Monday, October 3, 2011

Hall of Fame Candidates Season 19

I agree with the previous suggestion about the glut of nominees.  If too many players are nominated "just for fun", it really clutters up the list, and deserving candidates can get lost.
With that being said, here are a few thoughts on they guys that will be getting my vote.
Don Kell- While he was never great at the premium defensive positions of SS and CF (terrible plus/minus play ratio), his offensive totals are too impressive to ignore.
A note about closers/relievers.  I think their value tends to be overrated, thanks in large part to the save stat, so I think we should be careful about voting them into the Hall of Fame.  Also consider that there are about 6 All-Star closers per season per league, so the All-Star appearances (based on a half season of work ~ 40 innings) might be misleading.  I think we need to look ahead to
Philip Wright- Okay, 4 Fireman Awards is impressive.  I also like the fact that he pitched over 1300 innings in his career.  Take a look at some of the other big name closers.  Most of them are under 900 innings pitched for their career.
Bud Rodgers- A big save total, with an impressive 3.27 career ERA while posting a .294 OBP against.  He has two World Series rings to his credit with a postseason WHIP of 1.08 and 18 of 22 in save opportunities.
Hiram Huang-  He ranks third for LF in runs created.  He won 3 Silver Sluggers and 3 Gold Gloves.  Career SLG of .470.  He was successful 81% of the time he attempted to steal a base.
Hensley Lawson- He ranks fourth for LF in runs created.  He won 5 Silver Sluggers and 1 Gold Glove.  Career SLG of .519.  He was successful 70% of the time he attempted to steal a base.

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