Harold Breaks the Internet
That’s right….it turns out it wasn’t Wreck-It Ralph after all. ….
The recent announcement that Harold Baines was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Today’s Game Era Committee caused a great deal of commotion in the baseball world for a few days. At least that’s the way it felt. Everyone had a reaction to it, most of it negative towards his selection, the committee, and the Hall of Fame process. I felt like we needed Aaron Rodgers to step in and tell everyone to R-E-L-A-X.
Based on various accounts that I’ve seen, here’s a quick summary of the various takes on the subject. I certainly don’t agree with all of these, but these are observations that I heard others make:
- Baines wasn’t nearly good enough
- It was a horrible selection
- It may have been the worst selection ever
- It lowers the bar for future elections
- Baines wasn’t a great player since he almost never led the league in any hitting categories
- Baines didn’t get much MVP support during his career
- Baines was primarily a DH during his career and therefore didn’t bring any defensive value to the table, and didn’t generate enough offense to justify electing him on hitting alone
- Baines didn’t get selected to many All Star Games
- The writers soundly rejected Baines when he was on the BBWAA ballot
- The selection reeked of cronyism at its worst, as Tony La Russa, Jerry Reinsdorf, Pat Gillick, and Roberto Alomar (all of whom had professional relationships with Baines on various teams) were on the committee, and they surely must have influenced the committee’s vote
That last point certainly generated a lot of commentary, as many wondered how can you, on the one hand, have entry to the Hall of Fame determined by an initial vote of 400+ writers who possess a fairly diverse set of opinions and vote fairly independently from one another from all over the nation, and then on the other hand have another door controlled by a relatively small group of 16 people who congregate in person to discuss the matter at hand, many of whom may have had close, professional relationships with some of the candidates?
Suppose, for example, if Dave Concepcion were up for review (as he has been from time to time on various Veterans Committees) and Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Tom Seaver, and Hal McCoy were among the committee members? Don’t you think there’s a decent chance that they would be successful in convincing enough of the other committee members to put Concepcion in? I mean, those of us here in Reds Country would no doubt celebrate Concepcion’s honor, but is that a process that we should encourage?
In any case…… Baines, the committee, and the Hall of Fame process all took a beating.
Would I have voted for Baines? No.
Am I all that bothered by his selection? To tell you the truth, not really.
Should Baines feel bad? Absolutely not. He as much as acknowledged that he gained an advantage by having people on the committee advocate for him, but that’s not his fault. He should feel proud of the honor, and deserves to be treated as a full-fledged member of the Hall of Fame.
Well, it’s over. It’s done. Welcome to Cooperstown, Harold.
So, I don’t really want to dwell on the negatives. There’s nothing I can add to it. There must have been 1,000 articles written attacking this selection in particular and the Hall of Fame process in general. I don’t see any value in making it 1,001.
So, is there another angle? Something I can contribute? I think so. I decided to turn it into a fun "what if" exercise.
That led me to this……
The Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing for Long and Meritorious Service
First, I want to be very clear on 2 things in this article.
1) Although it may appear so at times, I am not trying to be critical or condescending towards the selection of Harold Baines to the Hall of Fame
2) Although it may appear so at times, I am not advocating for any the players mentioned in this article to be inducted into the real Hall of Fame
Please keep those in mind as you proceed.
Here’s the concept: what if there were a wing of the Hall of Fame dedicated to players like Harold Baines? In my opinion, and the opinion of many, many others, Baines was not a great player in the normal sense that we think of that term. But, that’s focusing on what he was not. What if we focus on what he was?
So, what was Baines?
- He was a very good player
- He played for a very long time
- He compiled a significant volume of basic stats, including games played, hits, and RBI.
- He was well respected as a professional and as a teammate
Now, the descriptions above apply to a lot of players. Nevertheless, those are all good things, aren’t they? Serving your profession honorably for a long time and achieving a certain level of proficiency, honor, and respect? That’s worth recognizing in some manner, is it not?
So, is there a way to honor the best of those types of individuals without implying that they’re as great as Ruth, Mays, or Maddux? Is there a way to identify players like Baines, not just looking for purely statistical comps across basic stat categories (like Similarity Scores does), but maybe coming up with players who are similar across some other criteria?
I decided to try.
So, who would make for good candidates for the Harold Baines Wing of the Hall of Fame? I decided to use the following 10 guidelines (understanding that it’s difficult for any individual to meet all 10). You may notice that some of these are somewhat "negative", or at the very least not very positive, such as "received low BBWAA support". Remember, I’m trying to find comparable candidates to Baines, and part of that involves identifying candidates who didn’t fare too well by certain measures. We’re not looking for the best players not currently in the Hall of Fame. This is a different exercise.
The Baines criteria I’m using are:
- Played for a lot of years
- Had a high number of games played
- Accumulated a large number of hits (or wins for starting pitchers)
- Had rWAR in the 30 to mid-50’s range (I didn’t want it to be too high, as we’ll see below)
- Was named to a few All-Star games (but not "too many")
- Preferably had a Hall of Fame Monitor score below 100, or at least not too far above
- Had moderate "black ink" (league leadership in certain categories)
- Didn’t get too much support in annual awards (MVP or Cy Young)
- Received little BBWAA support while on the writers’ ballot
- Has notable or unique "positives" that would look good on a résumé
Does that sound like a Harold Baines type of Hall of Famer? I think so. You can add in "was respected" or "was considered a good professional" if you like, although that’s certainly subjective. Still, I think that counts for this exercise.
To elaborate a little on each criterion:
1) Number of seasons – Preferably 20 years or more, but I cut some slack to allow 18 or 19 depending on the candidate or the situation. I tried not to go below 18.
2) Games played – Generally looking for 2,000 or more (for hitters), or a high number of starts or relief appearances (for pitchers).
3) Hits (or Wins for Pitchers) – Looking for 2,000 hits or more, but will cut some slack depending on certain positions (like catcher) or circumstances. Over 2,500 hits is even better, as one of Baines’ strongest selling points was his hit total.
For starting pitchers, even though pitcher wins are falling out of favor, I’m generally looking for 220 or more wins, but, again, I will cut some slack depending on the situation. For future elections, we might have to reduce the threshold. We’ll cover relievers later.
4) For rWAR, I’m mostly looking in the 30 to mid-50’s range, but I didn’t want to go much above or below that if I could avoid it.
Here’s my thought process on that front. Once players start getting much above 50, and especially when they get above 60, they tend to receive a fair amount of recognition and advocacy for their cases already. I’ve seen where many people have indicated that they consider 60 to be kind of an unofficial "Hall of Fame level". Not a hard and fast rule, of course, but more of a guideline that the player has achieved a certain threshold of quality. Although I use rWAR for a great many things, I don’t adhere to that guideline myself when considering Hall of Fame candidates, but certainly some do.
Players with more than 60 rWAR that are not currently in the Hall of Fame include Dwight Evans, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Kevin Brown, Luis Tiant, Kenny Lofton, Jim Edmonds, Willie Randolph, Reggie Smith, Buddy Bell, Rick Reuschel, Graig Nettles, Keith Hernandez, Tommy John, and so on. Several of these players fell off the ballot after one try, but they also generally have their own advocacy campaigns already, as they are often in the discussion when people focus on "overlooked" candidates, in large part due to their relatively high rWAR figures and/or JAWS rankings. They get a lot of attention already.
