Johnny Damon -HOF?

[novakjr]

Now, everyone is gonna start with how important he was to those 90's Seattle teams.....Actually, he hurt the team more than he helped. Had he been capable of playing even the remotest bit of defense at his natural position, the team wouldn't have been forced into the rotating crew of Offensively sub-par Third Basemen (Mike Blowers, Russ Davis, David Bell, Jeff Cirillo, Scott Spiezio), and instead could've spent their time and money filling that DH spot with end of their career players who could still contribute something offensively. The way the DH position is most properly used.. Granted Seattle was never very good at finding those type of guys before Edgar. Alvin Davis and Pete O'brien weren't exactly the prototypical DH types..

[novakjr]

Don't get me wrong here...I'd be OK if Edgar got in, but I definitely wouldn't push for it.. I guess, I'm really indifferent on the subject...

[packs]

Why would his playing third base make a difference unless Seattle made it to the World Series? I don't think they even reach the playoffs without Edgar. And I will always remember him for hitting 500 against the Yankees to end Donnie's dream of making it to the Series.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by packs

Why would his playing third base make a difference unless Seattle made it to the World Series? I don't think they even reach the playoffs without Edgar. And I will always remember him for hitting 500 against the Yankees to end Donnie's dream of making it to the Series.

If Edgar plays third so that the team could get a decent end of career DH type, I guarantee that team would've made a few series...They probably would've been better than the Indians in the late 90's..

[Orioles1954]

The lack of real "wear and tear" that Hall of Fame position players are exposed to and that bandbox he called home for the majority of his career also has to be put in consideration. However, to be fair his best season did come at Safeco.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Stats are not everything but the similarity scores on baseball reference.com are always interesting.

For Edgar, not exactly HOF company here.
1.Todd Helton (912)
2.Will Clark (902)
3.John Olerud (885)
4.Moises Alou (879)
5.Bobby Abreu (874)
6.Bernie Williams (860)
7.Bob Johnson (857)
8.Magglio Ordonez (855)
9.Paul O'Neill (852)
10.Ellis Burks (850)

And for Damon:
1.Tim Raines (887)
2.Vada Pinson (880)
3.Steve Finley (861)
4.Willie Davis (858)
5.Roberto Alomar (849) *
6.Jimmy Ryan (849)
7.Jose Cruz (840)
8.Mickey Vernon (839)
9.Al Oliver (837)
10.Kenny Lofton (834)

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Stats are not everything but the similarity scores on baseball reference.com are always interesting.

For Edgar, not exactly HOF company here.
1.Todd Helton (912)
2.Will Clark (902)
3.John Olerud (885)
4.Moises Alou (879)
5.Bobby Abreu (874)
6.Bernie Williams (860)
7.Bob Johnson (857)
8.Magglio Ordonez (855)
9.Paul O'Neill (852)
10.Ellis Burks (850)

Actually, I think Helton is a HOFer, and there is a chance that Abreu, Williams and even possibly Clark make the Hall someday.

People are always wanting the HOF to only admit the absolute best of the best but that simply isn't what they do (that has never been the case), nor do I think there is anything wrong with it. Many here would rather the Hall have 20-30 members but it just wouldn't be any fun if that were the case. Accept the HOF for what it is, not what you want it to be.

Thia is also interesting... Edgar Martinez
Hall Of Fame StatisticsPlayer rank in (·)

Black Ink Batting - 20 (106), Average HOFer ≈ 27

Gray Ink Batting - 107 (201), Average HOFer ≈ 144

Hall of Fame Monitor Batting - 132 (104), Likely HOFer ≈ 100

Hall of Fame Standards Batting - 50 (82), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Would Edgar be the best HOFer ever, or even among the elite HOFers? NO
Would he be a "Average" HOFer? Yes, he would.

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by novakjr

Actually, he hurt the team more than he helped...

Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.

You're welcome. That didn't mean that the team would've been better without him, but rather that the team would've been better with him at 3rd base, than they were with him simply as a DH. I really think once all things are weighed, they pretty much broke even with him not being able to play the field.. Because for every bit better he was than any DH they could've brought in, they were also that much worse at third base with him DHing..

[ElCabron]

Saying Johnny Damon throws like a girl is an insult to girls everywhere, including my 6-year-old daughter who has a much better arm than him. My 2-year-old, however, may not have have a better arm than Damon for another month or two.

But having the worst arm in centerfield history isn't why he's not a HOFer. Then again, he's not done yet. What if he reaches 3,000 hits AND wins one or two more championships?

Comparisons to Biggio or Raines would only be made by people who weren't around when those guys were playing. If Damon's career ends today he's Al Oliver.

-Ryan

[Kenny Cole]

Ryan,

I disagree. Damon isn't as good as Al Oliver was.

[novakjr]

I'd rather see Raines or Lofton in before Damon. And Lofton is a HUGE stretch. It'll never happen.. 3000 will he hard to argue against though..

[Brendan]

Morris has to be in if Blyleven got in.

I've always marveled at the similarities of the numbers of these three pitchers. One of them is in.
Root
Haines
Fitzsimmons