Johnny Damon HOF?

Especially true. Hard to see a case being made where Damon was close to as good as Evans, and a handier comparison because of the Red Sox connection.

 

For the record, Evans should be in.

 

I've thought about it, and the only lasting memory I have of him in the field is getting knocked out of Game 5 of the 2003 LDS when he and Damian Jackson collided chasing a popup.

 

Blow me if I'm wrong but I think Damon gets voted in on the first ballot.

 

How about finishing off the Yankees with the grand slam in Game 7? Or hitting the leadoff homer to bury the Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series? Or his double steal against the Phillies in Game 4 of the 2009 World Series?

I agree he's a compiler and not the type of dominant player many associate with the HOF, but the guy has had some huge, huge moments and is likely going to end up reaching the iconic numbers for hits and runs. I don't think he goes in on the first ballot (sorry Chris) but if he gets 3,000 hits he goes in, barring scandal between now and then.

 

This. A thousand times this.

How Jim Rice got in on the 15th try and Dwight Evans got knocked off the ballot after three years remains one of life's great mysteries. Maybe he should have been a bigger dick so writers would feel compelled to vote for him to prove they weren't holding his dickheadness against him.

 

It's his nickname that did him in.

 

It's totally counterintuitive, but what you are saying is something I've always suspected, as well: Players who had media grudges frequently seem to get overrated in the voting, rather than punished. And it's probably for the reason you say: Writers want to take the high road, perhaps as a way to undermine player charges of media mistreatment/jealousy/pettiness, etc., etc.

Then again, I am an Albert Belle supporter, and he got almost no support.

 

Someone has to blow you if you're wrong? Man, if I had figured out that wording in college ...

 

Rice is the only player I can think of who might have benefited from this line of thinking. Steve Carlton and Eddie Murray were no doubters. As for Belle, he suffered from playing in an era in which obscene numbers became the norm. Flaming out at 34 didn't help, nor did the cheater/steroid tags. Of course, being a barrel of fun to deal with probably hurt him too.

But if Rice is a nice guy who plays in Pittsburgh, he never comes close to the HOF. Ask Dave Parker. (I don't know, Dave Parker might have been a jerk and I'm sure his cocaine habit hurt him. But he should be in well ahead of Rice)

 

Well, and narrative will trump numbers and reason a lot of the time. As much as the "seamheads" are making strides in front offices and in conventional media, it takes the HoF voting longer to react to everything. Guys like Keith Law, Kevin Goldstein and Jay Jaffe are 5 to 8 years from earning votes still, IIRC.

To me, Damon is a "Hall of Very Good" guy. Very good compiler, but not seen as an elite player most of his career, which is reflected in the contract offers he got and by how he bounced around a bit from team to team in the middle and end of his career. The hits and the runs scored are his most impressive stats, but the RS is helped out by him being on winning teams as an accessory component the past 10 years or so. If he plays some more and gets to 3,000, then he will probably get in based on the narrative and some genuflucting about how "feared" he was on the basepaths and the top of the order.

 

The question was about Damon's fielding and I have to agree with Sea Bass, that was the only fielding play I could think of. Not that I'm applying that to a discussion of Damon's HOF credentials, just answering the question.