A lot of these players certainly meet several of the Baines criteria outlined above. However, I didn’t want to turn this into an article where all I do is select a team that suggests players like Whitaker, Nettles, Lofton, Tiant, and Evans. There are other times and places for their cases, and I think several of them will eventually land in the Hall of Fame anyway. I’m not looking for the "best" players who are not currently in the Hall, and I’m not looking for the ones with the most quantifiable value. In this article, I wanted to focus on other players that are more in line with the Harold Baines concept.
5) All Star games – Baines had 6, so I’m generally looking for players who had somewhere between 1 and 8 (unless they played in a non-All Star game era, in which case I cut them some slack).
6) Hall of Fame Monitor Scores – Baines had a score of 66. I don’t want too high of a figure. Preferably something below 100.
7) Black Ink – Baines only had 3 points of Black Ink. We’re generally looking for others that didn’t have real high Black Ink scores either.
8) Award Shares – Baines had only 0.31 MVP award shares, generally receiving very little mention in the annual award voting. We want similar players, with similar award (MVP or Cy Young) track records. If a player won an MVP or Cy Young, I eliminated him from consideration.
9) BBWAA support – Looking for players who were largely rejected by the writers, generally looking for 20% or less, and especially 10% or less.
10) Notable Positives - Anything that looks good or interesting on a plaque. For example, when Baines retired, he was top 20 all-time in RBI (he’s now down to #34). Also, you can point out that Baines may have very well reached 3,000 hits without the 2 work stoppages that interrupted his career, or that he’s still top 20 in games played. You get the idea.
Note that not meeting one or two criteria doesn’t eliminate you from consideration. We’re trying to look at the overall spectrum.
So that’s the quest….to find the "Harold Baines" of each position on the diamond.
Around the Diamond
So, who would be the best candidates for the Baines Wing of the Hall? For each position, I’ll name:
- My suggestion for the player who best epitomizes the criteria and the spirit of the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
- A few notable names who were not considered because they didn’t really meet the criteria of the exercise (such as not having enough years or games played, having too much rWAR, too much BBWAA support, etc.)
- A few runners-up who were under consideration for the honor.
- Also, as a reference, I’m also going to include the career leaders for defensive games played at that position.
As a benchmark to reference as you look at the other candidates, here is how Baines’ line looks across the criteria we’re reviewing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
Highest BBWAA %
|
|
Harold Baines
|
22
|
2,830
|
2,866
|
38.7
|
6
|
66
|
3
|
0.31
|
6.1%
|
Let’s begin….
Catcher
I cut some slack on catchers for hits and rWAR, because the standards for catchers are less in those areas than for other positions, in part due to the challenges of the position.
As another observation, a lot of catchers have some pretty decent Hall of Fame Monitor scores, where 100 is considered to be a good (though not automatic) total. Part of the reason is that the point system really rewards catchers with long careers. The system awards 60 points if you catch more than 1,800 games, and also awards a 20-point overall position adjustment for catchers, so if you’re a catcher with a really long career, you’re already at 80 points. Of course, that system was originally designed a long time ago, when 1,800 games at catcher was pretty rare.
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Bob Boone
|
19
|
2,264
|
1,838
|
27.4
|
4
|
102
|
0
|
0.03
|
7.7%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Ted Simmons, Bill Freehan, Jorge Posada, Thurman Munson, Jason Kendall, Jim Sundberg
Simmons actually is a pretty good fit on several criteria – he had nearly 2,500 career hits and played 21 seasons, both important criteria for this exercise. However, he’s basically too good for this exercise, and I suspect he’s going to be elected to the real Hall of Fame soon anyway. His last time on a Veterans Committee ballot (the one where Jack Morris and Alan Trammell were elected), Simmons received 11 of the 16 votes, narrowly missing induction by a single vote. I suspect he’ll get in soon, so I eliminated him from this exercise.
Posada, Freehan, Munson, and Kendall came up short on the longevity front (although Kendall is very high up on the defensive games list), plus Munson won an MVP. Kendall would have been a pretty good fit had he been able to play 3 more years.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
A.J. Pierzynski, Benito Santiago, Lance Parrish, Tony Pena
Santiago got in 20 seasons before calling it quits, Pierzynksi and Parrish had 19 each, and Pena had 18.
Pierzynski is a pretty good fit for this exercise, as he appeared in over 2,000 games and generated over 2,000 hits. In addition, he was a pretty good performer in the postseason.
Santiago had a period (1987-1992) where I believe he was the best young catching asset in the game, when you combine his value and his youth (22-27 over those years). He took home a Rookie of the Year award, as well as 3 straight Gold Glovers and 4 straight All Star games.
Parrish would have been a decent selection as well. There are only 7 catchers with 300 or more home runs – 6 of them are in the Hall (Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Yogi Berra, Gary Carter, and Ivan Rodriguez), and the other one is Lance Parrish. Parrish also played in a fairly high number of All Star games (8).
Pena also managed a long, productive career behind the plate. He’s 6 in defensive games at catcher with 1,950, was a 5-time All Star, and a 4-time Gold Glove winner. He was a very valuable player in his 20’s, but once he reached 30 he dropped way off.
Career leaders for defensive games at catcher:
(*=Hall of Fame)
|
Player
|
Def. Games as C
|
|
Ivan Rodriguez*
|
2,427
|
|
Carlton Fisk*
|
2,226
|
|
Bob Boone
|
2,225
|
|
Gary Carter*
|
2,056
|
|
Jason Kendall
|
2,025
|
|
Tony Pena
|
1,950
|
|
Brad Ausmus
|
1,938
|
|
A.J. Pierzynski
|
1,936
|
|
Jim Sundberg
|
1,927
|
|
Al Lopez*
|
1,918
|
Boone’s strong suit is defense, and lots of it – he’s a 7-time Gold Glove winner. The only catchers with more are Ivan Rodriguez, Johnny Bench, and Yadier Molina. Boone was held in very high regard, and had a reputation as a very intelligent player.
A big point in his favor for this exercise is that, at the time he retired, Boone held the record for the most games as a catcher with 2,225, having broken the long-standing (about 40 years) record held previously by Al Lopez (note from the table above that Lopez is now down to #10)
Carlton Fisk broke Boone’s new mark a few years later, and then Ivan Rodriguez broke Fisk’s record. Boone sits at #3 on the list, and still holds the record for most games as a catcher who’s not nicknamed "Pudge". Boone also was a bit of a pesky hitter in the postseason, where he hit .311 over 36 games, including a .412 mark when the Phillies defeated the Royals in the 1980 World Series.
Also notable for his narrative is that he’s part of one of the great mutli-generational baseball families – the son of Ray, and the dad to Bret and Aaron.
Bob Boone gets my nod as the inaugural catcher for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
First Base
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Mickey Vernon
|
20
|
2,409
|
2,495
|
34.5
|
7
|
72
|
14
|
1.02
|
24.9% *
(see below)
|
I put an asterisk next to Vernon’s BBWAA % because he really didn’t receive much support until very late in his time on the ballot. In his first 10 years on the ballot (1966-1975), Vernon peaked at 7.8% before he started getting some double-digit support. So, I cut him some slack on that category.
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Keith Hernandez, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Fred McGriff, Steve Garvey
The first 3 above had too much rWAR, and it wouldn’t shock me if any of them eventually makes it in the Hall, although they all have their obstacles. Also, Hernandez won an MVP, McGwire had 12 All-Star games and his career wasn’t long enough.
McGriff ended up with a little too much BBWAA support, and I think he’ll probably make it in on a Veterans ballot in the future, but otherwise he would have been a viable candidate.
