Twelve Who Belong in the HOF
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From Neyer's Column Today
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Some non-players deserve enshrinement as well
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By Rob Neyer
ESPN Insider
Finally, the Goose is in. So that's one down and a dozen to go.
Yes, that's right: Not including those not yet eligible -- managers such as Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox, players such as Rickey Henderson and Frank Thomas -- there remain a dozen (at least) baseball figures who should, with all due haste, follow Goose Gossage into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.
Among the dozen are four players about whom much has been (and will be) written. Every year, 99.99 percent of the attention to candidates goes to ex-players and .01 percent goes to all the other candidates. Which is fine. Nobody drives to upstate New York to gaze upon Ed Barrow and Nestor Chylak's Hall of Fame plaques. But we don't have the Hall of Fame some might want; we have the Hall of Fame we have. And since the Hall of Fame we have does include non-players, it's neither fair nor appropriate to bar the door to more of them.
That said, if we do include all the owners and general managers and managers and umpires who clearly are qualified for election, the Hall's going to get mighty crowded. So I have a suggestion. Let's take down every plaque in the Hall of Fame that doesn't honor a great baseball player. Give the plaques to the honorees' heirs. Meanwhile, create a special room, an alcove or something, where all the non-players can be honored, as members in good standing, while both saving space and allowing for more of them.
OK, now that we've solved the space problem, let's move along to our dozen for the Coop.
Buzzie Bavasi: General managers -- the guys who actually put the rosters together -- have been ignored terribly by the Hall of Fame, with only four pure team executives enshrined so far. Before taking over as GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951, Bavasi helped ease the way into organized baseball for Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe, and he selected the land that would become Dodgertown, the franchise's spring training site for (now) 60 years. In Bavasi's nearly 18 years as Dodgers GM, the club won eight National League pennants and four World Series. After leaving the Dodgers, Bavasi ran the Padres (with roughly zero success) and the Angels (who reached the playoffs twice during his tenure). Bavasi, still hale and hearty at 93, has been unfairly deprived of his moment in the Cooperstown sun.
Bert Blyleven: Statistically, the most similar pitchers to Blyleven are his contemporaries Don Sutton and Gaylord Perry, both of whom were installed in Cooperstown a long time ago. Blyleven won 287 games. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts and ninth in shutouts. Seven times, he finished among the top five in his league in ERA. In eight postseason games -- which I mention only because other, less worthy candidates have been lauded for their October play -- Blyleven went 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA.
Sam Breadon: He owned the St. Louis Cardinals for 28 years, and in that time, the Cards were clearly the most successful franchise in the National League, winning nine pennants and six World Series. In 1925, Breadon made one of the more important moves in baseball history, elevating Branch Rickey from field manager to business manager. Almost immediately, the Cardinals became an NL powerhouse, and they remained so until shortly before Breadon sold the club in 1947.
Doug Harvey: There are eight umpires in the Hall of Fame. With the exception of Bill Klem, Harvey, who umpired in the majors for 31 seasons, is more qualified for the Hall than any of them.
Bob Howsam: Howsam, who co-founded the American Football League's Denver Broncos and spearheaded the construction of Denver's Bears Stadium (which eventually became Mile High Stadium), took over as general manager of the St. Louis (baseball) Cardinals in August 1964. The Cardinals stormed from behind that fall to win the pennant and World Series. They struggled in 1965 and '66, but when Howsam left St. Louis early in '67, the Cards were on the verge of winning two straight pennants. He left for Cincinnati, where he built the Reds into a powerhouse that won four division titles and two World Series in his 11 years as GM. Howsam turns 90 next month, and I suppose it would be asking too much to see him in Cooperstown while he can still enjoy it.
Bill James: I got my professional start with Bill James, and I've been associated with him in various ways ever since. So I'm going to recuse myself (at least this time) and defer to Baseball Analysts' Rich Lederer:
According to the Rules for Election of Executives and Pioneers, "voting shall be based upon the individual's … contribution to the game." Bill James has done more than anyone since Branch Rickey to change the way insiders and serious fans think about baseball. James is a pioneer in the mold of Henry Chadwick, who was one of the Hall's first 20 inductees. But James has done Chadwick one better; as a Red Sox executive, he also wears two World Series rings.
Couldn't have said it better myself. I should mention, though, that it's not clear whether Bill is currently eligible for the Hall. As an executive, he must be either retired for five years (he's not retired at all) or 65 (he's only 58). Can a pioneer ever retire, though? Either way, I suspect Bill won't be officially eligible for another seven years. But it's not too early to get the Hall ball rolling.
Frank Jobe: A doctor in the Hall of Fame? Hey, why not? Like James, Jobe qualifies as a baseball pioneer, having invented Tommy John surgery. Jobe's impact on the game? In addition to Tommy John himself -- who won 164 games after having his elbow ligament replaced -- beneficiaries of the procedure include future Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and John Smoltz, along with a host of others.
