I am making this post to:
1) List MLB players who shouldn't be in the hall of fame that are there as of October 2021
2) List people who have been passed by in getting into the Hall of Fame. (No new or relatively new 2019-2021 eligible players. They still have a good shot of making it.)
3) Allow people to add to these lists or argue against my claims.
This Post is basically a full on Bill James article, but not made by Bill but made by me. If you’re into that sort of thing, read on. If you just want to see the lists of people, look just under where it says “Part 1” and “Part 2.” If you don’t want to see either of these things, why did you click this post?
If you’re still with me, get ready to read. I hope that I’m not too confusing.
First, I would like to tell you that this is going to be a long post. It's basically an article at this point. Two quick things to mention before you start reading this insanity, One I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL STATISTICIAN NOR AM I A BASEBALL HISTORIAN. I AM A LONGTIME BASEBALL FAN WHO LIKES STATISTICS. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING THAT I SAY, THAT IS FINE. THIS IS AN ANALYSIS OF BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO I HAVE NEVER SEEN PLAY (Except for Harold Baines. I went to a game in 2001 when he was with the Indians and he went 0-3 with a sacrifice fly.).
Second, I have a personal way of dealing with WAR. WAR is Wins Above Replacement. Basically it is a measurement of how good a player was in a given year. Due to how WAR is calculated, there are some people who have 40+ WAR due to long careers and people with 13 WAR due to short ones. What I do is I calculate the average WAR per season. So if someone has say a 23 WAR in 11 seasons and someone else has a 23 WAR in 23 seasons, the first player’s average WAR per season (WARPS) would be 2.09, while the second player’s WARPS would be 1. Clearly, the first player was better in terms of WAR than the second, which is not clear if you’re just looking at straight WAR. This also helps adjust for fluke seasons. We’ll set the expected Hall of Fame WARPS to a person we know should be in the Hall of Fame, but isn’t a Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth. That would be comparing apples to pieces of granite. We’ll set it to Lou Brock’s (May he rest in peace) WARPS. We can agree that he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but isn’t the best or the worst Hall of Famer. His WARPS is 2.27. This is a good number. A 2 WAR usually means that you’re producing at a high level, though the higher your WAR is, the better.
So, with that out of the way, on to part 1.
Part 1
I believe that Harold Baines, Rabbit Maranville, George Kelly, Ray Schalk, and Hack Wilson aren't Hall of Fame caliber players. I hold nothing against any of them, but I think that they are good players, not players with Hall of Fame Careers.
1. Harold Baines
WARPS-1.76 (Standard-2.27)
Harold Baines was a DH-Rightfielder for the White Sox, Athletics, Rangers, Orioles, and Indians (Now Guardians, I still can't get over how weird it is saying that, much like the Washington Football Team). He played from 1980 to 2001 in the MLB, and was a 6 time All Star.
Harold Baines was a very good player. He constantly was putting up a .300+ Batting average with a 100+ OPS+. He ended his career with almost 2900 hits, 1300 runs, 400 home runs, and a career OPS+ of 121. A very good player indeed. My problem is that from 1990 onward, he was a DH. He had no defensive value from 1990 onward. You can compensate for that by being a good hitter, and he was a good hitter, but good isn't Hall of Fame caliber. He got these great counting stats by being an above average hitter for his entire career. He never really had an extremely good season, and scored very few runs for a 22 year career. A very good player. Not a hall of famer.
2. Rabbit Maranville
WARPS-1.9 (Standard-2.27)
Rabbit Maranville was a Shortstop/Second Baseman who played with the Boston Braves, Pirates, Saint Louis Browns, Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He played from 1914-1933 and in 1935.
