Now we turn to the Veterans Committee player ballot, which has 27 candidates.
In many ways this is easier than the non-players, because we have the on-field statistics to tell us much, and if what the stats tell us is not very impressive, there had best be some truly significant and compelling additional testimony about a player's contribution before there should be serious consideration given.
A few comments about how I view the Hall's mandate with respect to players:
First, I value great seasons over flashy career numbers. Career stats are a shorthand; a fairly reliable shorthand in some cases, like, oh, 3000+ hits, because no one gets to that milestone by mistake. But such a number reveals nothing about how it was built, the seasons that went into the total. As the annual goal of baseball is to win the championship (or, more broadly regarding the season, to win a playoff berth), it is intuitively obvious that a single great season contributes more toward that goal than a pretty good season or two does. (A player's team may not capitalize upon his great season, but baseball is a team game and sometimes that happens, that an MVP-worthy performance has to stay home in October.)
Second, I do look for a qualitative rollup of quantitative data. For hitters, I like to see offensive destruction; for pitchers, dominance; for defense, if that is a player's primary claim supporting his Hall candidacy, I like to see legends told (which, I grant, is not easy, but neither should be Hall admission).
Third, to put some numbers to it, I like hitters' full seasons with an adjusted OPS of 140 or more, and pitchers with adjusted ERAs to 140 or more as well. Using 140 isn't hard and fast, there has to be flexibility to it, but it makes for a general starting point. Someone who exceeded 140 adjOPS on a regular basis was clearly doing things very well on the field, even if his other, likely more popular statistics, didn't well-reflect such performance due to other, mitigating factors (like, maybe, a pitcher's offense never scored him any runs).
Fourth, position matters. It's much harder to find a good-hitting second baseman than it is a first baseman.
So, the players – position players first, pitchers later, in the ever-reliable alphabetical order.
1. Dick Allen
Playing career: 15 seasons; Philadelphia Phillies (1963-69, '75-76), St. Louis Cardinals (1970), Los Angeles Dodgers (1971), Chicago White Sox (1972-74), Oakland Athletics (1977).
Standout season(s): 1966 (.317/.396/.632, 40 HR, 110 RBI, 181 adjOPS), 1972 (.308/.420/.603, 37 HR, 113 RBI, 200 (!) adjOPS)
Career stat highlight: 351 HR (29th all-time when he retired; now 71st)
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1972 AL MVP, 1964 NL ROY, seven All-Star selections, OBP twice, SLG three times, Runs once, HR twice, RBI once, walks once, adjOPS three times.
Primary positions: 1B later in his career, 3B earlier.
BBWAA Hall voting: 14 ballots, peaked at 18.94%.
2003 VC voting: 16.0%.
2005 VC voting: 15.0%.
Dick Allen could hit, slug, and draw walks. He was a better hitter than – yes, really – Albert Belle. He picked up a reputation for being a pain in the neck, which he doesn't really deserve, but being black and accomplished and no-nonsense in certain eras didn't win brownie points. Tore the AL to shreds in 1972. Only had one postseason appearance, with Philadelphia in 1976, and the Reds pushed them aside in three straight; Allen didn't do much but neither did anyone else except Jay Johnstone.
Never was popular. Defense nothing impressive; he moved to first after an off-field hand injury (itself a source of controversy) hampered his throwing abilities. But golly, could this man hit.
Chipmaker's vote: yes (though he'd be the last name on my ballot and the first one off it).
2. Bobby Bonds
Playing career: 14 seasons; San Francisco Giants (1968-74), New York Yankees (1975), California Angels (1976-77), Chicago White Sox (1978), Texas Rangers (1978), Cleveland Indians (1979), St. Louis Cardinals (1980), Chicago Cubs (1981).
Standout season(s): 1973 (.283/.370/.530, 39 HR, 96 RBI, 43 stolen bases, 143 adjOPS – just one homer short of chartering the 40/40 club).
Career stat highlight: 332 HR, 461 stolen bases.
Major honors and statistical crowns: three All-Star selections, three NL Gold Gloves for outfield (1971, '73-74), Runs twice, total bases once.
Primary position: outfield.
BBWAA Hall voting: 11 ballots, peaked at 10.64%.
2003 VC voting: 6.2%.
2005 VC voting: 5.0%.
Bobby Bonds was best known for being a power-and-speed guy; he made the "30 HR and 30 stolen bases club" in one season five times, which has only been equaled by one other guy (who is also named Bonds). He could hit the longball and swipe a base, and got on base often enough to make it noteworthy. But he never put together that one monster season, and after leaving the Giants he was the definition of "journeyman". He had some seasons where injuries took their toll, and he was a notorious free-swinger, setting the single season record for strikeouts with 187 in 1969 and 189 in 1970, a record that stood for 34 years. After he retired he coached some, including for the Giants, which is worth a little bonus credit, and among his children is a young lad named Barry, who has been busily leaving his own mark upon baseball. Still, the electors have been getting it right: this Bonds is not what the Hall is looking for.