Tim Raines has Hall of Fame credentials, but he wasn't voted in on the first ballot.
Tim Raines: Tony Gwynn finished his career with a .338 batting average and well over 3,000 hits, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in a landslide. Deservedly so. Tim Raines reached base more often and scored more runs than Gwynn. Was Raines better than Gwynn? Probably not. Was Raines as good as Gwynn? It's really close.
Jacob Ruppert: Ruppert, who owned (or co-owned) the Yankees from 1915 through 1938, is perhaps as responsible as anyone for the Yankees' dynastic ways. Ed Barrow, Ruppert's general manager for many years, is in the Hall of Fame. Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy, Ruppert's managers, both are in the Hall of Fame. Of course, many of Ruppert's players -- Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio, to name just a few -- are in the Hall of Fame. So why not Ruppert himself?
Ron Santo: For many years, Hall of Fame voters simply didn't like third basemen. Today, Eddie Mathews generally is regarded as the third-greatest third baseman of the 20th century (behind Mike Schmidt and George Brett). In 1974, Mathews' first year of eligibility, he garnered only 32 percent of the vote (although he was elected just four years later). And Santo? When he retired, he'd hit 342 home runs, second among third baseman to only Mathews. Yet in 1980, his first year of eligibility, Santo got only 15 votes (4 percent, if you're counting). He would do better, but topped out with 43 percent in 1998, his last shot on the BBWAA ballot. Now considered by the Veterans Committee, Santo fell only five votes short last year and clearly is the No. 1 candidate when the committee next convenes in 2009. At this point, we can only wish him good luck and good health.
John Schuerholz: It's hard to find a more qualified executive, as Schuerholz first ran the Royals for a decade -- during which they won the 1985 World Series -- and most recently served as Braves GM for 18 seasons, a period in which the Braves won 14 division titles, an unprecedented run of success since the divisional format was introduced in 1969.
Alan Trammell: A simple challenge. There are 22 shortstops in the Hall of Fame. If you can prove, beyond even a reasonable doubt, that half of them were better than Trammell, I'll stop talking about the guy forever. Until then, though, I'm going to continue to wonder why he barely registers in the election results each year.
Rob Neyer writes for ESPN Insider and regularly updates his blog for ESPN.com. You can reach him via rob.neyer@dig.com. His most recent book ("Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders") is available everywhere.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Some non-players deserve enshrinement as well
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Rob Neyer
ESPN Insider
Finally, the Goose is in. So that's one down and a dozen to go.
Yes, that's right: Not including those not yet eligible -- managers such as Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox, players such as Rickey Henderson and Frank Thomas -- there remain a dozen (at least) baseball figures who should, with all due haste, follow Goose Gossage into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.
Among the dozen are four players about whom much has been (and will be) written. Every year, 99.99 percent of the attention to candidates goes to ex-players and .01 percent goes to all the other candidates. Which is fine. Nobody drives to upstate New York to gaze upon Ed Barrow and Nestor Chylak's Hall of Fame plaques. But we don't have the Hall of Fame some might want; we have the Hall of Fame we have. And since the Hall of Fame we have does include non-players, it's neither fair nor appropriate to bar the door to more of them.
That said, if we do include all the owners and general managers and managers and umpires who clearly are qualified for election, the Hall's going to get mighty crowded. So I have a suggestion. Let's take down every plaque in the Hall of Fame that doesn't honor a great baseball player. Give the plaques to the honorees' heirs. Meanwhile, create a special room, an alcove or something, where all the non-players can be honored, as members in good standing, while both saving space and allowing for more of them.
OK, now that we've solved the space problem, let's move along to our dozen for the Coop.
Buzzie Bavasi: General managers -- the guys who actually put the rosters together -- have been ignored terribly by the Hall of Fame, with only four pure team executives enshrined so far. Before taking over as GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951, Bavasi helped ease the way into organized baseball for Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe, and he selected the land that would become Dodgertown, the franchise's spring training site for (now) 60 years. In Bavasi's nearly 18 years as Dodgers GM, the club won eight National League pennants and four World Series. After leaving the Dodgers, Bavasi ran the Padres (with roughly zero success) and the Angels (who reached the playoffs twice during his tenure). Bavasi, still hale and hearty at 93, has been unfairly deprived of his moment in the Cooperstown sun.
Bert Blyleven: Statistically, the most similar pitchers to Blyleven are his contemporaries Don Sutton and Gaylord Perry, both of whom were installed in Cooperstown a long time ago. Blyleven won 287 games. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts and ninth in shutouts. Seven times, he finished among the top five in his league in ERA. In eight postseason games -- which I mention only because other, less worthy candidates have been lauded for their October play -- Blyleven went 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA.
