Johnny Damon -HOF?

[ctownboy]

D.Bergin,

Whether you like it or not, baseball is moving more towards stats like WAR. So, if Damon plays another three years and gets to 3000 Hits and then has the five year waiting period, WAR is mostly likely going to be even more established than it is now so milestone stats aren't going to count as much as they used to.

Also, as one of the articles pointed out, no matter what team Damon played on, his big year was always outdone by one if not two other players on his team. So his peak years weren't even good enough to make him the best player on his own team let alone a league or the entire Majors.

Finally, in one of the articles, the author was stating his case that, based on WAR, Trammell and Whitaker BOTH have a better HOF case than Damon even if Damon reaches 3000 Hits.

Don't get me wrong, I like Damon as a player but I don't think of him as a Hall of Fame player. Yet, I really feel that he will go in because he played for both the Red Sox and Yankees whereas a statistically similar player probably wouldn't get in if they didn't play for either or both of those teams.

David

[Tabe]

It honestly boggles my mind that there's even a discussion about Damon as a HOF'er. The guy is clearly NOT one. He's a noodle-armed mediocre outfielder who hit under .290 with a bit of pop who stole some bases. Big deal. He's a 2-time All-Star who has never even cracked the top 10 in MVP voting. Has he ever even been the best player on his own team? Was there ever a time where people discussed elite players and Johnny Damon's name came up? The answer to both questions is no.

IMHO, not only is Damon not a HOF'er, he's not even close.

Tabe

[Ladder7]

*YES!




*But, Only in this room;

[Jay Wolt]

Has he ever even been the best player on his own team?

The criteria for admission to the Hall should be the #'s, not the rankings within a specific team.
There are loads of teammates in the Hall and naturally someone has to be better then someone else.
Billy Williams played in the shadows of Ernie Banks, Don Drysdale to Sandy Koufax, Earle Combs to Babe Ruth (& Gehrig), Maz to Roberto Clemente and so on.

[jbbama]

3,000 hits or he has to buy a ticket like the rest of us to get into the Hall.

[bigtrain]

The Hall of Fame is not a Hall of Immortals and hasn't been for a very long time. We could all name at least 20 members who were only "very good". I think it is interesting that the "milestone" numbers are becoming less important. Quite a few 500 home run guys will not get in. Eventually, 3000 hits will not assure election. What about 300 wins? Is that a greater milestone than 3000 hits?

[ctownboy]

On some of the different baseball sites, I have read that some people believe that guys like Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez are not Hall of Fame players. Having grown up watching those guys play, I think I would rather have them on my team than Johnny Damon.

So, if they are not worthy of the Hall than neither is Damon.

On the other hand, if Damon is HOF worthy, then you have to start looking at enshrining guys like Ron Santo, Tim Raines, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Dave Parker and possibly even Al Oliver.

Heck, maybe even Bill Buckner could get in, because, you know, he had a lot of Hits, won a batting title, made an All Star team, finished 10th in MVP voting twice and played for a team that made the World Series (and which he became famous for).

[Robextend]

Originally Posted by bigtrain

What about 300 wins? Is that a greater milestone than 3000 hits?

I think with the way the game has evolved, that 300 wins is as much or greater a milestone than 3,000 hits. Does anyone pitching these days even have a legit shot at 300? I think MAYBE CC Sabathia, and he would still need like 6 more years of 20 wins to do so. With the outcome of the game being taken out of the starting pitchers hand, a W isn't an easy thing to come by.