On January 5, we will find out who will be inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame this July in Cooperstown, New York. In order
to be inducted, a player needs to receive a minimum of 75% of the
vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
It is widely expected that the inductees for the class of
2011 will be pitcher Bert Blyleven and second baseman Roberto
Alomar. Both Blyleven and Alomar were only a few votes short of
attaining 75% of the vote last year. While Alomar is only in his
second year on the Hall of Fame ballot, Blyleven is in his
fourteenth and penultimate year of eligibility. If for some
reason Blyleven is not elected to the Hall in 2012 then he will
have to wait for the Veterans Committee to consider him for
inclusion. Although the
Veterans Committee comprises mainly Hall of Fame players, in
recent years they have become a tougher crowd to please than the
baseball writers.
With this in mind here is a list of a few players who I
think deserve consideration for Cooperstown but have been
overlooked. This list is by no means exhaustive. Since I was born
in 1972, I am leaning towards players I’ve seen during the course
of my lifetime. Some of the players listed are currently on the
2011 Hall of Fame ballot, some were recently considered by the
Veterans Committee, while others are not currently eligible for
consideration. Please note that I am not including either Pete Rose
or “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. That’s a discussion for another day. So
without further adieu let’s play ball.
Lee
Smith
This tall
intimidating right handed flame thrower saved
478 games in his 18-year big league career which included stops
with the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, New
York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and Montreal
Expos. Only Mariano
Rivera and Trevor Hoffman have recorded more saves.
In recent years, Cooperstown has welcomed several closers
to its ranks, including Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Dennis
Eckersley, and Bruce Sutter. All have fewer saves than Smith yet
Smith remains on the outside looking in. The only knock against
Smith is that unlike his aforementioned peers he never pitched in a
World Series. It could explain why he has never broke 50% of the
vote with the BBWAA.
Yet who can argue with Smith’s consistency? During the
1980s, Smith saved 234 games. Only Jeff
Reardon (another overlooked closer) had more saves that decade
with 266. In the 1990s, Smith recorded 274 saves. Only Eckersley
was better
during the '90s with 293 saves. Surely being baseball’s second best
reliever for nearly two decades warrants inclusion in
Cooperstown.
Alan Trammell & Lou
Whitaker
For nearly two
decades, Trammell and Whitaker were fixtures up the middle at the
corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Simply put, Trammell at short and
Whitaker at second comprised the greatest double play combination
in the history of Major League Baseball. That alone should earn
them plaques in Cooperstown.
Unfortunately, the BBWAA has not seen fit to recognize
this pair of Detroit Tigers. After nine years on the Hall of Fame
ballot, Trammell has failed
to receive 25% of the vote. Whitaker only received
2.9% of the BBWAA vote in 2001 and dropped off the ballot. Yet
Whitaker’s career offensive totals (.276 AVG, 244 HR, 1084 RBI) are
in line with current Hall of Fame second basemen Joe
Morgan and Ryne
Sandberg and they are also comparable to soon-to-be Hall of
Famer Roberto Alomar’s numbers.
Alas, Whitaker is not eligible for consideration by the Veterans
Committee until 2015. But good things come to those who wait.
Besides I agree with Cal Ripken, Jr. when he
says Trammell and Whitaker should be enshrined in Cooperstown
together.
Ted
Simmons
This man might be
the most underrated catcher in the history of Major League
Baseball. Simmons
collected 2,472 hits in a 21-year career. Of that total, 1,908
came as a catcher. That’s better than Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra or
Gary Carter. Only Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Kendall have more hits
in games in which they wore the tools of ignorance.
On six occasions, the switch hitting Simmons hit .300 or
better and finished with a respectable .285 lifetime batting
average. Simmons, who spent the bulk of his career with the St.
Louis Cardinals but who also saw time with the Milwaukee Brewers
and the Atlanta Braves, appeared in eight All-Star games and
knocked in 100 or more runs thrice. Yet Simmons received
only 3.7% of the BBWAA vote in 1994. But in 2010 Simmons candidacy
was considered by the Veterans Committee. Unfortunately, when they
convened at the MLB Winter Meetings in December he received only
four of the twelve votes necessary for admission. The Veterans
Committee should have been charged with a passed ball.
Al
Oliver
The Veterans
Committee also passed over this great outfielder/first baseman last
month. But Al “Scoop” Oliver was overlooked throughout his career.
Oliver spent ten of his eighteen big league seasons with the
Pittsburgh Pirates where his achievements were overshadowed by the
likes of Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Dave Parker.
“Scoop” also spent time with the Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, San
Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Oliver hit .300 or better on eleven occasions winning a NL batting
title with the Expos in 1982 and had a lifetime batting average of
.303. A respected leader in the clubhouse, Oliver finished
his career with 2,743 hits and seven All-Star game appearances. If
it were not for collusion on the part of MLB owners in the
mid-1980s, Oliver might reached 3,000 hits and attained baseball
immortality.
Will any of these players have the chance to deliver a
Hall of Fame acceptance speech?
