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Originally Posted by Kenny Cole
This. Plus I have always thought it was extraordinarily unfair to penalize a player for serving his country for four years when called in the first place. Looking at Travis post WWII career and basing a decision on his numbers then is similarly unfair. He suffered severe frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge and damn near lost his feet. That he is not going to play at the same level after suffering what should have been a career ending injury is kind of a duh thing. Dinging him for that is somewhat akin to saying Gale Sayers wasn't a HOFer because he didn't play long enough after both of his knee injuries, but substantially worse IMO. At least Sayers' injuries occurred in a game he chose to play. Travis' injuries occurred due to a situation that our country required him to be in. I personally think that is a vastly different situation, particularly when he was clearly on a HOF track when called.
In my estimation, Travis is by far the most striking example of a career wholly derailed by something completely out of his control and completely unrelated to baseball. I realize he won't get in, ever. But he is absolutely due for far more credit than he has ever been given. The fact that he never gets it is too bad.
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I like Travis, and wouldn't have a problem with him in the Hall, but Warren Spahn was also in the battle of the Bulge, sustained injuries to his feet and was shell shocked, and went on to have a hall of fame career.