Sam Breadon: He owned the St. Louis Cardinals for 28 years, and in that time, the Cards were clearly the most successful franchise in the National League, winning nine pennants and six World Series. In 1925, Breadon made one of the more important moves in baseball history, elevating Branch Rickey from field manager to business manager. Almost immediately, the Cardinals became an NL powerhouse, and they remained so until shortly before Breadon sold the club in 1947.
Doug Harvey: There are eight umpires in the Hall of Fame. With the exception of Bill Klem, Harvey, who umpired in the majors for 31 seasons, is more qualified for the Hall than any of them.
Bob Howsam: Howsam, who co-founded the American Football League's Denver Broncos and spearheaded the construction of Denver's Bears Stadium (which eventually became Mile High Stadium), took over as general manager of the St. Louis (baseball) Cardinals in August 1964. The Cardinals stormed from behind that fall to win the pennant and World Series. They struggled in 1965 and '66, but when Howsam left St. Louis early in '67, the Cards were on the verge of winning two straight pennants. He left for Cincinnati, where he built the Reds into a powerhouse that won four division titles and two World Series in his 11 years as GM. Howsam turns 90 next month, and I suppose it would be asking too much to see him in Cooperstown while he can still enjoy it.
Bill James: I got my professional start with Bill James, and I've been associated with him in various ways ever since. So I'm going to recuse myself (at least this time) and defer to Baseball Analysts' Rich Lederer:
According to the Rules for Election of Executives and Pioneers, "voting shall be based upon the individual's … contribution to the game." Bill James has done more than anyone since Branch Rickey to change the way insiders and serious fans think about baseball. James is a pioneer in the mold of Henry Chadwick, who was one of the Hall's first 20 inductees. But James has done Chadwick one better; as a Red Sox executive, he also wears two World Series rings.
Couldn't have said it better myself. I should mention, though, that it's not clear whether Bill is currently eligible for the Hall. As an executive, he must be either retired for five years (he's not retired at all) or 65 (he's only 58). Can a pioneer ever retire, though? Either way, I suspect Bill won't be officially eligible for another seven years. But it's not too early to get the Hall ball rolling.
Frank Jobe: A doctor in the Hall of Fame? Hey, why not? Like James, Jobe qualifies as a baseball pioneer, having invented Tommy John surgery. Jobe's impact on the game? In addition to Tommy John himself -- who won 164 games after having his elbow ligament replaced -- beneficiaries of the procedure include future Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and John Smoltz, along with a host of others.
Tim Raines has Hall of Fame credentials, but he wasn't voted in on the first ballot.
Tim Raines: Tony Gwynn finished his career with a .338 batting average and well over 3,000 hits, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in a landslide. Deservedly so. Tim Raines reached base more often and scored more runs than Gwynn. Was Raines better than Gwynn? Probably not. Was Raines as good as Gwynn? It's really close.
Jacob Ruppert: Ruppert, who owned (or co-owned) the Yankees from 1915 through 1938, is perhaps as responsible as anyone for the Yankees' dynastic ways. Ed Barrow, Ruppert's general manager for many years, is in the Hall of Fame. Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy, Ruppert's managers, both are in the Hall of Fame. Of course, many of Ruppert's players -- Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio, to name just a few -- are in the Hall of Fame. So why not Ruppert himself?
Ron Santo: For many years, Hall of Fame voters simply didn't like third basemen. Today, Eddie Mathews generally is regarded as the third-greatest third baseman of the 20th century (behind Mike Schmidt and George Brett). In 1974, Mathews' first year of eligibility, he garnered only 32 percent of the vote (although he was elected just four years later). And Santo? When he retired, he'd hit 342 home runs, second among third baseman to only Mathews. Yet in 1980, his first year of eligibility, Santo got only 15 votes (4 percent, if you're counting). He would do better, but topped out with 43 percent in 1998, his last shot on the BBWAA ballot. Now considered by the Veterans Committee, Santo fell only five votes short last year and clearly is the No. 1 candidate when the committee next convenes in 2009. At this point, we can only wish him good luck and good health.
John Schuerholz: It's hard to find a more qualified executive, as Schuerholz first ran the Royals for a decade -- during which they won the 1985 World Series -- and most recently served as Braves GM for 18 seasons, a period in which the Braves won 14 division titles, an unprecedented run of success since the divisional format was introduced in 1969.
Alan Trammell: A simple challenge. There are 22 shortstops in the Hall of Fame. If you can prove, beyond even a reasonable doubt, that half of them were better than Trammell, I'll stop talking about the guy forever. Until then, though, I'm going to continue to wonder why he barely registers in the election results each year.
Rob Neyer writes for ESPN Insider and regularly updates his blog for ESPN.com. You can reach him via rob.neyer@dig.com. His most recent book ("Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders") is available everywhere.
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