Who is not in the baseball hall of fame, but should be?

[Marcus Garvey]

There are plenty of eligible players out there whose numbers warrant hall of fame induction. However, they had the misfortune of NOT playing in New York or L.A., and therefore have been omitted. What are some names, in your opinions?

I vote for Dale Murphy. Back to Back MVPs, several HR crowns. He was the backbone of some pretty god-aweful Braves teams. I think that's why he's been overlooked. He's got 398 career HR's. 2 more, and I think voters would show him more respect.

[Gil Dobie]

Murphy is a Hall of Famer in my book too, stats alone.
Tony Oliva, best hitter in baseball in the 1960's
Roger Maris, 61 in 61, back to back MVP's.
Jack Morris, winningest pitcher of the 1980s, World Series hero

[saint0917]

It's going back a few years but "Shoeless" Joe Jackson should be in.

[colgate13]

It's going back a few years but "Shoeless" Joe Jackson should be in.
First person I thought of. Second is... Pete Rose. Let the comments fly...

[blueballs]

In addition to those mentioned above, who I agree with:

Arguably Pete Rose and Sholess Joe Jackson
Goose Gossage
Andre Dawson
Tim Raines (I'm biased here because I know him, wife went to HS with him)
Bert Blylevin
Tommy John
Jim Kaat
Lee Smith

[Marcus Garvey]

It's going back a few years but "Shoeless" Joe Jackson should be in.

Let's stick to "eligible" players.

Interestingly enough, before Fay Vincent sought rule changes in the '90's, one's status with organized baseball had no bearing on one's eligibility for the Hall fo Fame. Nowadays, if you're banned from baseball, you're banned from the Hall as well.

[ccujacket]

I agree with Dale Murphy. I used to love him when I was little. He was my favorite Brave before Dave Justice and then Chipper Jones.

[eaglefan452]

Goose Gossage and Jim Rice would have to be tops on my list. Dale Murphy maybe, I don't know though. 395 Homeruns and a lifetime .265 average will be a stretch, but he did play in an era when there weren't that many homeruns hit.

[saint0917]

First person I thought of. Second is... Pete Rose. Let the comments fly...

See great minds think alike, as for eligible players,

Jim Rice
Goose Gossage
this is more of a sympathy vote, but I've always loved Thurman Munson

[jackrabbit1979]

One of the greats of the 80's, donny baseball, Don Mattingly should be in. His numbers would have been even better if it wasn't for a terrible back. I read awhile back that even in high school he would have to stay home from school and other activities because he at times couldn't get out of bed.

[Retro]

Dale Murphy, all the way... The writes always talk about players not getting votes because of their character... Well this guy should get votes because of the great person he was on the field and off. I also agree with Ron Santo.

[griz37]

My vote goes to Will Clark, but it will never happen.

[Marcus Garvey]

My vote goes to Will Clark, but it will never happen.

Maybe the verterans committe during a slow year....
That reminds me. Does anyone remember when Matt Williams was being touted as the "next Mike Schmidt?"

[Grizo406]

I think Pete Rose should be in.

More sentimentality than anything else, but if I had a vote, it would be for Roger Maris.

[ISUMatt]

Bert Blyleven!!! Hands down!

287 Wins, 3.31 ERA, 4970 IP, 242 CGs, 60 Shutouts, 3701 Ks!!!
-25th all time on Wins list!!!
-5th all time in Ks
-9th all time in Games started (685)
-9th all time with 60 shutouts

[Marcus Garvey]

Bert Blyleven!!! Hands down!

287 Wins, 3.31 ERA, 4970 IP, 242 CGs, 60 Shutouts, 3701 Ks!!!
-25th all time on Wins list!!!
-5th all time in Ks
-9th all time in Games started (685)
-9th all time with 60 shutouts

Ding ding ding ding!!!!
We have a winner. I forgot Blyleven is not in the Hall!
Oh, Being a ChiSox fan, do you know if Nellie Fox is in the Hall? If he's not, he ought to be!

[ISUMatt]

Ding ding ding ding!!!!
We have a winner. I forgot Blyleven is not in the Hall!
Oh, Being a ChiSox fan, do you know if Nellie Fox is in the Hall? If he's not, he ought to be!

Nellie Fox was inducted posthumously in 1997 (NF died in 1975).

-Fox was not selected to the Hall of Fame in his initial period of eligibility. In his final opportunity, in 1985, he gained 74.6 percent of the vote when 75 percent was required for election by the Baseball Writers Association of America. However, the longtime disappointment of his admirers was finally relieved in 1997, when the Veterans Committee elected him to membership in the Hall.

Nellie Fox died of cancer in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 48.

And Fox's accomplishments...
-The first White Sox player elected MVP of the American League.
-Only 216 career strikeouts in over 9,200 at-bats: the 3rd best percentage in MLB history.
-Set the record for consecutive games played at second base, with 798.
-12-time All-Star.
-3-time Gold Glove Award winner.
-Turned more double plays than anyone except Bill Mazeroski.

