started smoking while in the Marines, and that contributed to his heart attacks, including the fatal one.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by egri

There is another way the war hurt him; he started smoking while in the Marines, and that contributed to his heart attacks, including the fatal one.

Tobacco was one of the few things that wasn't rationed I believe, I'm sure many people thought it would also take the edge off while out in the field. Shame how young he was when he died.

[G1911]

Personally, I don’t see a good argument World War II shortened his playing career.

In 1943 he had 3 plate appearances in the majors.

He misses 1944-1946.

In 1947, he plays in 28 games and bats under .200 with a 44 OPS+

In 1948, he’s the starting first baseman and plays a full season. He hits .249 and has an OPS+ of 82, which is truly absolutely horrific for a starting first baseman.


I suppose we could say if he’d spent more time in the minors he would have developed faster, but this is making a lot of assumptions, all of them extremely generous to Hodges. WWII hurt a lot of guys careers, but Hodges isn’t a great case of them.

[ClementeFanOh]

"We only care about the HOF because election typically affects card value",
comment by Exhibitman.

Uh, no, "we" don't- I actually care that it be based on merit and don't give a
rip how it affects card value. Not in that "we" group at all.

Trent King

[Kutcher55]

He will get in soon I think. And a lot of New Yorkers and others will attend. It will be a popular election.

[Yoda]

The NYC press loved Gil for his performance on the field and his behavior off. He was the epitome of the gentleman/ballplayer, far different than, say, the relationship between Ted Williams and the Boston press. I vaguely recall that when Gil went hitless in the first 4 games of the WS of 1952 against the Yanks (of course), his parish priest called the congregation to pray that he would get a hit. And when he returned to manage the Mets, it was like the 2nd coming and the '69 WS was proof of Gil's divinity.
He definitely had an impact on baseball far greater than his mere stats.