Informal Hall of Fame Opinion Poll

[E93]

Bill Mazeroski out - How does a lifetime .260 hitter get in in the first place?
Joe Jackson in.

[bbsports]

Bill Mazeroski out, Gil Hodges in.

[Anthony S.]

Jesse Haines: Out. Buh-bye.

Bert Blyleven and Dale Murphy disguised as Siamese twins, in.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

To keep this simple, I will refrain from including banned players in my choices.

Managers: Your choice of Herzog/Southworth/Williams to be swapped for Billy Martin. How is Billy not in Cooperstown?

20th century player: Get rid of Tony Perez. Enshrine Hodges. I'd love to see Dwight Evans get inducted, but that's highly unlikely and more of a personal preference, which shouldn't count here.

19th: As others have said, oust Tommy McCarthy. Will White deserves to be let in. His stats speak for themselves, as (almost) do those of his brother. Either way, I'd put Will in before Deacon. I'd settle for Tony Mullane, though!

Umps: I don't know who I would replace, but any umpire other than Klem (and perhaps Connolly) pales in comparison to Hank O'Day.

Execs: Bulkeley's induction is a joke, and apparently erroneous. Marvin Miller would get my nod. I don't necessarily like certain aspects that changed because of his involvement, but a definite trailblazer nevertheless.

Negro Leaguers: Don't get me started!

[HRBAKER]

Tony Pena? If he was in I would certainly agree with that. Do you mean Tony Perez?

[rhettyeakley]

The people who dont like Ray Schalk, Rabbit Maranville, Bobby Wallace and even Mazeroski and others simply do not understand how the game of Baseball was played years ago. Defense used to be much more important and these guys are in the Hall of Fame for a reason but that reason does not translate to modern day stats and the modern day game. Just as Babe Hermans high average should not be looked at as evidence that he was a Hall of Famer, Ra Schalks average should not be used to say he is not one.

OUT George Kelly, Chic Hafey, Jesse Haines, Lefty Gomez.

IN Tony Mullane, Bobby Mathews, Harry Stovey, Pete Browning and Cy Rigler as an umpire.


I would get rid of several of the recent Negro League inductees and include and a bunch of the early games stars like Cal McVey, James Creighton and Ross Barnes etc. I simply do not understand how MLB has neglected the true Pioneers of the game when most people tend to over-emphasize people like this.

[Ladder7]

Tony Mullane replacing Candy Cummings

[Anthony S.]

In my opinion, the mullet-fro may be reason enough to jettison Don Sutton from The Hall.

[abrahamrudy]

I would never take anybody out. But Blyleven should be in.

[esehombre]

Loved the picture of Don Sutton--that is perfect!
Substitute him for Dick Lundy

Rhett,

Which of the 37 HOF Negro League players would you get rid of?

[slantycouch]

Originally Posted by esehombre

Loved the picture of Don Sutton--that is perfect!
Substitute him for Dick Lundy

Wow - nice call!

[Robextend]

A little more on Ted Simmons from the www.thebaseballpage.com

I know he is very debatable, but how could he have left the ballot after only 1 year? I think the BBWAA seriously disrespected Simmons.

A grassroots campaign to get Ted Simmons inducted into the Hall of Fame has rarely drawn much attention. The switch-hitting catcher spent 21 years in the big leagues, and retired with more RBI than Johnny Bench, more runs scored than Gary Carter, more hits than Carlton Fisk, and a higher batting average than Yogi Berra. But his longevity has not obscured the fact that he was considered a mediocre defensive catcher, against whom baserunners frequently ran wild. With the stick however, Simmons accumulated 2,472 hits, the highest figure by a player who was primarily a catcher. He hit .300 seven times, and was frequently among league leaders in hits, doubles, and intentional walks.

"All you ever hear is Bench and Munson and Fisk. Nobody ever talks about Simmons. He's the most underrated catcher. He's never got the recognition he deserves. But where can you find a catcher that can do all the things Simmons can do? He hits better than any of them, and he calls a great game. And who else in the league can catch as many games as he does?" — Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner on St. Louis catcher Ted Simmons, 1978

[tiger8mush]

Mike Piazza was a great batting catcher (0.300+ career hitter, ROY, 12 time all-star) who wasn't good defensively. Will he be a HOFer?

Rob

[Mark]

After you guys vote out Maz, I would use my vote to bounce Blyleven and put Bill back in. Maz was an elite player on defense, and that counts for something sometimes. If you won't let me do that, I'd drop Chick Hafey and add Larry Doyle.

[Beatles Guy]

Originally Posted by Robextend

A little more on Ted Simmons from the www.thebaseballpage.com

I know he is very debatable, but how could he have left the ballot after only 1 year? I think the BBWAA seriously disrespected Simmons.

A grassroots campaign to get Ted Simmons inducted into the Hall of Fame has rarely drawn much attention. The switch-hitting catcher spent 21 years in the big leagues, and retired with more RBI than Johnny Bench, more runs scored than Gary Carter, more hits than Carlton Fisk, and a higher batting average than Yogi Berra. But his longevity has not obscured the fact that he was considered a mediocre defensive catcher, against whom baserunners frequently ran wild. With the stick however, Simmons accumulated 2,472 hits, the highest figure by a player who was primarily a catcher. He hit .300 seven times, and was frequently among league leaders in hits, doubles, and intentional walks.

"All you ever hear is Bench and Munson and Fisk. Nobody ever talks about Simmons. He's the most underrated catcher. He's never got the recognition he deserves. But where can you find a catcher that can do all the things Simmons can do? He hits better than any of them, and he calls a great game. And who else in the league can catch as many games as he does?" — Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner on St. Louis catcher Ted Simmons, 1978

Simmons had a subpar fielding percentage, but his "caught stealing" percentage was just barely below Carter. As I've said before, it's a total shaft job. Playing for mostly crappy Cardinal teams of the 70's and then with the Brewers really hurt him, even with the Brewers going to the series in '82.

[Theoldprofessor]

Out: Elmer Flick What kind of name is that for a HOFer?

Jim Rice Erase one outstanding season (1976) and here's an ordinary player/DH who worked his way up the voting ladder. If one season gets you in, make way for Norm Cash. In mainly because the Boston crowd got what it wanted. Again.

In: Bill Madlock -- Lifetime .305 hitter, four batting championships

Al Oliver -- A batting championship, lifetime .303 hitter and 2700 hits.

Dale Murphy -- Dominant NL player in the '80s. Two MVPs, back to back. 398 homers Low overall average due to hanging on too long.

All three played for some bad (though not terrible) teams, out of the NY _ Boston corridor. And one who didn't ...

Gil Hodges On a team that featured some exceptional ballplayers (e.g. Reese, Robinson, Campy, Newk, Snider), Hodges was the one that nobody playing the Bums wanted to see in a clutch at bat. Managed the sorry Mets to a World Championship. And a guy who played the game the way it ought to be played, and lived his life the same way. The Hall ought to join him!