Pre War Era Players you don't see in HOF discussions

[Seven]

Originally Posted by skelly423

He straddles era, but I’m going to throw Dom DiMaggio into the ring. He was probably the best defensive centerfielder of his day (and I include older brother Joe in that assessment). Like so many he was on track for the important counting stats before WWII service interrupted his career. The career totals appear lacking because of it, but I won’t punish a player for serving his country, and think that had he maintained his prewar production over the war years, he’d be in the hall already.

I think the difficulty when it comes to so many of these players is playing the "What If" game, when it comes to the War. Especially when it comes to the borderline guys, like Dom. He was an incredible center fielder, I think the unfortunate part of the equation is that while he was very good, in the non war years, he wasn't good enough. I'm surprised he didn't get in on the veterans committee though, back in the day.