Hall Of Fame Hits And Misses

Baseball, like life, is about hits and misses. So is baseball Hall of Fame voting. Take your best swing and see if you connect. The voters knocked a few out of the park this year, but they swung and missed a lot, too. Here’s how this year’s Cooperstown hits and misses break down:

Hits

Edgar Martinez

fWar: 65.5

Waited ten years. One the great hitters of his time, easily enough production even without the defense.

Mike Mussina

fWar: 82.2

Made it in his sixth year, which is five years late. Over 3,563 innings Mussina pitched to a 3.68 ERA that was far lower than league average of his hitter-friendly time. Won 270 games with a .638 winning percentage that ranks among the best ever.

Roy Halladay

fWar: 65.2

Both dominant and durable, Halladay was by any measure an All-Star level pitcher in nine of his 15 seasons. Topped 200 innings eight times while going 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA.

 

 

 

Misses

We won’t even count Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both of whom gave voters a particular reason to pass. You have to respect that choice even if you don’t agree. Elsewhere…

 

Mariano Rivera

fWar: 39.7

Without rehashing this one for too long, a one-inning per game, 70-inning per year pitcher only has so much value. Great in his limited role, but not a Hall of Famer, especially considering that the Yankees’ record in holding leads after eight innings has been no different since Rivera retired than it was when he was there. That he was voted in unanimously, unlike Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Ty Cobb, is particularly appalling.

Curt Schilling

fWAR: 79.8

Even a bit better than Mussina, Schilling is still just inching up slowly to 61% of the vote this year. Maybe his second career as a conservative pundit has indeed turned off some voters – there certainly isn’t any logical baseball reason to keep him out.

Larry Walker

fWAR: 68.7

Checks in with 54% in his ninth year of eligibility. That’s a nice jump from last year’s 34%, so at least he’s trending up. With a .400 OBP and 141 OPS-plus, Walker is probably the best everyday player in MLB history not tarnished by scandal who is not in the Hall of Fame. The numbers say he is better than Reggie Jackson, Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield, and way better than Jim Rice and Lou Brock.

Fred McGriff

fWAR: 56.9

Only reached 39.8% in his 10^th year on the ballot. One of the top offensive players of his time (134 OPS-plus including 150 or better six times) McGriff’s 493 career homers left him seven short of the magical number favored by voters obsessed with numbers that end in multiple zeroes.

Jeff Kent

fWAR: 56.1

With 377 homers and 123 OPS-plus from second base, Kent is just a bit behind Craig Biggio and Ryne Sandberg and ahead of old timer Hall of Fame second basemen Tony Lazzeri, Nellie Fox and Bobby Doerr. But with only 18% after six years on the ballot, he’s not on the right trajectory.

Scott Rolen

fWAR: 69.9

Maybe it was playing in the third base shadow of Chipper Jones, who was indeed a bit better and who played in the playoffs more, but a 17.2% tally in his first year was pretty disgraceful. With stellar defense supported by 316 homers and a .364 OBP, Rolen is a top 10 third baseman who barely ranks behind Jones, Brooks Robinson and Ron Santo.

Andy Pettitte

fWAR: 68.9

If you think that Rivera was more important than Pettitte to the Yankees four-championship run from 1996 to 2000 plus another in 2009, please think again. With a far greater workload across the regular season and postseason, Pettitte won 256 games along with 19 more in the playoffs and World Series. As the Yankee rotation turned over David Wells, Jimmy Key, David Cone, Roger Clemens and Orlando Hernandez at various times, Pettitte was the backbone. To see him get 10% of the vote to Rivera’s 100%, sorry, something is wrong.

Andruw Jones

fWAR: 66.9

Managed 7.5% of the vote to just barely stay on the ballot for another year. That’s despite some of the best centerfield defense of all time and over 400 home runs. Jones is comparable to Tim Raines and better than Andre Dawson, Willie Stargell and Kirby Puckett. Oy.

Todd Helton

fWAR: 55.0

Even discounting his Rocky Mountain numbers, Helton’s 133 OPS-plus and .414 OBP make the grade. Better than Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, and his ten-year peak was only slightly behind those of Frank Thomas and Eddie Murray. Yet voters greeted Helton with just 16.5% in his first year on the ballot.

Lance Berkman

fWAR: 56.0

A bit of a below-the-radar candidate and maybe some voters just didn’t have room on their 10-man ballot this year. But to see a guy with a 144 OPS-plus and .406 OBP go one and done with 1.2% of the vote – not good.

Roy Oswalt

fWar: 52.4

Not an obvious Hall of Famer but certainly did plenty to merit future consideration instead of four votes and a quick drop from the ballot.