There has been an oversight. A great injustice at The Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Three pitchers have been unjustly passed over for years. Why? These pitchers did not reach that "magical" figure of 300 career wins but they came very, very close. There are pitchers in the Hall who did not come as close as these three men did. Those pitchers are inducted and will be forever honored in Cooperstown and rightfully so. Still there are three who are on the outside looking in. What a shame!
First off Jim Kaat logged in 4530 Major League innings. His lifetime ERA was a respectable 3.45. He won 283 games and fanned 2461. He won numerous Golden Gloves for his outstanding fielding ability. Late in his career he become a first rate middle reliever and set up man.
Tommy John is famous for having a career saving surgery to prolong a wonderful stint in the majors. Since more fans remember the "Tommy John Surgery'', less time has been devoted to paying attention to how good Tommy really was. Tommy pitched a total of 4710 innings. He amassed 288 career victories and fanned 2245 batters. His lifetime ERA was 3.34. Tommy helped anchor some fine pitching staffs while with the Dodgers and the Yankees.
Last but not least is Bert Blyleven. The "Dutchman" won 279 games while pitching mostly for mediocre teams. He worked 4837 big league innings and posted a fine 3.27 ERA. He is very high on the career strikeout list with 3631 whiffs. On most of the staffs he pitched on he was usually the ace. The man they turned to in order to stop a losing streak.
Under slightly different circumstances each could have won #300. Maybe one or two more seasons as a starter instead of toiling, as a reliever would have pushed Kaat to that plateau.
If the surgery would have never taken place and Tommy had a sound arm throughout his career, 300 wins and them some would be a fair assessment.
Say if Bert would have played on more contending teams. Maybe they would have given Bert better run support. That may have added a few more wins to his ledger. Who knows?
There you have it. I say make room in the Hall for these deserving individuals. The recognition is long overdue.
There has been an oversight. A great injustice at The Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Three pitchers have been unjustly passed over for years. Why? These pitchers did not reach that "magical" figure of 300 career wins but they came very, very close. There are pitchers in the Hall who did not come as close as these three men did. Those pitchers are inducted and will be forever honored in Cooperstown and rightfully so. Still there are three who are on the outside looking in. What a shame!
First off Jim Kaat logged in 4530 Major League innings. His lifetime ERA was a respectable 3.45. He won 283 games and fanned 2461. He won numerous Golden Gloves for his outstanding fielding ability. Late in his career he become a first rate middle reliever and set up man.
Tommy John is famous for having a career saving surgery to prolong a wonderful stint in the majors. Since more fans remember the "Tommy John Surgery'', less time has been devoted to paying attention to how good Tommy really was. Tommy pitched a total of 4710 innings. He amassed 288 career victories and fanned 2245 batters. His lifetime ERA was 3.34. Tommy helped anchor some fine pitching staffs while with the Dodgers and the Yankees.
Last but not least is Bert Blyleven. The "Dutchman" won 279 games while pitching mostly for mediocre teams. He worked 4837 big league innings and posted a fine 3.27 ERA. He is very high on the career strikeout list with 3631 whiffs. On most of the staffs he pitched on he was usually the ace. The man they turned to in order to stop a losing streak.
Under slightly different circumstances each could have won #300. Maybe one or two more seasons as a starter instead of toiling, as a reliever would have pushed Kaat to that plateau.
If the surgery would have never taken place and Tommy had a sound arm throughout his career, 300 wins and them some would be a fair assessment.
Say if Bert would have played on more contending teams. Maybe they would have given Bert better run support. That may have added a few more wins to his ledger. Who knows?
There you have it. I say make room in the Hall for these deserving individuals. The recognition is long overdue.
nice post...u seem to be interested in the bbhof so i was wondering wat u think about pete rose...should he be in or not?
__________________
“You know your talent. You know if you work hard, your hard work is going to pay off one day.”---Albert Pujols
RIP Josh Hancock
'06 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS
apujols_5
Yes you could make a good case for Morris and Gossage.
As far as Pete Rose, well...I think the Hall Of Fame should be about what you did on the field. Rose has more hits then anyone who ever played the game. It is a sin that he has not been inducted. I don't agree with what he did and all the lies about it. Keeping him out of baseball is punishment enough. Keeping him out of the Hall Of Fame punishes the fans. We all know he belongs there.
The NFL never took O.J.'s bust out of their Hall Of Fame. Why ? Because football fans know that he was one of the greatest running backs of all time.They are not stupid and either are baseball fans.
Yes you could make a good case for Morris and Gossage.
As far as Pete Rose, well...I think the Hall Of Fame should be about what you did on the field. Rose has more hits then anyone who ever played the game. It is a sin that he has not been inducted. I don't agree with what he did and all the lies about it. Keeping him out of baseball is punishment enough. Keeping him out of the Hall Of Fame punishes the fans. We all know he belongs there.
The NFL never took O.J.'s bust out of their Hall Of Fame. Why ? Because football fans know that he was one of the greatest running backs of all time.They are not stupid and either are baseball fans.
Ok...i disagree but i understand ur reasoning
__________________
“You know your talent. You know if you work hard, your hard work is going to pay off one day.”---Albert Pujols
RIP Josh Hancock
'06 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS
apujols_5
We could spend hours debating who has been snubbed and conversley, who is there that shouldn't be.
Here's some more names-
Bill Freehan. Excellent defensive catcher who played during the pithcer's era. His stats are comparable to that of Ron Santo who also played during that era.
Jim Rice. Dominant and feared hitter for the Red Sox, didn't reach any "milestones", but anyone who remembers him in his playing days knows that he was an offensive force. His demeanor towards the press in Boston might be what is holding him back. Despite all of his community work, he didn't get very good press.
Andre Dawson. He was a complete player, a "five-tooler" if you will. Cannon for an arm, and all out hustle. He won the NL MVP in 1987 on a losing team. Bad knees shortened his career and deminished his stats, but he still almost made it to 3,000 hits.
Gil Hodges. It's a crime that the best RBI man and clutch hitter for the Brooklyn Dodgers pennant winning teams isn't in the hall. He was aslo a very good manager that had his career end due to his untimly death.
Hey my Mom was born and raised in Iowa and I have relatives in Des Moines. Hodges should have been in a long time ago. I feel Dawson will eventually get in. Rice may suffer the same fate as Dick Allen. Great offensive players who were not popular with the press.I liked Freehan. Besides the Indians and the Twins, the Tigers were my next favorite team. Al Kaline, Willie Horton, McLain, Lolich...Their 68 team was great. As much as I liked Freehan I'm not sure he did enough to merit the HOF but hey if he got in it would not break my heart.
Three That Should Be!
Three That Should Be!
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