Bonafide Baseball Hall of Famers

No, drip, you said "he played 591 of his 1,412 games in the field."
Not true. He played 591 games in the field and 1,412 as DH. He played 591 of his 2000+ games in the field.


EDIT; Thanks, Rick

 

ok

 

Steroid admission is gonna hurt Bagwell, though. Otherwise, I would agree.

Admitting to taking steroids while not making it to 500 homers is going to be a tough hurdle to clear. Career OBP of .408 is certainly in his favor. And an MVP.

 

When did Bagwell admit he took steroids?

 

I thought he did; I could be wrong.

 

I think he should be in, but I am biased by the fact that Zeke blows me in exchange for my support.

 

Never thought of Bags as an HOF. He put up good numbers but I dunno, he just never won me over. But he'll get in. He'll probably have to wait until Biggio comes up for selection and they'll go in together.
Speaking of going in, my stance of Rafael Palmeiro has softened quite a bit. I think he belongs in.

 

Never mind, I'm an idiot; Bagwell never admitted he used steroids. Can't think of who I am thinking of.

Carry on.

 

Biggio belongs, but Bagwell is a far easier call.

 

Went back and found some research I did once on Edgar Martinez's candidacy:

# His career OPS is .933. Among retired players, that's the ninth-highest by a right-handed hitter in baseball history (tied with Albert Belle). Six of the eight right-handers ahead of him are in the Hall: Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner and Hack Wilson. The only two who aren't in are Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell, who isn't eligible until 2011.

Nineteen Hall-eligible retired players, batting from either side, are ahead of Martinez on the career OPS list, and 16 of them are in the Hall. The only exceptions are McGwire and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, excluded only because of their respective cheating scandals, and Lefty O'Doul.

Dozens of big-name Hall of Famers rank behind Martinez in OPS, including Hank Aaron, Tris Speaker, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Wade Boggs and George Brett.

# Martinez is one of 15 players to finish his career with a batting average above .300, an on-base percentage above .400 and a slugging percentage above .500. All the others are in the Hall except Shoeless Joe.

Martinez finished eight seasons above the .300/.400/.500 mark, including seven in a row. Only 10 players (nine Hall of Famers and the still technically active Barry Bonds) have done that in more seasons, and three in more consecutive seasons (Lou Gehrig 12, Babe Ruth and Stan Musial 8).

# Further narrow the list of career .300/.400/.500 players to those who have 300 homers, 1,200 walks and 500 doubles, and you're left with six men: Ruth, Gehrig, Musial, Ted Williams, Hornsby and Martinez.

# Martinez's on-base percentage of .418 is better than all but 12 players in the Hall of Fame.

If only the Mariners hadn't been such morons and kept him in the minors until he was 27.

 

3,000 hits make Biggio a lock. Bagwell is probably borderline. Won't come close first time around but coould make it later.
I don't think Alomar is a lock anymore because he ended his career so badly and fell off so fast. Larkin also is borderline.

Palmeiro has HOF numbers but will never get in because of his buffoonery before Congress followed by a positive steroid test.

 

.400 OBP over a certain miminum career length should be an automatic in.

Jeff Bagwell is 23rd in career OPS. There's no way that's borderline.