Garvey would have been a good Baines-type candidate except that he had way too many honors – he won an MVP, he had 10 All Star Games, he peaked at over 40% of the writers’ vote…..he ultimately didn’t fit the bill.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
Andres Galarraga, Stuffy McInnis, Bill Buckner, Charlie Grimm, Joe Judge
Buckner’s a pretty good match on most of the criteria, but his rWAR is painfully low (only 15.1), as is Charlie Grimm’s (13.4)
Career leaders for defensive games at first base:
|
Player
|
Def. Games as 1B
|
|
Eddie Murray*
|
2,413
|
|
Jake Beckley*
|
2,383
|
|
Fred McGriff
|
2,239
|
|
Mickey Vernon
|
2,237
|
|
Todd Helton
|
2,178
|
|
Mark Grace
|
2,162
|
|
Cap Anson*
|
2,152
|
|
Rafael Palmeiro
|
2,139
|
|
Lou Gehrig*
|
2,137
|
|
Charlie Grimm
|
2,131
|
Vernon had a fascinating career. He was a .286 lifetime hitter. He hit over .300 in only 5 of his 20 seasons, but in two of those he went kind of nuts, winning batting titles in 1946 (.353) and 1953 (.337).
Vernon ended up just shy of 2,500 career hits, but he also served in the military in 1944 and 1945. Those were his age 26 and 27 seasons, and (presuming he would have had good health) he’s probably missing around 300 hits. He was a regular first baseman for the 3 years that preceded his military service, and he averaged close to 160 hits per year during that time, and when he returned in 1946, he posted a 207-hit season, so I think 300 is maybe even a little conservative. That would have put him around 2,800 career hits and a 22-year career, right in that Baines sweet spot.
Vernon is 4th in career defensive games at 1B with 2,237. It’s quite probable that, absent the military service, Vernon would sit at the top.
Also notable for his narrative is that he played in 4 different decades (1939-1960). OK, some people don’t care for that kind of trivia, but it’s a nice little fun fact for the kiddies….
Mickey Vernon gets my nod as the inaugural first baseman for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Second Base
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Frank White
|
18
|
2,324
|
2,006
|
34.8
|
5
|
81
|
0
|
0.00
|
3.8%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Willie Randolph, Jeff Kent
This group meets a lot of the criteria, but the first 3 all compiled too much rWAR for this exercise, and they all get mentioned frequently as overlooked candidates, and Kent won an MVP.
It’s funny, but in a lot of ways, Whitaker embodies a lot of the Baines characteristics – he had a really long career, didn’t generate much support for annual awards, and received very little BBWAA Hall of Fame support. To tell you the truth, I’m one of those who doesn’t really think of Whitaker as a great player in the normal sense. His career rWAR is impressive, but I don’t think of him as a great player – I think he was a good player for a really long time, and had a ton of "good" years, but didn’t really have "great" years.
Whitaker, however, is a bit of a cause célèbre in Hall of Fame discussions, and I suspect he’ll get in at some point. I think Alan Trammell’s election a year ago is an encouraging sign for his candidacy, as there will be a lot of pressure to have him join his keystone partner in the Hall. Randolph’s case is kind of similar, and he gets mentioned as an overlooked candidate frequently as well. Again, either of them would have made a fine Baines candidate if I didn’t apply the "too much WAR" criteria.
Runner-up for the Baines honor:
Tony Taylor
I had trouble finding a lot of good alternatives at second base. Either they were short on years, or on games, or on hits, or they were really more suited to "multi position", such as Julio Franco and Tony Phillips, whom I’ll review later.
One player that might end up in this category is Brandon Phillips. Phillips is currently at 17 years, 1,902 games, and an rWAR of 31.1. He didn’t play much in 2018, but if he can get in another year, he’s shaping up as a possible contender.
Career leaders for defensive games at second base
|
Player
|
Def. Games as 2B
|
|
Eddie Collins*
|
2,650
|
|
Joe Morgan*
|
2,527
|
|
Roberto Alomar*
|
2,320
|
|
Lou Whitaker
|
2,308
|
|
Nellie Fox*
|
2,295
|
|
Charlie Gehringer*
|
2,206
|
|
Willie Randolph*
|
2,152
|
|
Frank White
|
2,151
|
|
Bid McPhee*
|
2,129
|
|
Bill Mazeroski*
|
2,094
|
As you can see, most of the leaders in games at second base are already in the Hall, the exceptions being Whitaker, Randolph, and White, and, as mentioned earlier, I eliminated Whitaker and Randolph.
The player White is most often compared to is Bill Mazeroski. If we polled experts on the greatest defensive second baseman of all time, I’m pretty confident Maz would win, and I think second place would be a battle among Ryne Sandberg and Frank White, with maybe Roberto Alomar in the mix, although Alomar’s defensive metrics don’t stack up to the others. Maybe Joe Gordon, maybe Nellie Fox, maybe Willie Randolph, maybe Nap Lajoie. I personally would go with White as the #2. The Gold Glove leaders at 2B are Alomar (10), Sandberg (9), Mazeroski (8) and White (8).
Near as I can tell, White was a respected ball player and exhibited great joy when he played. He wasn’t much of a hitter, although he did develop some pop as he aged.
Frank White gets my nod as the inaugural second baseman for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Third Base
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Gary Gaetti
|
20
|
2,507
|
2,280
|
42.1
|
2
|
52
|
1
|
0.26
|
0.8%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Graig Nettles, Buddy Bell, Ken Boyer, Sal Bando, Dick Allen, Scott Rolen
Allen could be listed under either 3B or 1B, but either way, he did win an MVP (as did Boyer) and I think he’ll eventually be elected. He’s out of the running.
Third base is overflowing with players like this…..players with high career rWARs who didn’t get much in the way of support from the BBWAA, but all of whom have their advocates for the real Hall. I think at least a couple of this group might eventually be elected by a Veterans Committee.
In some ways, I kind of regret not selecting Nettles for this honor because he fits a lot of the criteria, but I personally think he’s the best 3B not currently in the Hall, and I think he eventually gets in (although the committee members might have trouble getting past his .248 average).
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
Lave Cross, Jimmy Dykes, Aramis Ramirez
Career leaders for defensive games at third base:
|
Player
|
Def. Games as 3B
|
|
Brooks Robinson*
|
2,870
|
|
Adrian Beltre
|
2,759
|
|
Graig Nettles
|
2,412
|
|
Gary Gaetti
|
2,282
|
|
Wade Boggs*
|
2,215
|
|
Mike Schmidt*
|
2,212
|
|
Buddy Bell
|
2,183
|
|
Eddie Mathews*
|
2,181
|
|
Ron Santo*
|
2,130
|
|
Aramis Ramirez
|
2,112
|
So, even with my regrets over Nettles, I think Gaetti is a good option here (Nettles is Gaetti’s #1 comp on Similarity Scores, and Gaetti is Nettles’ #2 comp). Gaetti is 4th in career defensive games at 3B, had a 20-year career, was a 4-time Gold Glove winner, and is top 10 among third basemen in both HR and RBI.
