More Deserving of the HOF? Travis Jackson or Sherry Magee

[bmcnutt]

I find myself wondering why some players are in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, when their stats or achievements wouldn't seem to be the reason. Is it because they have a cool name? Were popular among their peers and other players? There is one particular example involving a player who has never been enshrined, while others with must less accomplishments have. That is Sherry Magee. Why is Sherry Magee not in the HOF, but Travis Jackson is?

Sherry Magee broke into the Big Leagues in 1904 with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played for for 11 seasons, until 1914. During his tenure with the Phillies, he won the NL Batting Title in 1910 and was the NL RBI Leader 3 times (1907, 1910, 1914). His most productive season came in 1910, when he led the League in batting (.310), RBI's (123), Runs (110), Total Bases (263), On-Base Percentage (.445), Slugging Average (.507) and OPS (.952), and finished second in Doubles (39) and Triples (17).


In 1914 Magee led the League in Hits (171), Doubles (39), RBIs (103), Extra Base Hits (65), Total Bases (277) and Slugging (.509). A year later, he was traded to the Boston Braves. He remained at Boston until the 1917 midseason, when he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1918, he led the league in RBI's (76) for the fourth time. In 1919, Magee was seriously ill for two months and he concluded his major league career by pinch-hitting twice during the 1919 World Series.

From 1905 through 1914, Magee finished in the National League Top 10 in Home Runs and RBI's (7) times, including leading the NL in RB'Is (4) times. Magee also hit over .300 (5) times, including a Batting Title to his credit as well, while also being known as one of the finest defensive outfielders of his day.

While today, he is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, he is on the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame.

Magee finished his 16 year career with a .291 Batting Average, 2,169 Hits, 83 Home Runs, 1,176 RBI's, & 441 Stolen Bases, including 23 steals of home plate. He was a part of (1) World Series Champion: the 1919 Cincinnati Reds.

Travis Jackson broke into the Big Leagues in 1922 with the New York Giants, where he played for 15 years. His entire career. Jackson never led the League in any statistical hitting category during his 15 seasons. Jackson was considered one of the best shortstops of his era, and he led NL shortstops with a .970 Fielding Percentage in 1931. However, he missed considerable playing time in his career resulting from injuries and illnesses. Jackson re-injured his knee in 1925, missed significant time during the 1926 season and had surgery for appendicitis during the 1927 season. He missed time with mumps in 1930 and influenza in 1932, and he continued to battle knee problems, missing much of the 1932 and 1933 seasons. Jackson was said to "at 28, already have one foot in the minors". Despite this, Manager Bill Terry said that Jackson would "make or break" the 1933 season. Though Jackson fell behind Blondy Ryan on the team's depth chart during the season, he returned in the 1933 World Series, which the Giants won.

Jackson finished his 15 year career, with, like Magee, a .291 Batting Average, 1,768 Hits, 135 Home Runs, 929 RBI's, & 71 Stolen Bases. Jackson batted over .300 (6) times, including a career-high .339 in the 1930 season, and hit 21 Home Runs in 1929. He was on (4) NL Pennant-winning teams and (1) World Series Champion (1933).

In comparison, Sherry Magee played (1) more season than Travis Jackson, and had 401 more hits. Magee finished with 425 Doubles, versus 291 for Jackson. Magee had 166 Triples against 86 for Jackson. While Jackson did hit 52 more Home Runs, Magee finished with 247 more RBI's.

In 8,544 At Bats, Sherry Magee struck out 624 times. In 6,681 At Bats, Travis Jackson struck out 565 times.

Sherry Magee's career WAR is 59.4 versus 43.7 for Travis Jackson.

So why is Travis Jackson in the Hall of Fame when Sherry Magee not?

This is just one example. There are several other players in the Hall of Fame that did not have as good of a career as Sherry Magee. Magee's only real fault was his intensity that he played with. He once decked an umpire for a called 3rd Strike. If that is the reason he is not in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, then we have definitely allowed politics to infest the greatest sport on earth. But if it is not the reason, then what is the reason?

So if Travis Jackson was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame, then Sherry Magee was definitely worthy of the Hall of Fame. And he should be in.

I really need the value of my Sherry Magee cards to increase!