MLB Hall of Fame

I've always felt the HOF should lay out a few career benchmarks by which voters should judge players for entry. I'm not talking about 'roids--that's going to be a whole 'nother can of worms. But it's frustrating to see deserving players get passed over or pushed back a few years for lame reasons (Played for too many teams, third basemen don't get in very often...). Records continue to get broken, as they're meant to be. But what about players who make their way up all-time lists, only not all the way to the top? A player who sits 10th on an all-time list today could have been the record breaker 10 years ago, and a possible shoo-in. Does that make his accomplisments any less significant? You can't just look at the record breakers.

 

all I know is, Willie McGee needs to be in the hall of fame.

 

Breaking a record, does not automatically give you a place in the Hall. Baseball, has a lot of insignificant records.


Playing for multiple teams ? It would probably help, if you play for different teams, in both New York and California.


The players from the steriod era, will be tarnished with the shame. The other former MLB players, did not have the steriods to extend playing time and enhance physical talent.

 

i agree there are a lot of insignificant records, if you're interested in what those are, check out the elias sports bureau, they're the kings of tracking records and statistics that mean virtually nothing, and pardon the pun, but are completely out of left field. some records are virtually stepping stones into the hall, for example, hitting 763 home runs, (762 probably won't get bonds in the hall), 57 game hitting streak, 1407 career stolen bases, 4,257 career hits (pete rose's 4256 should get him into cooperstown, imo). i agree, there are a lot of snubs out there of people that should get in, for instance, pete rose (yes, i know, he's still banned, but i think selig needs to lift that so he can get into the hall), ron santo, and buck o'neill.

 

Definitely agree!

I for one feel the same. Pete Rose deserves to be in the HoF.

 

Well obviously Rose deserves to be. But if Rose is in, Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Clemens, etc., will and should be in. Granted, steroids may be a different issue BUT, it's an illegal part of the game, just like betting on baseball.

As for the HOF, I think that a dominating player, regardless of records broken, regardless of teams played, etc., should be inducted. As long as he was a feared pitcher or hitter, with the numbers to match, Cooperstown should have his number on speed-dial. Dominating does not mean a 10 game hit streak or 5 scoreless innings. Dominating is Albert Puljos, Babe Ruth, Mantle, Cobb, Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and so on.

Longevity plays a role, it has to. Yaz played what, 50 seasons? He better have 3,000 hits. I think longevity sometimes gets a bum rap when it is compared to dominating talent. Ripken, Yaz, Winfield, Yount, etc. were good players, borderline great, but longevity played the role in there underlying success, not pure dominance. And they will always be looked at as such.

 

Roger Maris isn't in the Hall of Fame and he broke what is considered the most significant record in baseball. Don't even get me started on Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire. IMO Maris still holds the single season HR record and Aaron still holds the all time HR record.

 

Agree.


Lots of record book entries need an asterisk next to them.

 

I don't think Rose will get in unless it is posthumous.

Bonds shouldn't get in but probably will in another 10 years or so. I can forgive McGuire and Sosa somewhat for being juiced simply because that year and the homerun race probably saved baseball. The whole country was watching those two chase the record, whereas a year or two earlier it looked like MLB might never recover from the latest work stoppage.

Hockey has never recovered, IMO, from the lockout. Without those two knocking massive homeruns ten years ago, MLB might have been the same. So in a decade or so, both MM and SS should also get in. Maybe 2020 Bonds, Sosa, & McGuire can all be inducted and the purists will only have one ceremony to boycott.

 

I agree 100%. The only problem is that we can wax poetic about the days of 'old all we want but sooner or later all records of today will be broken by the stars of tomorrow. There will be more masking agents, better nutrition, and so on. I enjoy when records are broken, I think that's why they are there to begin with. I will only take solace in a record-breaking event if it is done naturally and professionally.

 

speaking of hall of famers, i went to a q&a at a local bank of america with ozzie smith, i just found out they're having lou brock do the same thing as well within the next couple of weeks, so i'll hopefully be able to get to that one as well.

as for roger maris, i agree, he should be in the hall, but, his stats aren't cooperstown material, imo. a career 260 average, 851 rbi's, 275 hr's, and a .982 fielding %. alright numbers, but not great.