Gary Gaetti gets my nod as the inaugural third baseman for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Shortstop
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Bert Campaneris
|
19
|
2,328
|
2,249
|
53.1
|
6
|
76
|
18
|
0.42
|
3.1%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Omar Vizquel, Bill Dahlen, Jimmy Rollins
VIzquel has already received too much support from the BBWAA (nearly 40%) for this exercise. Dahlen would be a good choice, but his rWAR is over 70, and he gets mentioned frequently as an overlooked candidate from baseball’s early years. Rollins won an MVP.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
Dave Concepcion, Dick Bartell
Career leaders for defensive games at shortstop:
|
Player
|
Def. Games as SS
|
|
Omar Vizquel
|
2,709
|
|
Derek Jeter
|
2,674
|
|
Luis Aparicio*
|
2,581
|
|
Ozzie Smith*
|
2,511
|
|
Cal Ripken*
|
2,302
|
|
Jimmy Rollins
|
2,227
|
|
Larry Bowa
|
2,222
|
|
Luke Appling*
|
2,218
|
|
Dave Concepcion
|
2,178
|
|
Rabbit Maranville*
|
2,153
|
Bert Campaneris is #14 on the list.
Campaneris was a similar offensive shortstop to Luis Aparicio. They both compiled around a .260 average and .310 OBP with league-leading base stealing skills, and usually hit in the #1 or #2 slot in the batting order. Aparicio led the AL for 9 straight seasons (1956-1964) in steals, and then Campaneris took over from there, leading the AL in 1965-1968, and again in 1970 and 1972 (hence Campy’s relatively decent black ink score above). Between the two, one or the other led the league for 15 out of 17 seasons (Campy was 2nd to Tommy Harper in 1969, and was 4th in 1971 behind Amos Otis, Freddie Patek, and Sandy Alomar Sr.). Although Campaneris was considered a decent defensive shortstop, Aparicio was generally considered much better.
Campaneris and Concepcion were 2 of the more prominent shortstops of my youth, each one considered a key component of talented dynasties. Campy’s A’s won 3 straight championships in ’72-’74, followed by Concepcion’s Reds in the next 2 seasons. Campaneris appeared in 6 postseasons in the ‘70’s, and Concepcion was in 5 (he was injured in 1973). Campaneris has kind of faded behind more prominent stars on those A’s team - Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and Rollie Fingers are in the Hall, while Sal Bando and Gene Tenace have gotten some notoriety post-career as being more valuable than generally given credited for during their careers, no doubt helped by their JAWS rankings (Tenace is 13 among catchers, Bando is 16 among third basement). At the time, though, I remember a lot of credit and respect being thrown Campy’s way as being a real key to the A’s success. He’s probably not a legitimate Hall of Famer, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to consider him a top-20 to 25 shortstop.
Campaneris’ display can call out the time he played all 9 positions in a game, as well as his status as one of the all-time great bunters. Again, fun facts for the kiddies…..
Bert Campaneris gets my nod as the inaugural shortstop for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Left Field
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Luis Gonzalez
|
19
|
2,591
|
2,591
|
51.8
|
5
|
103
|
5
|
0.62
|
0.9%
|
You can give Gonzo some bonus points for having exactly the same number of games played and hits.
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Manny Ramirez, Minnie Miñoso, Sherry Magee, Bob Johnson
It is one of my ongoing hopes that, someday, Miñoso will be inducted into the real Hall of Fame. He’s been close in recent Veterans Committee results, getting 9 votes in 2011 and 8 votes in 2014 (he needed 12).
Johnson was a terrific player, but his career was just a bit on the short side. Same goes for Magee. Manny’s rWAR is way too high.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
Dusty Baker, Jose Cruz
Career leaders for defensive games in left field:
|
Player
|
Def. Games as LF
|
|
Barry Bonds*
|
2,715
|
|
Rickey Henderson*
|
2,421
|
|
Luis Gonzalez
|
2,418
|
|
Zack Wheat*
|
2,328
|
|
Lou Brock*
|
2,161
|
|
Ted Williams*
|
1,982
|
|
Tim Raines*
|
1,961
|
|
Goose Goslin*
|
1,947
|
|
Carl Yastrzemski*
|
1,912
|
|
Joe Medwick*
|
1,790
|
Gonzlalez is the only one from the above list not in the Hall.
Gonzalez had some suspicion surrounding him around his late career power surge. Gonzalez didn’t generate much excitement through age 30 – he was roughly a .270-type hitter, about 10-15 home runs a year. For Arizona, though, he turned into a near .300 hitter, near .400 OBP, averaging around 28 home runs a year, peaking with his eye-popping 57 home runs in 2001. In subsequent years, suspicion began to arise about his sudden spike, but Gonzalez always denied doing anything wrong, and I don’t believe anything was ever proven.
Luis Gonzalez gets my nod as the inaugural left fielder for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Center Field
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Steve Finley
|
19
|
2,583
|
2,548
|
44.3
|
2
|
72
|
4
|
0.13
|
0.7%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Kenny Lofton, Andruw Jones, Jim Edmonds, Fred Lynn, Dale Murphy, Willie Davis
Lofton, Jones, Edmonds, and Davis are all north of 60 rWAR. Lynn and Murphy are both MVP winners.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
Vada Pinson, Johnny Damon, Torii Hunter, Doc Cramer (Al Oliver too, but see below)
Career leaders for defensive games in center field:
|
Player
|
Def. Games as CF
|
|
Willie Mays*
|
2,829
|
|
Tris Speaker*
|
2,691
|
|
Steve Finley
|
2,314
|
|
Willie Davis
|
2,239
|
|
Ken Griffey Jr.*
|
2,145
|
|
Ty Cobb*
|
2,096
|
|
Doc Cramer
|
2,027
|
|
Brett Butler
|
1,987
|
|
Kenny Lofton
|
1,984
|
|
Richie Ashburn*
|
1,980
|
Lots of really good candidates at this position. Oliver, Damon, and Pinson all have over 2,700 hits, so they rate really on the Baines scale in that category, but they don’t match quite as well on some of the other criteria.
Oliver might be just a bit "too good" for this exercise. He actually had some pretty decent MVP finishes during his career, and he also had some pretty good black ink numbers, mostly stemming from his stellar 1982 season where he led the league in hits, doubles, RBI, total bases, and batting average. In any case, since Oliver split his time among CF, 1B, and LF, I decided to move him to the "multi position" category later in the review rather than slotting him here.
Hunter would have fit the bill too with 19 years, over 2,400 hits, and a stellar defensive rep (9 Gold Gloves), although he moved to RF for the last 5 years of his career, so he’s nowhere near the top of the defensive games in CF list.
Doc Cramer is a good fit too, although his rWAR is exceedingly low at only 8.5. I wondered at first if that was the lowest ever for any player with a 20-year or more career, but I did find a couple lower – Jack O’Connor, who played from 1887-1910 primarily as a catcher, outfielder, and first baseman had 8.3, and Luke Sewell (Joe Sewell’s brother and Rip Sewell’s cousin) who played mostly for Cleveland in the 20’s and 30’s had a miniscule 3.8 figure despite being a pretty decent defensive catcher by reputation.
I think any of the contenders would have been a fine selection. Finley did end up with a 19 year career, he is #3 on the defensive games list for CF, and he fit the other criteria pretty well, so I went with him.
In one of those "we can make a club" distinctions, Finley’s narrative includes membership in the exclusive 300 HR/300 stolen base/2,000 hit club (Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran). Finley is surely the "worst" relative member of that club, as Bonds, Mays, Dawson, and A-Rod all hit a lot more homers, but it’s still a pretty nice accomplishment.
