Thinking about the Baseball Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame announcements will be announced on Tuesday. I don’t get a ballot, but I thought it’d be cool to write about how I would vote if I did.

My thinking about the hall of fame basically centers around where a player ranks all-time at his respective position. You are a slam-dunk hall of famer if you are a hitter in the top ten at your major position, all else being equal (Pete Rose, Joe Jackson, etc.). You will be a hall of famer 90% of the time, in my book, if you are in the top 15 at your position. I won’t think someone’s crazy to push that to top 20.

Pitchers are a little goofier.

(Players appearing on 75% of ballots will be inducted this summer. Players appearing on 5% of ballots are renominated for up to 15 years after their eligibility begins.)

My hypothetical ballot…

Tony Gwynn – I love Tony Gwynn. His middle name is class. Great fielder early in his career, but for a five year stretch he was this fat guy that just kind of poked line drives through the infield on his way to a bajillion batting titles. Upper echelon right fielder. The only problem with Gwynn was his teams didn’t make the playoffs all too often.

The best man in my wedding, Adam, worked as a bellman at some fancy hotel in Milwaukee the summer that Miller Park hosted the All-Star game. He’s working for ESPN wearing his three piece suit and all. They finish taping, Gwynn goes up to his room and changes into an oversized Bulls jersey, shorts and air force ones. Tony Gwynn can roll with my crew any time he wants.

Cal Ripken, Jr. – My last memory of Ripken was he appearing in the 2001 All-Star game, which he clearly didn’t deserve, and then winning the MVP award for the game, which he clearly did not deserve.

If Ripken played in the outfield, or really any other position besides shortstop, I think I’d probably have to leave him off of my ballot. But he was a shortstop, and my whole hall of fame thinking revolves around the elite at each position – and not merely the broad thinking of elite – and I can’t name five better shortstops than Ripken.

Yeah I’m probably a Ripken hater. His peak was shorter than most. Nothing special at OBP or Slugging. He was a B/B+ player for an eternity. Yawn.

Alan Trammell – Name ten better shortstops than Alan Trammell, and I’ll entertain a possibility that he doesn’t belong in Cooperstown. Honus Wagner, Vaughn, Ripken, Banks, Larkin, Ozzie, Yount, Cronin. Maybe Reese, Appling, Boudreau, and Aparicio, but probably not. Here’s the thing, though:
1.) he’s in that group, and
2.) he belongs in that group, and
3.) all of those guys are in the Hall.

Trammell, along with others at offense-thin positions, suffer from unfair comparisons to outfielders. If someone’s criterion is to only permit elite hitters into the hall, and not bear in mind position, that is a principled argument. But then you can’t vote in Ripken, or Sandberg, or Alomar, or Brooks Robinson, or Gary Carter, or Gabby Hartnett, etc. I understand the argument, but its logical conclusion is false, and therefore it is false.

Anyway…

Rich Gossage – He’s definitely in the “tell Bobby Valentine where to go" Hall of Fame. Name five better relievers of all time.

The worst non-Cubs year of the Goose’s pre-age 40 career was with the White Sox in 1976. He had just come off of an electric year in the bullpen: a 1.84 ERA over 140 IP. What does older-than-dirt interim Sox manager Paul Richards do? Puts him in the rotation, and the Sox finish in last place.

Mark McGwire – I might just catch heck on this one, so let’s start with what we can all agree on.
Ignoring all peripheral issues surrounding his alleged substance usage, Mark McGwire is one of the 5 best 1Bmen of all time. He is one of the 50 greatest all around players of all time. He put up slam dunk hall of fame credentials.

I’ll argue the rest later.