Angels Dust

I have been awfully quiet lately (and will mostly remain so until the new season starts due to being completely swamped with work and studies), but I thought I write my own HOF ballot because it might be interesting what someone who has never seen any of those guys play (and for the most part, has never heard of them when they were active) thinks of their HOF-worthiness.
First though, I should say a few words about my reasoning(s): I think stats are the most important part when it comes to the HOF, but there are also other things like contemporary perceptions, character (in theory, because I hardly know any of these players) and historical role. Also, while I do think it is important to look at a players environment like the stadion he played in, these things should not overshadow the actual performance. If a player won 300 games with a mediocre ERA, he still won those 300 games, just like a hitter who hit 500 home runs at Fenway Park has still hit 500 home runs. He might have been lucky or benefitted from things beyond his control, but what happened counts, not what might, could or should have happened (Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, even if Buzz Aldrin might have had the same “skill” as he did). That does not mean that those who were unlucky or hampered by things beyond there control should be punished for that. That being said, I don’t think any of these things mattered much this time.

So without further delay, my ballot with a few words of reasoning:

In:

• Bert Blyleven - 5th all time strike outs, 13th all time innings pitched, 9th all time shutouts. Seriously, how it that guy not in yet???
• Rich Goosage - Just looking at the numbers, I don’t really see why he belongs. 1981 was magic, but is a career 126+ ERA good enough for a reliever to get in? Not alone, but being the pioneer of the closer role counts for something for me, so he’s in.
• Tommy John - Very tough call. Compiled many of his best seasons in the offense starved 60s which make his ERA look better than it is (compared to Blyleven, for example). Overall, he pitched very well in the postseason (6-3, 2.65 ERA) and he has the surgery named after him, which - again - counts for something in my world. I never understood why it’s Blyleven or John. For me it’s Blyleven and John.
• Tim Raines - His hitting alone would not be enough to get him in, but 808 steals with a success rate of 84.7% give him a big boost. He’s in.

Out:

• Brady Anderson - 50 home runs season out of nowwhere, three other pretty good seasons, not nearly enough.
• Harold Baines - Long and strong career, 2866 hits, 1628 RBI, 120 career OPS+. But for an outfielder and DH, that’s not enough.
• Rod Beck - Exceptional seasons in 1992 and 1993, but no chance.
• Dave Concepcion - I wish I knew more about his defense, but his hitting was rather weak (career 88 OPS+), so unless he was a wizard on defense, he’s out.
• Shawon Dunston - Shortstop who hit like Conception, but without the gold gloves. His 212 stolen bases (in 294 tries - 72%) don’t help that much either.
• Andre Dawson - Really low OBP and his career OPS+ of 119 is one point below Baines. However, his six gold gloves indicate he was a much better defender. Then again, there are other outfielders on the list with better offensive numbers who don’t the call. Dawson’s out.
• Chuck Finley - 200-173 record, solid ERA (3.85), 2610 strike out. That’s the Hall of the very good for him.
• Travis Fryman - Not nearly a good enough hitter (103 career OPS+) to get in despite a gold glove at third.
• David Justice - Very good hitter (129 career OPS+), but played during the steroid era (to be fair, he had his first monster season in 1990, four years before the estimated start of the tainted time), but his career was a little too short to merit induction.
• Chuck Knoblauch - Pretty good hitter for a second baseman and he also got a gold glove. However, like Justice, he did not play long enough to make me think longer about him.
• Don Mattingly - An offensive force (127 OPS+) with a ton of gold gloves (9) at first. Again hurt by a relatively short career.
• Jack Morris - He won 254 games and had six seasons with ERA+ of 120 and better. But he also had seven season when his ERA+ fell under 100. He was could dominate and be dominated (or so it seems to me). Overall, he did not show the consistency and his career 3.90 ERA is just way too high to get in.
• Dale Murphy - Very impressive peak from 1982 to 1987 and there are five (deserved?) gold gloves, but not much else in the other years of his career. Is that really enough? Tough call, but I’m afraid it is not.
• Robb Nen - Three very impressive seasons (284, 264 and 210 ERA+), but ten years is not nearly enough for a reliever.
• Dave Parker - Had five great years and three gold gloves, but overall not enough consistency. His career .339 OBP and 121 OPS+ are just not that good.
• Jim Rice - Another outfielder with a very potent bat. However, I don’t see anything that gives him an edge over the other sluggers I left out.
• Jose Rijo - Who?
• Lee Smith - Tough call for me. Better career ERA+ than Gossage (131+), but bad in the postseason (in only 5.1 innings, to be fair). In the end, he only had two really dominating seasons (1982 and 1990) and pure consistency does not get you into Cooperstown as a reliever.
• Todd Stottlemyre - He was a solid, but unspectacular pitcher. Should not get any votes.
• Alan Trammell - Very, very tough call. Hit very well for a shortstop (110+ OPS), was pretty good on defense, too (4 GG) and just great in the postseason. He is certainly better than some shortstops already in the Hall, but that’s not the best argument. My reluctance to put him in might have something to do with the great hitting shortstops I’m used too see play, but Trammel also seems to be inferior to Barry Larkin. I might change my vote on him later when I can better assess shortstop of that era.

Need more time to think about:

• Mark McGwire - Actually, I don’t need more time to think about McGwire. His numbers and his role in the revival of the sport after the strike clearly merit induction. Then again, he most likely took steroids and his showing before congress was really embarrassing. But I think the Hall is a museum and guys like McGwire (or Pete Rose or Bonds) should be in it. How about you give him (them) a plaque, but don’t invite him (them) to give a speech?