[ngineer]

Nellie Fox was inducted posthumously in 1997 (NF died in 1975).

-Fox was not selected to the Hall of Fame in his initial period of eligibility. In his final opportunity, in 1985, he gained 74.6 percent of the vote when 75 percent was required for election by the Baseball Writers Association of America. However, the longtime disappointment of his admirers was finally relieved in 1997, when the Veterans Committee elected him to membership in the Hall.

Nellie Fox died of cancer in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 48.

And Fox's accomplishments...
-The first White Sox player elected MVP of the American League.
-Only 216 career strikeouts in over 9,200 at-bats: the 3rd best percentage in MLB history.
-Set the record for consecutive games played at second base, with 798.
-12-time All-Star.
-3-time Gold Glove Award winner.
-Turned more double plays than anyone except Bill Mazeroski.

AND--the biggest chaw of tobacco ever carried onto a baseball field! It used to look like he had an apple in the side of his cheek.
Though I"m a NL guy, Bert Blyleven should be in hands down. Ron Santo was certainly a fan favorite, but I forget whether his 'numbers' warrant. Jim Kaat was also a player of longevity and durability. Tony Oliva was a great hitter. He should be in, too. I've always had a problem with the 'character' issue for he HOF--very subjective. There are a number of players with checkered histories in the HOF. Ty Cobb being right up there. After all, it's the HOF, not the Hall of Saints.

[eaglefan452]

Ron Santo was certainly a fan favorite, but I forget whether his 'numbers' warrant.


15 Seasons, 342 Homeruns, .277 lifetime average, 1331 RBI, .954 fielding %. I guess you can judge from these numbers, they are pretty good, I think Santo will get in eventually.

By the way, if you guys want to look up a player's stats quick, go to www.baseball-almanac.com, great site with everything you ever wanted to know about baseball.

[ISUMatt]

15 Seasons, 342 Homeruns, .277 lifetime average, 1331 RBI, .954 fielding %. I guess you can judge from these numbers, they are pretty good, I think Santo will get in eventually.

By the way, if you guys want to look up a player's stats quick, go to www.baseball-almanac.com, great site with everything you ever wanted to know about baseball.

Santo will not get in, if he hasnt gotten in by now, its not going to happen.

[eaglefan452]

Santo will not get in, if he hasnt gotten in by now, its not going to happen.

Probably true, but he might have a legitimate case to be in.

[Mr. C]

I agree with Santo, John, Kaat, Blylevan and Gossage, but the first one I'd put in is Gil Hodges. Hodges has the highest percentage of votes of anyone not to get in. He was one of the foundations of those great Dodger teams through the 50s, an RBI machine and was also the best fielding first baseman of his era. Only teammate Duke Snider hit more homers during the 50s than Hodges. And few people realize no NL right-handed hitter had hit more than Hodges' 370 homers when he retired in 1962 (Ralph Kiner, who is in the HOF, had 369). He also was a great manager, leading the Mets to their 1969 World Championship.

People just don't remember what a complete player that Roger Maris was. He was a great outfielder and base runner, in addition to the home runs. He would definitely be in my HOF.

A couple of more names: reliever Bruce Sutter and Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh.

[eaglefan452]

Complete player or not, Maris isn't a Hall of Famer in my opinion. The hall doesn't recognize complete players if their numbers aren't there. Realistically, how many people that weren't alive in the 60's would know who Roger Maris was if he didn't break Ruth's record? People would remember Rose if he didn't break Cobb's record, people would remember Aaron if he didn't break Ruth's record.

[Gil Dobie]

Complete player or not, Maris isn't a Hall of Famer in my opinion. The hall doesn't recognize complete players if their numbers aren't there. Realistically, how many people that weren't alive in the 60's would know who Roger Maris was if he didn't break Ruth's record? People would remember Rose if he didn't break Cobb's record, people would remember Aaron if he didn't break Ruth's record.

They might remember Roger Maris because of back to back MVP's or being a member of 7 World Series teams. If the Hall of Fame is for elite players, then Maris does not belong, but comparing him to the current membership there should be a spot for him.

If numbers are important, why are Dave Bancroft, Lou Boudreau, Roger Bresnahan, Max Carey, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Joe Tinker, Jimmy Collins, Larry Doby, Rick Ferrell, Harry Hooper, Rabbit Maranville, Bill Mazeroski, Phil Rizzuto, Brooks Robinson, Ray Schalk, Ozzie Smith, Bobby Wallace, Hack Wilson in the Hall of Fame? I don't disagree that they should be in the Hall of Fame. I am saying if they are, why shouldn't Maris be.

[Mr. C]

They might remember Roger Maris because of back to back MVP's or being a member of 7 World Series teams. If the Hall of Fame is for elite players, then Maris does not belong, but comparing him to the current membership there should be a spot for him.