By the way, if you change the parameters a little to 250/250/2,500, it’s a little larger group (12), and I would say that Finley (and probably Pinson) are the ones that seem a little out of place relative to the others:
|
Name
|
H
|
HR
|
SB
|
|
Derek Jeter
|
3,465
|
260
|
358
|
|
Willie Mays*
|
3,283
|
660
|
338
|
|
Alex Rodriguez
|
3,115
|
696
|
329
|
|
Craig Biggio*
|
3,060
|
291
|
414
|
|
Rickey Henderson*
|
3,055
|
297
|
1406
|
|
Barry Bonds
|
2,935
|
762
|
514
|
|
Andre Dawson*
|
2,774
|
438
|
314
|
|
Vada Pinson
|
2,757
|
256
|
305
|
|
Carlos Beltran
|
2,725
|
435
|
312
|
|
Gary Sheffield
|
2,689
|
509
|
253
|
|
Steve Finley
|
2,548
|
304
|
320
|
|
Joe Morgan*
|
2,517
|
268
|
689
|
Steve Finley gets my nod as the inaugural center fielder for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Right Field
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Rusty Staub
|
23
|
2,951
|
2,716
|
45.8
|
6
|
59
|
4
|
0.37
|
7.9%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Dwight Evans, Gary Sheffield, Reggie Smith, Bobby Abreu, Sammy Sosa, and Dave Parker
Evans, Sheffield, Smith, and Abreu are 60+ in rWAR. Sosa and Parker both won an MVP.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
There weren’t a lot of great candidates outside of Staub who qualified. The best I could find were Ken Griffey Sr. and Ruben Sierra. Sierra is a player that looked like he could become a Hall of Fame type early in his career, but he basically peaked at 23. He had a few good years after that and did end up with a 20-year career, but spent the last decade of his career bouncing around the Majors.
Career defensive games leaders in right field
|
Player
|
Def. Games as RF
|
|
Roberto Clemente*
|
2,305
|
|
Paul Waner*
|
2,250
|
|
Harry Hooper*
|
2,183
|
|
Hank Aaron*
|
2,174
|
|
Mel Ott*
|
2,161
|
|
Tony Gwynn*
|
2,144
|
|
Dwight Evans
|
2,092
|
|
Al Kaline*
|
2,031
|
|
Sammy Sosa
|
2,015
|
|
Bobby Abreu
|
1,990
|
Staub didn’t make the right field games leaders, but he did play more right field than anything (including DH), and ended up with almost 3,000 games in total. Staub is #13 on the list of overall games played (disregarding defensive position).
Staub is probably the quintessential member of the Baines Hall of Fame. He’s a great match for Baines across the board. Here, take a look at them next to each other:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Rusty Staub
|
23
|
2,951
|
2,716
|
45.8
|
6
|
59
|
4
|
0.37
|
7.9%
|
|
Harold Baines
|
22
|
2,830
|
2,866
|
38.7
|
6
|
66
|
3
|
0.31
|
6.1%
|
Hard to find a better match than that.
Staub only played in one postseason (1973 with the Mets), but performed well, hitting 4 HR’s over 11 games with a .341/.413/.683 slash line.
By the way, an active player that we’re keeping our eye on is Nick Markakis. He already is 12th on the all-time list in defensive games played in RF with 1,942, and he’s reached that level in only 13 seasons. If he plays three more full seasons in RF, he would surpass Clemente in the top slot on the list.
Markakis is shaping up as an outstanding candidate for this honor – he already has over 2,200 hits, he only has 1 All Star game, and has appeared in only 1 MVP voting (last year, when he finished 18th). He just turned 35 last month. He has a shot at 3,000 hits, but my guess is that he comes up short.
Nick, we’re watching you closely…..
Rusty Staub gets my nod as the inaugural right fielder for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Designated Hitter
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Hal McRae
|
19
|
2,084
|
2,091
|
27.9
|
3
|
49
|
9
|
0.77
|
0.0%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Let’s see….Don Baylor won an MVP (he was more LF than DH at least for that year). He’s eliminated. Travis Hafner’s career was way too short.
It’s been a good year for DH’s with Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines both going into the Hall this year.
I like McRae for this spot. My earliest memories of him were when he was part of a strong rookie class in 1970 with Cincinnati (McRae, Bernie Carbo, Wayne Simpson, Don Gullett, Milt Wilcox, Dave Concepcion), and he was a fun, hustling player. Chili Davis is a good fit as well, but he split his time between outfield and DH, so I listed him under the multi position players.
McRae was essentially the first DH for whom you could say that he made the role his own. By my count, there are only 3 players who combined a long career with playing primarily (which I’m defining as 60% or more of their games) at DH: David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez, and Hal McRae (Brian Downing was about equal parts DH, LF, and C). Martinez is well on his way to being elected this year, and Ortiz will likely go in pretty quickly once eligible (I think he’ll be a first ballot inductee. I guess this can be McRae’s consolation prize.
Hal McRae gets my nod as the inaugural designated hitter for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing.
Multi Position
My picks for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
I picked 6 multi-positional players. These are players who weren’t able to accumulate a lot of games at a single position because they tended to split their time among 2 or more spots. I also did so in such a way that, if this were a real "team", we’d have one or capable "backups" at each position.
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Julio Franco
|
23
|
2,527
|
2,586
|
43.5
|
3
|
58
|
5
|
0.18
|
1.1%
|
|
Tony Phillips
|
18
|
2,161
|
2,023
|
50.9
|
0
|
26
|
7
|
0.03
|
0.2%
|
|
Al Oliver
|
18
|
2,368
|
2,743
|
43.7
|
7
|
116
|
16
|
1.25
|
4.3%
|
|
Chili Davis
|
19
|
2,435
|
2,380
|
38.3
|
3
|
30
|
0
|
0.06
|
0.6%
|
|
Darrell Evans
|
21
|
2,687
|
2,223
|
58.8
|
2
|
42
|
8
|
0.17
|
1.7%
|
|
Brian Downing
|
20
|
2,344
|
2,099
|
51.5
|
1
|
20
|
2
|
0.14
|
0.4%
|
I almost put Franco at second base, but he’s really more of a multi-position player. He had between 300 and 800 appearances at shortstop, second base, first base, and DH.
Franco is a great fit for this team. He had almost 2,600 career major league hits in a 23-year career, making his final appearance at age 48. However, he also played many other seasons in other leagues, including time in Mexico, Japan, and Korea. If you count players’ total professional hits (which includes minor leagues and other professional leagues, as well as MLB postseason hits), he’s part of the very exclusive (9 members) 4,000 hit club.
From the "BR Bullpen" section on baseball-reference.com, here are the current members of the 4,000 hit club, along with the hits that they have tallied in their various forms:
|
Name
|
Years
|
Major League Hits
|
Minor League Hits
|
Other Hits
|
Postseason Hits
|
Total Hits
|
Notes
|
|
Pete Rose
|
1960-1986
|
4,256
|
427
|
-
|
86
|
4,769
|
|
|
Ichiro Suzuki
|
1992-2018
|
3,089
|
-
|
1,278
|
27
|
4,394
|
1
|
|
Ty Cobb
|
1904-1928
|
4,189
|
166
|
7
|
17
|
4,379
|
2
|
|
Hank Aaron
|
1952-1976
|
3,771
|
324
|
125
|
25
|
4,245
|
3
|
|
Derek Jeter
|
1992-2014
|
3,465
|
554
|
-
|
200
|
4,219
|
|
|
Jigger Statz
|
1919-1942
|
737
|
3,356
|
-
|
-
|
4,093
|
|
|
Minnie Minoso
|
1945-1993
|
1,963
|
1,144
|
966
|
-
|
4,073
|
4
|
|
Julio Franco
|
1978-2014
|
2,586
|
980
|
442
|
22
|
4,030
|
5
|
|
Stan Musial
|
1938-1963
|
3,630
|
371
|
-
|
22
|
4,023
|
|
Elaboration on the Notes Column, per baseball-reference.com:
1 - Other hits are in Nippon Pro Baseball
2 - Other hits are in professional games in Cuba
3 - Other hits include 84 in Puerto Rican League and 41 in Negro Leagues
4 - Minor league hits include 715 in Mexican League; other hits include 838 in Cuban League and 128 in Negro Leagues.
