How is Jimmy Ryan not a HOF'er?

[toppcat]

I have to wonder at this point, if any of the HOF voters have any way to determine if pre-1920 players should be in the Hall or Not. It's such a different game now than it was then and there is very little video or even advanced stats from the era to help out.

[GaryPassamonte]

There is no doubt many 19th century players deserve consideration, particularly from the pre-professional and earliest major league years. The period from 1845-1880 is very underrepresented. The standards applied to other eras don't adequately apply to these early players. These are the pioneers that contributed to developing baseball into the game we see played today. The seasons had fewer games and the rules were different, but the teams that competed were the best of their time and the players on these teams should be judged and honored accordingly. In every other facet of our society we honor those who were first as heroes and icons. For some reason, in baseball we seem to diminish the impact and status of the game's pioneers.