Posted By:
jay behrensI'm a stats guy, but people get way too wrapped up in stats when it comes to the HOF. The big question for me when it comes to the HOF is, was he the best, or one of the best players at his postion during his career. There is a constant ebb and flow to the game where batters domiante for a time, then pitchers. A player shouldn't be penilized or rewared for the era they happened to play in. This the same reason I think Rice should be in the HOF. He was the most feared hitter in baseball for almost 10 years. No one, and I mean no one struck fear into the heart of pitchers like Rice did until Bonds came along.
I always get a kick out of people who complain about a player reaching some sacred milestone becuase he had longevity. That's the whole point of career milestones, longevity. These same people then complain about Puckett getting in becuase he didn't have any longevity and reach any career milestones. You can't have it both ways.
Biggio is undoubtably a HOFer. He was one of the best, if not the best 2B for much of his career. About the only other 2B was better than him was Robby Alomar, who some think is a HOFer. I don't, even though he was an incredible talent at 2B and brought back the power hitting 2B with speed, ala Joe Morgan.
Jay
I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.