If numbers are important, why are Dave Bancroft, Lou Boudreau, Roger Bresnahan, Max Carey, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Joe Tinker, Jimmy Collins, Larry Doby, Rick Ferrell, Harry Hooper, Rabbit Maranville, Bill Mazeroski, Phil Rizzuto, Brooks Robinson, Ray Schalk, Ozzie Smith, Bobby Wallace, Hack Wilson in the Hall of Fame? I don't disagree that they should be in the Hall of Fame. I am saying if they are, why shouldn't Maris be.
Maris definitely belongs. Just because injuries cut short his career and hurt his numbers doesn't take away from the great player he was. In a lot of those years with the Yankees, he was the better player, when compared to Mickey Mantle. Maris also was a major reason why the St. Louis Cardinals won back-to-back NL pennents in 1967-68 and came within a whisker of consecutive World Championships. Just ask the players on the Yankees and Cardinals who played with him about how good Maris really was.

The reason I like to see players like Mazeroski, Smith and Robinson in the Hall is that they were honored as much for their tremendous defense (probably the best players at their positions defensively in MLB history) as for anything else. Maz and Robinson also were World Series stars. I like Maris for the same reason. Frank Chance (the first of two HOFs from my hometown of Fresno, along with Tom Seaver) was another player who was great for a short period of time and he also was a tremendous manager (ML record 116 victories in 1906).

Larry Doby was every bit the pioneer that Jackie Robinson was, breaking the color line in the American League (just months after Jackie broke in). He was a Negro League star and also was one of the first black managers in the big leagues.

[eaglefan452]

Maris definitely belongs. Just because injuries cut short his career and hurt his numbers doesn't take away from the great player he was. In a lot of those years with the Yankees, he was the better player, when compared to Mickey Mantle.


Maris was a very good player, but to say that he was better than Mantle is a huge stretch.

[Gil Dobie]

Maris was a very good player, but to say that he was better than Mantle is a huge stretch.

In the 1960's Maris was every bit as good as Mantle. Mantle had a great decade in the 1950's stat wise. Maris turned down an Oklahoma football scholarship under Bud Wilkinson to play pro baseball. I believe he still has a high school record 4 kick returns for TD's in a game.

[Mr. C]

Maris was a very good player, but to say that he was better than Mantle is a huge stretch.
I wasn't saying that Maris was better than Mantle for a career, but in several individual seasons he was better. Maris did win a couple of MVP awards in 1960-61, beating out Mantle and others. Maris was also the key player added after the Yankees finished in third place in 1959. They promptly won the AL again in 1960, 61, 62, 63 and 64. With two more title years with the Cards in 1967-68, Maris played on seven championship teams in nine years.

[eaglefan452]

I don't know if he had several better seasons than Mantle. '60 and '61 were better seasons and in 61 only because Mantle went down with an injury. Mantle did come back in win the MVP in '62 I believe.

[Gil Dobie]

HR-RBI for the 7 years they played together.
1960 Maris 39-112 Mantle 40-94
1961 Maris 61-142 Mantle 54-128 (Mantle played 9 less games)
1962 Maris 33-100 Mantle 30-89
1963 Maris 23-53 Mantle 15-35
1964 Maris 26-71 Mantle 35-111
1965 Maris 8-27 Mantle 19-46
1966 Maris 13-43 Mantle 23-56

[blur2005]

Well, Pete Rose should be in even though he's a whiney little yatch who is a prick. Shoeless Joe Jackson batted .356 for his career and may not have actually been guilty in the Black Sox business, so I'm thinking him, too. Jim Rice was sick nasty in his day. I dunno about Dale Murphy. He was a Brave, which is my team, but .265? Ehhhhh.

[lucchesicourt]

Maris' numbers are a little biased for a couple of reasons. First, Mantle batted behind Maris, assuring Maris got more fastball strikes per at bat than Mantle. And Number 2, Maris had NOT ONE intentional walk in 1961 when he hit his 61 homers. Mantle still hit 54, in I think it was 540 AB's while Maris, I believe had over 600 AB's that year.

[lucchesicourt]

One player, I think gets no recognition, but huis numbers are comparable to Dave Winfield, is Dwight Evans. Sure, his offense may have been a little less productive than Winfield's, but his defensive was definitely superior to Winfield's. His throwing arm was as good as I have ever seen. Sparky Anderson said he was the best defensive right fielder he had seen, and the old Batimore manager, Earl Weaver had a saying involving base hits to right field with a runner on first. It read something like this- if you are on first and there is a single to right you take third, UNLESS Dwight Evans is in right. He added the last part after Evans had thrown out 2 baserunners, who had attempted taking third, in their first game against the Red Sox with Evans in right.

[Gil Dobie]

Maris' numbers are a little biased for a couple of reasons. First, Mantle batted behind Maris, assuring Maris got more fastball strikes per at bat than Mantle. And Number 2, Maris had NOT ONE intentional walk in 1961 when he hit his 61 homers. Mantle still hit 54, in I think it was 540 AB's while Maris, I believe had over 600 AB's that year.

IMO they helped each other and the team.

1961 Maris 590 AB, 94 BB, 684 Plate Appearances
Mantle 514 AB, 126 BB, 640 Plate Appearances, 9 Intentional Walks.

In 1962 Maris has 11 Intentional Walks.