Hodges? We don't need no stinkin' Hodges!
Sorry.
NO:
T.Oliva, L.Tiant, J. Kaat. All a notch below IMO. Tony O was a pair of knees away. Tiant and Kaat are in the hall of very, very good. I did not support Blyleven and he was a better pitcher than either of them.
YES:
Charlie Finley: baseball owes a lot to Charlie O: yellow balls, moustaches and free agency [because he was an ass], not to mention the Herb Washington runner card fron 1975 Topps. Charlie O made the game fun.
Buzzie Bavasi: hugely successful GM for the Dodgers and a key player in the integration of the game.
G.Hodges: Based on both his playing record and his managerial record.
R. Santo: A friggin' travesty he isn't in already.
MAYBE:
M.Minoso: I'm on the fence over him. He had a few seasons of Negro League ball but it isn't by any means clear that he was screwed by racism. He was only 23 when he made his MLB debut and was sent down for 2 years of PCL play after hitting around .200 so his time in Cuba and the NL could well be construed as time in the minors. He was full time in MLB by age 25. He was a hell of a character and definitely spanned the experience of the black/Latin ballplayers and had a long career coaching as well, so I wouldn't complain about him being honored.
A.Reynolds: Another wobbler. Brilliant pitcher but not for long enough, IMO.
K. Boyer: Another in the weakest HOF position, very strong both at bat and in the field, but can we put him into the HOF based in part on fielding when he wasn't even the best fielder in his family?
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