5 - Minor league hits include 348 in Mexican League; other hits include 286 in Nippon Pro Baseball and 156 in the Korea Baseball Organization
As mentioned in the CF review, Oliver, who primarily split his time between CF, 1B, and LF, is almost "too good" for the criteria, as he actually did pretty well on black ink and he did have some decent MVP ballot finishes. But, I think he’s a good overall fit.
I had to find a place for Phillips even though he never made an All Star team. I think he’s the best true multi-positional players (or whatever term you want to apply to him) that we’ve seen. Well, I guess it depends how you define it – certainly Honus Wagner, Pete Rose, Jackie Robinson, and Stan Musial, among others, were all-time greats who could be considered in that vein as well, but I think a distinguishing factor is that Phillips rarely went through a season with a regular, established position, and was a true wonder who rotated all over the diamond on a regular basis. Ben Zobrist, who’s still active, is wonderful too, but he hasn’t quite reached Phillips’ longevity yet (Zobrist has played 13 seasons, and is 37 years old).
Davis nearly made this squad as the DH, but I decided to go with Hal McRae instead and put Davis (who split his career fairly evenly between the outfield and DH) in this category.
Evans split his career mostly between 1B and 3B, and was the epitome of an underrated player, as highlighted by Bill James in the New Historical Abstract. He stretches the rWAR limits of the players I was considering.
Downing had one of the great transformations of all-time, starting off as a relatively light-hitting catcher with the White Sox, but eventually becoming a consistently productive left fielder and designated hitter for the Angels, generally hitting 20-29 home runs a year drawing a good number of walks, enough to result in a healthy .370 OBP. Downing ended up with his career games split fairly evenly between left field, DH, and catcher
Starting Pitchers
My picks for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
I allowed 7 starting pitchers:
|
Player
|
Years
|
Games Started
|
Wins
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Jamie Moyer
|
25
|
638
|
269
|
49.9
|
1
|
56
|
3
|
0.20
|
2.4%
|
|
Charlie Hough
|
25
|
440
|
216
|
38.5
|
1
|
56
|
7
|
0.00
|
0.8%
|
|
Dennis Martinez
|
23
|
562
|
245
|
49.0
|
4
|
67
|
17
|
0.05
|
3.2%
|
|
David Wells
|
21
|
489
|
239
|
53.6
|
3
|
87
|
24
|
0.55
|
0.9%
|
|
Frank Tanana
|
21
|
616
|
240
|
57.6
|
3
|
55
|
9
|
0.23
|
0.0%
|
|
Jack Quinn
|
23
|
443
|
247
|
57.2
|
0
|
63
|
10
|
0.08
|
3.4%
|
|
Bobo Newsom
|
20
|
483
|
211
|
47.9
|
4
|
69
|
15
|
0.74
|
9.4%
|
Top players eliminated because they didn’t fit the Baines criteria well:
Kevin Brown, Luis Tiant, Rick Reuschel, Tommy John all had too much rWAR. Jim Kaat would be a really good fit, but he had a little too much support from the BBWAA, so I eliminated him.
Runners-up for the Baines honor:
Jerry Reuss, Sad Sam Jones, Jerry Koosman
Leaders in career starts by pitchers:
|
Pitcher
|
Games Started
|
|
Cy Young*
|
815
|
|
Nolan Ryan*
|
773
|
|
Don Sutton*
|
756
|
|
Greg Maddux*
|
740
|
|
Phil Niekro*
|
716
|
|
Steve Carlton*
|
709
|
|
Roger Clemens
|
707
|
|
Tommy John
|
700
|
|
Gaylord Perry*
|
690
|
|
Pud Galvin*
|
688
|
|
Bert Blyleven*
|
685
|
|
Tom Glavine*
|
682
|
|
Walter Johnson*
|
666
|
|
Warren Spahn*
|
665
|
|
Tom Seaver*
|
647
|
|
Jamie Moyer
|
638
|
|
Jim Kaat
|
625
|
|
Frank Tanana
|
616
|
|
Early Wynn*
|
611
|
|
Robin Roberts*
|
609
|
Moyer is my favorite pick among the pitchers as a Baines honoree. I think he epitomizes the spirit of this exercise. He was never a great pitcher, but he had a fascinating career, and he eventually became a good pitcher, and managed to hang around for 25 years, pitching until he was nearly 50 years old, and finishing in the top 20 of career starts.
I cut Hough a little slack on the wins category because he didn’t really become a full-time starting pitcher until his mid-30’s. Most pitcher wins in age 35 season or older:
*=Hall of Fame
Yellow=Harold Baines Honorees
|
Name
|
W
|
|
Phil Niekro*
|
208
|
|
Cy Young*
|
192
|
|
Jamie Moyer
|
180
|
|
Warren Spahn*
|
180
|
|
Jack Quinn
|
163
|
|
Randy Johnson*
|
160
|
|
Charlie Hough
|
147
|
|
Roger Clemens
|
141
|
|
Gaylord Perry*
|
137
|
|
Nolan Ryan*
|
135
|
Hough could have been listed as a "hybrid" pitcher, as he had 440 starts with another 418 appearances in relief.
Martinez gained a lot of notoriety in recent years by having career totals similar to Jack Morris, and he was often brought up as a counter-example when people would make a case for Morris for the Hall of Fame:
Martinez 245-193, 3.70, 106 ERA+, 4,000 innings pitched over 23 seasons, 4 All-Star appearances
Morris 254-186, 3.90, 105 ERA+ 3,824 innings pitched over 18 seasons, 5 All Star Appearances
Morris, of course, generally did better in Cy Young Award balloting (though he never won one), and Morris had a much higher Hall of Fame Monitor 122-67. Morris did the things that get you noticed, including being a key member of 3 World Champions.
Martinez has his own accomplishments, of course, including leading the league in ERA in 1991 at age 37. From ’87 to ’92, he was one of the stingiest pitchers around, yielding an ERA of 2.81 (only Roger Clemens was lower among starters over that span.
Wells had a long, interesting career. He gets a little overlooked because his career ERA is over 4.00, but his ERA+ is a decent 108. He only received support in 2 Cy Young Award votes, but in both cases he finished in third place (1998 with the Yankees, and 2000 with the Blue Jays). Late in his career, he led his league 4 times in a 7-year span in fewest walks per 9 innings. The 4 times leading the league in this category ties him for 9th all-time, with the likes of Juan Marichal, Robin Roberts, Babe Adams, Fred Hutchinson, Cliff Lee, and Ted Lyons.
Tanana had one of the great transformations of all time. He started as a young, dynamic, strikeout pitcher (peaking at 9.4 K/9 as a 21-year old, led the league in ERA as a 23-year old), and formed a dynamic duo on the Angels with Nolan Ryan for several years, but he eventually relied more on guile to survive, striking out closer to 5 per 9 innings over the balance of his career.
Quinn pitched from 1909-1933, mostly with the Yankees, the Athletics (Philadelphia), and the Red Sox, making his final appearance just after he turned 50 years old. Like Mickey Vernon, he’s one of the few players whose career spanned 4 decades.