Rabbit Maranville was a character. He was larger than life. He was the Ozzie Smith of his time as a defensive player. He was also constantly getting arrested for numerous things, though not murder. I believe that one time, he got arrested for fishing in a drainage spout. You can assume that he was a bit tipsy at the time, but this is but one of many offenses, like getting arrested for taking part in a foreign military parade in that country, dressed in uniform. You can tell by those two instances that this guy was strange. He may have been a defensive wizard as he has basically the same defensive WAR as his offensive WAR, and offensive WAR is a lot easier to get than defensive WAR. The problem is, he was basically a slightly better Rafael Belliard at the plate. He would get a lot of singles, not drive in many runs, and hit basically no homers (career high was 5.) So, he was a singles hitter who hit for a low average (.258), who lived off of his excellent defense. Not a bad player to any capacity, but definitely not a Hall of Fame caliber complete player.
3. George Kelly
WARPS-1.6 (Standard-2.27)
George “High Pockets” Kelly was a 1B-2B-OF that played for the NY Giants, Pirates, Reds, and Cubs from 1915-1930 and 1932.
George Kelly is regarded as the worst player ever elected to the Hall of Fame. He was basically an average hitter and defender for the time that hit close to .300 with about 1800 hits. He is by no means a Hall of Fame talent. He is a strictly “good” player. There is nothing special about his statistics, except that he averaged 100 hits per year. The only reason that he got elected was because the Veterans Committee at the time had a couple old teammates, a couple old managers, and a couple reporters that covered him in his glory years. He has no business being in Cooperstown.
4. Ray Schalk
WARPS-1.8 (Standard-2.27)
Ray Schalk was a catcher for the White Sox and Giants from 1912-1929.
Ray Schalk is an interesting case. He was on the White Sox when the Black Sox Scandal happened, and was proven innocent (He hit .304 in that postseason, he’s looking pretty innocent, though Joe Jackson hit .375 and was found guilty. I don’t see how that works). His hitting stats are below average, like a 83 career OPS+, a .656 career OPS and a .253 batting average, and his defensive stats are good. So, he basically was a very good catcher in terms of fielding, and not hitting. Not a Hall of Famer.
5. Hack Wilson
WARPS-3.52 (Standard-2.27)
Hack Wilson was a centerfielder for the Cubs, Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Phillies.
Now, Hack Wilson’s WARPS is above the standard. Yes, this is true, but WARPS isn’t everything and won’t work on this instance because of his 1930 fluke season that produced him 7.1 WAR. Hack Wilson, before then, was a 20-30 home run a year guy that hit .300. This fluke season was one of the best offensive performances by anyone. He hit 191 RBIs in 1930. But then, he dropped off of the face of the earth. I can basically parallel his career with Roger Maris’s. They have one fluke season, then are never the same producer again. He basically produced Hall of Fame numbers for 6 seasons, and dropped off of the face of the earth for his other 6. He also was a terrible defensive player. He has a -7.2 dWAR. That is horrible. He may be considered a Hall of Famer through Roy Campenella logic, as he did the same thing during his career, without the fluke season. Campy was also a solid fielder. But I don’t feel that he is a Hall of Famer.
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Part 2.
I would have to argue that Gil Hodges, Thurman Munson, Bill Freehan, Minnie Miñoso, Jim Wynn, Dale Murphy, Joe Jackson, possibly Fred McGriff, and Ron Guidry deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
1. Gil Hodges
WARPS-2.43 (Standard-2.27)
Gil Hodges could do it all. He could hit, he could defend, and he could manage. He played 18 years with the Dodgers (Brooklyn and LA), and the Mets as a 1B-OF for the Dodgers and a Manager for the Mets. He was the architect of the Mets’ 1969 Miracle Season. His numerous accolades include 3 gold gloves and 8 All Star nods.
Gil Hodges has been overlooked by many because of his .273 batting average and 1921 hits in 18 seasons. He, though, was a great hitter, averaging 20 home runs a year, and being a great defensive player. He also has a career 120 OPS+ and an OPS of .846. Sadly, he lost 1944-1946 due to military service, but he played from 1943, 1947-1963 at this level anyway. It’s a shame that he lost 3 of his years to service. He might’ve been voted in as a Hall of Fame player had he played then.
