Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
Another interesting Baseball Reference feature is most comparable players. Let's use "by age" rather than "by career" for Hafey because his career was cut short. And we have:
Most Similar by Ages
23.Todd Hollandsworth (974) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
24.Carlos Lee (972) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
25.Bob Meusel (964) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
26.Bob Meusel (944) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
27.Babe Herman (942) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
28.Babe Herman (945) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
29.Matt Holliday (942) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
30.Matt Holliday (941) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
31.Bob Meusel (937) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
32.Tony Oliva (934) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
34.Tony Oliva (924) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Not exactly overwhelming.
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Maybe not overwhelming, but it's not exactly horrible company to be in. Tony Oliva certainly had his share of voters who thought was HOF worthy, during his time of eligibility.
Babe Herman (despite being surrounded by horrible line-ups), hard to find many 20th Century batters with a comparable lifetime batting average NOT in the HOF. (Riggs Stephenson, who was essentially a part-timer outside of a few seasons, is all I noticed).
Obviously, some players deserve it more then others, but I don't like begrudging a man the honor, once he does make it in. I don't see the HOF as having to be some sort of ultra-exclusive club. It's a museum to celebrate the sport........not just the Babe Ruths and Willie Mays of the world.