 

It took 60 years for the unbeatable record to get smashed. The ONLY guy in baseball right now who has a small chance of this is Ichiro.

Wow, we agree 100% on something (slightly edited). Baseball needed something to bring the fans back. They finally came back, and now it's time to move on. It was part of the game, now it isn't again.

Perhaps, I think living in Hockeytown takes us out of that kind of perspective. Still, Hockey's tried to put some excitement by preemptively calling Sydney Crowsby "The Next One." Great player offensively; but he's not yet of Gretsky's caliber. Game 7 of the Stanely Cup Finals this year was the most people who have ever watched a Hockey game, and the highest share in 40 years. A sign of things to come? Hopefully.

 

Roger Maris should be in the hall of fame??????????????????????? I literally just fell out of my chair. Jack Clark has better numbers than Maris.

 

would Jackie Robinson be in the Hall on stats alone? probably not.

 

Right, on stats alone Robinson is not a hall of famer. Eppa Rixey isn't either, but he is in for some reason. Personally, I hate the "potential" hall of fame. Gale Sayers, Jackie Robinson, Kirby Puckett, etc. Just because your career was cut short due to injury or what have you, is no reason to guess what his career might be.

 

sometimes, it's just as good having someone in the hall for "sentimental value" as opposed to statistical value. for example, buck o'neill, who never played a single inning in mlb, but what he did for the sport of baseball in the negro leagues and then with his stints as a manager/scout, etc., he deserves to be enshrined in cooperstown, and it was a shame he wasn't with the group that was inducted a couple years back.

 

I have a feeling Pete Rose's, Cal Ripken's, and Joe Dimaggio's records will never be broken.

 

Speaking of Pete Rose, who has truly shamed the sport of baseball more--Pete Rose and his gambling, or the legions of Puff-Daddys and their bogus accomplishments and lying-til-I'm-caught attitude?

 

I don'y think the hit record is safe. Ripken and DiMaggio's records are safe, in the vault, collecting dust for eternity.

 

I understand Robinson changed the game forever so he more or less gets a free pass. Please also understand I'm not attempting to downplay his signifigance in MLB history, but what about Larry Dolby, what about Harry Kingman, what about Baldomero Almada???? I presume they didn't have quite the same oppression as Robinson went through but they were first to break the ethnic barrier of there respectful ethnicities.

 

There is no way ANYONE will break Pete Rose's record of 4,256!!!

He had to play 24 years, averaged 177 hits a season.

Guys today dont have to play that long nor will they, they make waaaaaaayyyy too much to stay in the game to break the career records.


Look at the active players and not many are close to 3000 hits and the ones that are close, Griffey, Vizquel, Shef, IRod, Jeter are old.

Jeter maybe....Pujols maybe.

IMHO Pete Rose will be the Hit King for all time...and never make the HOF

Bet on it!!!

And who ever said earlier that breaking the 56 game hit streak is a stepping stone to the hall is nuts.
Luis Castillo had a 36 game streak a few years back and he sucks. He had the lowest BA for a streak like that. He has played on multiple teams since that streak.
He is HOF material as much as I am.

Jimmy Rollins had 36 over two season....he aint HOF material.

 

Neither is Gary Carter.

 

Neither is Gary Carter?

He may not have the I Rod numbers on offense or defense (roids) but he ranks right up there with all other HOF catchers.
Fisk
Berra
Hartnett

Gary Carter was a staple behind the plate on some of the best teams of the 80's
Montreal
New York Mets

and not too many guys can rock a perm like The Kid!!

 

The Perm is Hall material by itself, but in the same breath as Berra????

If you will, an excerpt from my upcoming literary masterpiece...

Yogi Berra won 10 World Series…10! He is considered the epitome of how a catcher should play baseball. Had 290 more walks than strikeouts, 1,430 RBI’s, 18 time All-Star, 3 time MVP, was in the MVP voting 15 times total, and played for the most storied franchise in sports history, the New York Yankees.

 

I'm almost getting to the point on drugs in MLB, like so what. When one thinks of chew, drinking, coffee whatever, if we start banning players on drugs, considering all the people who participated [owners, players, fans] that we might as well, just lock the doors an any further HOF entries. We all know it happened...time to let it go and move on.