Quinn tallied 0 All Star appearances, but the All-Star game didn’t exist until his final season. His best professional season was 1914 for the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League when he went 26-14 (he then followed up by leading the same league in losses the next year with 22). He is the oldest player to start a World Series game (1930 for the Athletics, age 47). Interestingly enough, until Julio Franco hit one at age 47 in 2006, Quinn previously held the distinction of being the oldest player to hit a home run (age 47, in 1930).
Newsom is one of my favorites, and he had a wild ride over his 20 year career. Like Vernon and Quinn, his career spanned 4 decades (1929-1953). You can get dizzy just looking at his baseball-reference.com page, as it’s one of the longer ones you’ll see, not just because he pitched 20 years, but because he changed teams in mid-season 8 times, so there are a lot of lines in his record. He won 20 games 3 times….and lost 20 games 3 times. As someone once noted (I’m not sure who it was), it takes a pretty good pitcher to keep getting enough opportunities to lose 20.
Newsom pitched 8 seasons for the old Washington Senators, spread out over 5 different stints with the franchise. Seems they couldn’t get enough of him (or they easily tired of him, or both). He had a career ERA of 3.98, but his career ERA+ was a decent 107.
Newsom’s peak was during the 1939 and 1940 seasons, when he was probably the second best pitcher in the league behind Bob Feller. He played a major role in the 1940 World Series. Newsom’s Tigers lost 4-3 to the Reds, but he was one of the big stars, throwing 3 complete games (including a shutout), ending with a 2-1, 1.38 mark for the series.
Relief Pitchers
My picks for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
I allowed myself 3 relievers:
|
Player
|
Years
|
Games
|
Saves
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
John Franco
|
21
|
1,119
|
424
|
23.5
|
4
|
109
|
9
|
0.01
|
4.6%
|
|
Jesse Orosco
|
24
|
1,252
|
144
|
23.2
|
2
|
49
|
1
|
0.16
|
0.2%
|
|
Lindy McDaniel
|
21
|
987
|
174
|
27.9
|
2
|
38
|
12
|
0.06
|
0.7%
|
Leaders in games pitched:
|
Pitcher
|
Games Played
|
|
Jesse Orosco
|
1,252
|
|
Mike Stanton
|
1,178
|
|
John Franco
|
1,119
|
|
Mariano Rivera
|
1,115
|
|
Dennis Eckersley*
|
1,071
|
|
Hoyt Wilhelm*
|
1,070
|
|
Dan Plesac
|
1,064
|
|
Mike Timlin
|
1,058
|
|
Kent Tekulve
|
1,050
|
|
LaTroy Hawkins
|
1,042
|
For relievers, I primarily focused on pitchers that played for 20 seasons or more.
I think Franco is probably the best fit for a Baines honor – he pitched a very long time and is high up in a couple of key basic categories (5th in saves, 3rd in appearances), but generally wasn’t thought of as a "dominant" type reliever. He wasn’t a come-in-and-blow-the hitter-away kind of closer – he had more of a normal-level fastball but with a change-up that acted a bit like a screwball. Where as most of the all-time saves leaders struck out more in the range of 8 to 10 batters per 9 innings, Franco was closer to 7 per 9. But, he was a pretty effective pitcher for a really long time. As a Reds fan, I’d choose him as my all-time Reds closer (over the likes of Aroldis Chapman, Clay Carroll, Francisco Cordero, and Danny Graves).
Orosco and McDaniel didn’t accumulate a ton of saves relative to some others, but they were both successful in their roles for a long time. After about a 5-year period where Orosco was either the primary or co-closer for the Mets (typically sharing opportunities with Doug Sisk or Roger McDowell), he embarked on a 16-year tour around the Majors as perhaps the quintessential LOOGY, averaging around 55 appearances, 44 innings, and 2 saves per season, changing teams every 2-3 years or so. Orosco remains the all-time leader in pitching appearances.
McDaniel had a long career and led the NL in saves 3 times in a 5-year span, but pitched in an era when relievers might lead the league with 20 or so saves, but would generally accumulate more wins. In the 3 years that McDaniel led the league in saves, he saved 16, 27, and 22 games. In those same 3 seasons, he had 14, 12, and 13 wins. His best season was in 1960 as he led the league in saves with 27 and winning percentage with .750 (12-4 record), and finished 3rd in the Cy Young award voting and 5th in the MVP.
Hybrid/Swing Pitchers
My pick for the Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing:
|
Player
|
Years
|
Games
|
Wins
|
Saves
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
BBWAA %
|
|
Tom Gordon
|
21
|
890
|
138
|
158
|
34.9
|
3
|
44
|
3
|
0.00
|
0.4%
|
You ready for a new junk stat? I’m sure you’re familiar with Power-Speed Number, a Bill James creation which combines home runs and steals into a single figure, placing weight on the balance of the two things being measured, so that you have to do well in both to rate well. Power-Speed Number is the harmonic mean of home runs and stolen bases.
Not sure if anyone has calculated this before, but I was looking for something that could give me a quick and dirty measure of pitchers that were utilized a fair amount in both the role of a starting pitcher and (specifically) the role of a closer. So, I calculated the harmonic mean of games started and saves. I’m calling it "Start-Save Number".
Well, as you probably would have guessed, Dennis Eckersley dominates this measure or that another Hall of Famer (John Smoltz) is a solid #2, but there are some other interesting names as well. Gordon is a solid #3 in this metric:
|
Name
|
Start-Save Number
|
Games Started
|
Saves
|
Wins
|
|
Dennis Eckersley*
|
374.9
|
361
|
390
|
197
|
|
John Smoltz*
|
233.3
|
481
|
154
|
213
|
|
Tom Gordon
|
177.7
|
203
|
158
|
138
|
|
Jose Mesa
|
146.6
|
95
|
321
|
80
|
|
Ron Reed
|
143.4
|
236
|
103
|
146
|
|
Ron Kline
|
141.0
|
203
|
108
|
114
|
|
Derek Lowe
|
140.1
|
377
|
86
|
176
|
|
Ryan Dempster
|
139.4
|
351
|
87
|
132
|
|
Rick Aguilera
|
139.1
|
89
|
318
|
86
|
|
Dave Giusti
|
138.7
|
133
|
145
|
100
|
|
Dave Righetti
|
131.5
|
89
|
252
|
82
|
|
Firpo Marberry
|
131.2
|
187
|
101
|
148
|
|
Stu Miller
|
116.0
|
93
|
154
|
105
|
|
Ellis Kinder
|
111.1
|
122
|
102
|
102
|
|
Jeff Russell
|
110.9
|
79
|
186
|
56
|
Of course, this stat doesn’t necessarily reflect how well they may have pitched, just the fact that they combined a lot of starts with a lot of saves, in a decent balance. Smoltz, Eckersley, Reed, Gordon, Kline, Marberry, Giusti, and Kinder are the only pitchers to start 100 games or more and save 100 or more games.
So, I’m going with Tom Gordon as my "hybrid" pitcher for this exercise. He pitched a long time (21 seasons), and had some degree of success in both roles.
Recap
To recap, here is the inaugural roster of The Harold Baines Hall of Fame Wing for Long and Meritorious Service. Now, this is a lot of players being honored at once (26), but once I got going, I found it hard to stop. It was kind of like eating Lay’s potato chips.
I’m really just trying to get the wing established and populated so that there are enough displays to look at. After this, if it took hold, we could add to it slowly.
