Informal Hall of Fame Opinion Poll

[Robbie]

Out - George Kelly.

In....Nobody has mentioned the great Tony Oliva.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by Robbie

Out - George Kelly.

In....Nobody has mentioned the great Tony Oliva.

I will. Besides being rookie of the year and 3 batting championships, from 1964-71 he was in the top 10 in slugging percentage every single year. He was fast, a great outfielder and possessed a rifle arm. He is the poor man's Roberto Clemente. He tore up his knees but continued to play at a high rate and was twice runner up to the AL MVP and finished in the Top 10 several times.
It boggles the mind that Chick Hafey is in and Tony O is not. In a poll about 10 years ago of the top American league pitchers of the era, the majority voted Oliva as the most feared hitter in the AL in the 60's.

[tbob]

300 wins means a pitcher is a lock for Cooperstown but if you look at the body of work and how they performed in big games, I would take Jack Morris over Don Sutton any day of the week. He lead the AL in wins twice and finished 2nd twice. His stats compare almost identically with Amos Rusie, Red Ruffing, Burleigh Grimes and Jim Bunning, all HOFers. He pitched on some bad teams but was always a terror on the mound.

[Robextend]

Originally Posted by tbob

300 wins means a pitcher is a lock for Cooperstown but if you look at the body of work and how they performed in big games, I would take Jack Morris over Don Sutton any day of the week. He lead the AL in wins twice and finished 2nd twice. His stats compare almost identically with Amos Rusie, Red Ruffing, Burleigh Grimes and Jim Bunning, all HOFers. He pitched on some bad teams but was always a terror on the mound.

I liked Morris too, but you have to figure those ERA stats from 1989-1994 had to hurt his chances drastically.

1989 - 4.86
1990 - 4.51
1991 - 3.43 (not bad at all)
1992 - 4.04
1993 - 6.19
1994 - 5.60

Career ERA of 3.90 doesn't tell the story of his dominance in the 1980's, but I am sure it has kept him out of the hall.