2. Thurman Munson
WARPS-4.19! (Standard-2.17)
Why is Thurman Munson not in the Hall of Fame? In only 11 seasons with the Yankees, he racked up a 46.1 WAR, batting .292 with 1558 hits. He got 7 All Star nods in total, only one less than Gil Hodges (See above). On top of being an offensive powerhouse (.756 OPS, 116 OPS+), he earned 3 gold gloves. He was a complete player. Sadly, his career was cut short due to his death in a plane crash, so he could have gotten more hits, but I would think that his batting average would fall, as he missed, by dying, his regressing years.
I see no reason why Thurman Munson is NOT in the Hall of Fame.
3. Bill Freehan
WARPS-2.99 (Standard-2.17)
Bill Freehan was a catcher whose career mostly fell into the 1960s, the era dominated by pitchers. As a result, batters saw any hitting production go a long way. Bill was a Tigers catcher for 15 years, 11 of which he played in the All Star Game. He also earned 5 Gold Gloves, as well as a World Series Ring in 1968. Despite hitting only .262 and hitting only 200 home runs in his entire career, he was a great hitter, with an OPS of .752 and an OPS+ of 112. Playing in the 1960s made his numbers the way that they are, and not many people can get past that.
4.Minnie Miñoso
WARPS-2.69 (Standard-2.17)
Minnie mostly played for the White Sox across his 20 year career which spanned five decades. This 13 time All Star and 3 time Gold Glove winner has all of the nice counting stats, a .300 batting average, 2000 hits, an OPS+ of 130, and an OPS of .848.
The stats are all there. Why is he not getting the recognition that he deserves?
5. Jim Wynn
WARPS-3.72 (Standard-2.27)
Jim Wynn was an outfielder that played most of his career in the 1960s, thus suffering from the same things that Bill Freehan did, a lowered Batting Average and lowered hit totals. He was a 3 time All Star who had a career OPS+ of 130 and OPS of .802. He was a really good hitter, he just suffered from playing in the 1960s.
6. Dale Murphy
WARPS-2.58 (Standard-2.27)
Dale Murphy was the face of the Braves for the 1970s to 1989. He was a star. He was a 2 time league MVP, 7 time All Star, 4 time Silver Slugger, and 5 time Gold Glover. Just this alone should get him into the hall of fame. But no, there’s more! He ended his career with 2111 hits, 398 Home Runs, an OPS of .815 and an OPS+ of 121.
Why is this two time MVP not in the Hall of Fame while Harold Baines is?
7. Joe Jackson
WARPS- 4.78 (Standard-2.27)
Now this one is debatable. We still don’t know if Joe was in on the 1919 series fix. He hit .375 in the series and claimed that he was innocent. He was illiterate and, well, may not have been in on the fix for that reason alone. He was not smart to put it bluntly. But boy could he play ball. He still holds the second highest batting average of all time. Had he not been banned from baseball, he may have gotten into the 3,000 hit club and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest hitters of all time. Instead, his reputation is tarnished by one of the darkest moments in baseball.
8. Fred McGriff
WARPS-2.77 (Standard-2.27)
The Crime Dog. This man was a hitting machine. He retired with 493 home runs to his name, as well as almost 2500 hits. This 5 time All Star and 3 time Silver Slugger was one of the most successful hitters of the 90s. His 1994 season was on pace to record 51 home runs when the strike ended the season. His career .886 OPS and 134 OPS+ only add to a prolific hitting resumé.
9. Ron Guidry
WARPS- 3.41 (Standard-2.27)
Frankly, his career is similar to that of Sandy Koufax. They have similar winning percentages, Games Started, Innings Pitched, and WAR. Ron just has a higher ERA than Sandy and 600 less strikeouts, which is because of the difference in Eras that they pitched in. Ron Guidry was the Sandy Koufax of the late 1970s to late 1980s.
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Now, do you have anyone to add? Do you agree with my list? Please tell me if you do or don't. Also, please tell me if you have any personal collecting vendettas against any certain player listed. I certainly have one against Harold Baines. I have all of his cards from 1981-1994, and I don't like it.
