3 preWar players you would add to HOF

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

Joss made it through the 10 year clause (ok, he died before his 10th season).

Caruthers was in MLB for 10 years. In 1893, he didn't pitch but he did play so he does pass the 10 year test. He's the only pitcher to have over 210 wins and less than 100 losses. He's one of two pitchers to have over 200 wins with less than 100 losses. Back in the 1880s it wasn't uncommon for a pitcher to lose 20 or 30 games in a season. He never lost more than 15 games in any one season. The biggest knock on Caruthers is that he pitched 6 of 9 seasons in the AA. The last three seasons he pitched in the NL he was 43-35. If you took away his last season pitching his NL record would have been 41-25 (a .621 Win %).


The biggest knock on Van Haltren is that in 17 seasons he played he only led the league twice in a true offensive categorey (3Bs in 1896 and SBs in 1900). To me his is an odd situeation. Most really deserving "pioneers" of the game that are left out of the HOF played many seasons in the AA. He only played one season in the AA. He put up some good lifetime numbers: 11x he scored 100 runs in a season, his lifetime BA of .316 isn't so shabby.

Paul Hines was another really consistent "pioneer" of the game. He played a lot of his career in the 1870s (the infancy of organized pro ball) where he won two batting titles and was the first Major League triple crown winner (ok, 4 HRs and 50 RBIs wasn't a lot, but at the time those were good numbers).


The HOF, as an establishment, should look at the roots of this game and pay homage to those that were true pioneers of the game. They've pretty much enshrined those that put up the big numbers but there are others from that era (pioneers, 19th century players) that are also deserving to be included in the HOF. They've rightfully opened the doors to the Negro Leaguers now they need to take a really close look at the games history and rethink the idea behind the HOF. Not only should it be an institution that honors the game's greats but it should also recognize the roots of the game and the players that helped make the sport what it is today.