A DH in the Hall?

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Posted By: Cy 

I was watching the Orioles/Mariners game on the tube and a couple of thoughts struck me as I
watched. First of all, Edgar Martinez is probably the best DH ever. He hits the ball hard, for
good average and has done it for a long time. When he retires, will the writers give him his due
and vote him into the Hall? Or will they make the case that he didn't play a position so he doesn't
deserve a place with the great players of the past?

The second thing I noticed (and I have noticed this many times before) is that the arms of the
outfielders are pitiful. Sure, some are good. But basically, the arms are terrible. Having grown up
in the Pittsburgh area and having watched the rockets of Clemente and Parker, I find the throws to
the infield (barely making it) to be appalling for players in the major leagues.

One last thought I have to throw in here. John Olerud is still playing ball. (Isn't that amazing?)
And, even though his numbers are down, he still has one of the sweetest swings in the game.

Any thoughts?

Cy

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Posted By: three25hits

Edgar would be in a much better position to be considered had Seattle played him before he was 27! He is a strong percentage play with the 33rd best adjusted OPS in history (through 2003). He DH'ing will count against him big time -- he sure could have used the 2000+ more plate appearances that Seattle wasted...

Edgar has hall of fame talent at the plate. Does he have enough to get beyond the DH stigma?

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Posted By: Rhett

Being a lifelong Mariners fan I would LOVE to see Edgar get into the hall, and I honestly feel like he deserves it. Actually it is amazing that he has done as well as he has, he toiled in the minors for years, finally becoming a regular in 1990 at the ripe age of 27. His stats are similar to many good to borderline HOFers that have been enshrined, but his weak fielding and eventual shift to DH will hinder his chances. I still believe he will eventually get the nod, though it may be wishful thinking. Olerud is another great story, someone should really write a book about that guy. He went to High School in the Seattle area with my older brother and sister, and was on the golf team throughout high school until his senior year hen he finally decided to play baseball. He played well enough to get a scholarship to Wash. State and was an amazing All-American PITCHER. Then he had an a brain anurism, which is why he always wears that goofy hard hat in the field. He eventually caught on with Toronto (while marrying one of my sisters best friends) and then had an AMAZING 1993 season. He was outstanding that year, flirting with .400 for the majority of it. He is still a great ball-player and as consistent as any in the game. Better yet, from everything I have ever heard about him he is a very humble and nice guy, and perhaps the most amazing of all is how good he would be if he wasn't the slowest baseball player of all time.

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Posted By: hankron

How many Hall of Fame hitters were horrible fielders? Is being an embarassment in the field better than not being a fielder? If being a DH is so bad, why do Hall of Fame voters generally give little significance to fielding ability when picking Hall of Famers?

"You may bat from both sides of the plate, but if you're batting .097 from one side you ain't no switch hitter."

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Posted By: halleygator

http://baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/lists/pos&DH.htm

According to the Hall of Fame official website...

Paul Molitor is in the HOF as a DH ... so there is some precedent.

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Posted By: three25hits

Molitor played 1174 games as a DH, with no position having a higher game total. However, he played more games in the field (1495) than at DH. If one defines his position as the place with greatest number of games, then its DH. Depends on the definition. Certainly Molitor wasn't primarily a DH.


The two others that typically get mentioned are Baines and Edgar. Baines was DH in 1652 and OF in 1061 or primarily a DH. Edgar's problem is that he is more extreme than Baines with DH in 1290 and 3b/1b in 591. Edgar is a DH.