O/T 2012 Hall of fame. your vote?

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by prewarsports

Like it or not, the DH is a legitimate position in baseball, MORE important to any AL team as an average fielder with the same offensive numbers. Edgar Martinez is the best DH in the history of Baseball. How many other legitimate positions have the best EVER player not in the Hall of Fame?

Edgar Martinez should be a Hall of Famer and if you dont like that, take it up with the Commissioner and have the rules changed. Saying he is not a Hall of Famer is like excluding Closers because they only pitch in 60 games a year and for less than 100 innings.

The problem with that statement is that DH is not a legitimate position. It's a generic position for hitters who can't do anything else. Forget the "designated" part, he's just a hitter. His stats must be compared to everyone who's ever stepped up to the plate, whether they played the field or not... The only way he could be the Best DH EVER, is if he were the Best Hitter Ever... His best bet would be for everyone to forget about what he ACTUALLY was, and compare him only to those at his natural position of Third Base, otherwise he must be compared to EVERYONE...

Now I know, I've been the big voice against Edgar in these forums, but the truth is, I believe he does belong in the Hall, BUT based on these inevitable truths, there are a good many players that I believe should get in before him...And I'd rather focus on them, instead of showing blind misguided love for a player who many people really don't fully understand what he truly was..

[Robextend]

I am not sure who played more games at DH, but Frank Thomas was better than Edgar Martinez. Thomas will most likely get in on the 1st ballot because his stats are just too overwhelming, but I do not think Martinez is the greatest DH of all time.

I also agree that on hitting alone, Martinez is a Hall of Famer. However, defense should definitely be some kind of factor when deciding if a player is HOF worthy.

[joeadcock]

Bagwell likely
Larkin maybe
Santo likely
Martinez ?
Morris ?