Position Players:
|
Pos
|
Player
|
Years
|
G
|
Hits
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
Highest BBWAA %
|
|
C
|
Bob Boone
|
19
|
2,264
|
1,838
|
27.4
|
4
|
102
|
0
|
0.03
|
7.7%
|
|
1B
|
Mickey Vernon
|
22
|
2,409
|
2,495
|
34.5
|
7
|
72
|
14
|
1.02
|
24.9%*
|
|
2B
|
Frank White
|
18
|
2,324
|
2,006
|
34.8
|
5
|
81
|
0
|
0.00
|
3.8%
|
|
3B
|
Gary Gaetti
|
20
|
2,507
|
2,280
|
42.1
|
2
|
52
|
1
|
0.26
|
0.8%
|
|
SS
|
Bert Campaneris
|
19
|
2,328
|
2,249
|
53.1
|
6
|
76
|
18
|
0.42
|
3.1%
|
|
LF
|
Luis Gonzalez
|
19
|
2,591
|
2,591
|
51.8
|
5
|
103
|
5
|
0.62
|
0.9%
|
|
CF
|
Steve Finley
|
19
|
2,583
|
2,548
|
44.3
|
2
|
72
|
4
|
0.13
|
0.7%
|
|
RF
|
Rusty Staub
|
23
|
2,951
|
2,716
|
45.8
|
6
|
59
|
4
|
0.37
|
7.9%
|
|
DH
|
Hal McRae
|
19
|
2,084
|
2,091
|
27.9
|
3
|
49
|
9
|
0.77
|
0.0%
|
|
Multi
|
Chili Davis
|
19
|
2,435
|
2,380
|
38.3
|
3
|
30
|
0
|
0.06
|
0.6%
|
|
Multi
|
Julio Franco
|
23
|
2,527
|
2,586
|
43.5
|
3
|
58
|
5
|
0.18
|
1.1%
|
|
Multi
|
Tony Phillips
|
18
|
2,161
|
2,023
|
50.9
|
0
|
26
|
7
|
0.03
|
0.2%
|
|
Multi
|
Al Oliver
|
18
|
2,368
|
2,743
|
43.7
|
7
|
116
|
16
|
1.25
|
4.3%
|
|
Multi
|
Darrell Evans
|
21
|
2,687
|
2,223
|
58.8
|
2
|
42
|
8
|
0.17
|
1.7%
|
|
Multi
|
Brian Downing
|
20
|
2,344
|
2,099
|
51.5
|
1
|
20
|
2
|
0.14
|
0.4%
|
Starting Pitchers:
|
Player
|
Years
|
Wins
|
Games Started
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
Highest BBWAA %
|
|
Jamie Moyer
|
25
|
269
|
638
|
49.9
|
1
|
56
|
3
|
0.20
|
2.4%
|
|
Charlie Hough
|
25
|
216
|
440
|
38.5
|
1
|
56
|
7
|
0.00
|
0.8%
|
|
Dennis Martinez
|
23
|
245
|
562
|
49.0
|
4
|
67
|
17
|
0.05
|
3.2%
|
|
David Wells
|
21
|
239
|
489
|
53.6
|
3
|
87
|
24
|
0.55
|
0.9%
|
|
Frank Tanana
|
21
|
240
|
616
|
57.6
|
3
|
55
|
9
|
0.23
|
0.0%
|
|
Jack Quinn
|
23
|
247
|
443
|
57.2
|
0
|
63
|
10
|
0.08
|
3.4%
|
|
Bobo Newsom
|
20
|
211
|
483
|
47.9
|
4
|
69
|
15
|
0.74
|
9.4%
|
Relief Pitchers:
|
Player
|
Years
|
Games
|
Saves
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
Highest BBWAA %
|
|
John Franco
|
21
|
1,119
|
424
|
23.5
|
4
|
109
|
9
|
0.01
|
4.6%
|
|
Jesse Orosco
|
24
|
1,252
|
144
|
23.2
|
2
|
49
|
1
|
0.16
|
0.2%
|
|
Lindy McDaniel
|
21
|
987
|
174
|
27.9
|
2
|
38
|
12
|
0.06
|
0.7%
|
Hybrid Pitchers:
|
Player
|
Years
|
Games
|
Wins
|
Saves
|
rWAR
|
All Star
|
HOF Monitor
|
Black Ink
|
Award Shares
|
Highest BBWAA %
|
|
Tom Gordon
|
21
|
890
|
138
|
158
|
34.9
|
3
|
44
|
3
|
0.00
|
0.4%
|
Welcome to Cooperstown’s newest attraction
Now that we know who’s being honored, it’s time to have some fun and try and attract some visitors.
Here’s what I’m thinking…… I think it would help create a friendly atmosphere if we had a theme song playing as you enter the exhibit. Imagine, if you will, Arlo Guthrie doing the intro:
This song is called "Harold’s Hall of Fame"
It's about Harold…..and the Hall of Fame
But "Harold’s Hall of Fame" is not the name of the exhibit,
That's just the name of the song
That's why I call the song "Harold’s Hall of Fame"
Thanks, Arlo.
Then he kicks into the actual song, sung to the tune of his epic "Alice’s Restaurant":
We honor those who played the game
At Harold’s Hall of Fame.
Praising longevity is our aim
At Harold’s Hall of Fame.
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from those other plaques.
No one will think your heroes are lame
At Harold’s Hall of Fame.
You don’t have to feel any shame
At Harold’s Hall of Fame.
You will never feel the same
After Harold’s Hall of Fame.
Just walk right into our gallery
(we won’t ask for much of your salary)
You’ll be awfully glad you came
To Harold’s Hall of Fame.
Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, that is, two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went to visit Harold at the Hall of Fame…..
I’d better stop there before I get off on a 20 minute tangent…….
As far as player displays, because this would be a special wing of the Hall of Fame, I’m thinking maybe we shouldn’t opt for actual, high quality, expensive plaques like the ones in the real Hall. That might not be in the budget. Maybe Cooperstown could hire a caricature artist from a local amusement park to do drawings of the inductees, and next to each one we display a nice, laminated printout of each player’s Wikipedia page. You know, something classy……
Next, we’ll need some interactive exhibits…..
One could be the "Bert Campaneris Bat Toss", where a pitched ball hits visitors in the ankle, and they can then hurl a bat at an image of Lerrin LaGrow. Prizes are awarded based on accuracy and speed of the bat hurl.
We also could have "Charlie Hough’s Knuckleball Station", that lets you simulate throwing a knuckler, complete with a radar gun that records how slow you can throw it and as well as how much movement you can generate. You get to select your catcher to throw to from one of the 3 primary receivers for Hough in his career: Jim Sundberg, Steve Yeager, or Gino Petralli. Bonus points are awarded if your pitch results in a passed ball.
Also, the "Tony Phillips Diamond Challenge", a small-scale baseball field where you try your hand at playing every position on the diamond. If you’re lucky, fellow Harold Baines inductee Bert Campaneris will be there to give you some tips based on his one-game experience in this specialty (Cesar Tovar, Scott Sheldon, Shane Halter, and Andrew Romine have been seen hanging around the exhibit as well).
We’ll also need a snack bar for visitors who work up an appetite. Some possible menu options:
- Chili Davis Chili
- Gary Gaetti Spaghetti (served in Al Oliver Oil)
- Frank Tanana Banana Split
- Rusty Staub Orange Juice (served only in the large size, known as Le Grand Orange)
OK, I think we have a winner guaranteed to attract, oh, dozens of visitors. See you soon at Cooperstown.
P.S. – this is the type of topic where it’s easy for me to overlook players, and surely you’ll have your own suggestions, which I fully expect to see submitted in the comments section. I welcome your thoughts.
Thanks for reading,
Dan