Chipmaker's vote: no. (But thanks for the son, Bobby. He's amazingly entertaining to watch.)
3. Ken Boyer
Playing career: 15 seasons; St. Louis Cardinals (1955-65), New York Mets (1966-67), Chicago White Sox (1967-68), Los Angeles Dodgers (1968-69).
Standout season(s): 1960 (.304/.370/.562, 32 HR, 97 RBI, 143 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 2143 hits.
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1964 NL MVP, seven All-Star selections, five NL Gold Gloves at third base (1958-61, '63), RBI once. Member of the 1964 World Series champion, and had a good Series, hitting two homers.
Primary position: third base.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaked at 25.53%.
2003 VC voting: 13.6%.
2005 VC voting: 18.8%.
Baseball bonus points: managed the Cardinals for parts of three seasons (1978-80). Jersey #14 retired by the Cardinals organization.
Boyer was a darn good third baseman, both on defense and at the plate. Other than Eddie Mathews and a handful of lesser lights, 3B hadn't seen a lot of big hitters across history. Boyer changed that a bit, as did contemporaries Brooks Robinson and Ron Santo and, a bit later, Mike Schmidt. Robinson and Santo are probably part of Boyer's problem – good as he was, he had the misfortune to play at the same time as some of the very few obviously better than he (think Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson). And, a sad story that has happened to many others, injuries pushed him off a cliff soon after his peak seasons and he never got to enjoy the long, graceful waltz to age 40-or-so that would have let him build up bigger career stats and grab more voters' eyes, which left him with "good, not great" numbers. Now, I do like to see greater hitting seasons than Boyer produced, but position matters, and being one of the better third baseman was a strong accomplishment even if Boyer was third-best at the time; that's an inconvenience of timing. Add in his defensive prowess, as recognized by a bunch of Gold Gloves, and cutting him some slack for the position he played, Boyer had an impressively good peak that lasted a long time. This man would look good on a plaque.
Chipmaker's vote: yes.
4. Rocky Colavito
Playing career: 14 seasons; Cleveland Indians (1955-59, '65-67), Detroit Tigers (1960-63), Kansas City Athletics (1964), Chicago White Sox (1967), Los Angeles Dodgers (1968), New York Yankees (1968).
Standout season(s): 1958 (.303/.405/.620, 41 HR, 113 RBI, 181 adjOPS), 1961 (.290/.402/.580, 45 HR, 140 RBI, 129 runs, 113 walks, 157 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 374 HR (15th when he retired, now 60th).
Major honors and statistical crowns: six All-Star selections, slugging once, total bases twice, home runs once, RBI once.
Primary position: outfield.
BBWAA Hall voting: two ballots, peaking at 2 votes (let's not even bother with percentage).
2003 VC voting: 8.6%.
2005 VC voting: 5.0%.
Baseball bonus points: hit four home runs in one game in 1959.
Colavito was a good-slugging outfielder, and when he got traded away from the Indians, pretty much everyone hated the deal, including Colavito. The city of Cleveland loves the guy to this day. But power-hitting outfielders abound throughout baseball history, and there have been plenty, before and since, who did more than The Rock did. The Hall has to consider what was and not what-might-have-been, and Colavito falls short.
Chipmaker's vote: no.
5. Curt Flood
Playing career: 15 seasons; Cincinnati Reds (1956-57 cups of coffee), St. Louis Cardinals (1958-69), Washington Senators (1971).
Standout season(s): 1967 (.335/.378/.414, 172 hits, 128 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 1861 hits.
Major honors and statistical crowns: three All-Star selections, seven NL Gold Gloves at outfield (1963-69), hits once, two seasons of 200+ hits. Member of the 1964 and 1967 World Series champion and the 1968 NL champion teams.
Primary position: center field.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 15.11% (on his final ballot).
2003 VC voting: 12.3%.
2005 VC voting: 12.5%.
Flood was never a big hitter, and similar to other players, runs up against the "his contemporaries were better" argument. No matter how good his glove, there were equals on the field of play at the same time – Willie Mays in particular – who could match his D and crush him at the plate. Defense doesn't get an outfielder into the Hall unless he far and away beats out everyone else of his era; it's rare. Flood was good, but not that good.
That's not why Flood's name keeps coming up, anyway. Flood rejected a trade to the Phillies after the 1969 season and, in doing so, challenged baseball's reserve clause, a short bit of language in the basic player contract (which had been around since the 19th century) that, as interpreted by the owners, bound a player to his team until the team was willing to let him go. Flood fought that, and Marvin Miller and the MLBPA were glad to have him do it. The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and Flood lost. He had sat out the entire 1970 season while the case carried on in the courts, and his mercifully brief comeback in 1971 was feeble.
As a player, he was good but not great, and that's not what the Hall looks for.
As an individual, a man, he was amazing, willing to end his career (and basically did) to maintain his personal integrity. Remember, professional sports are one of the few places where human beings can be bought and sold; Flood didn't want to endure that without some measure of personal input, so he didn't. But I'm not at all certain that this sort of effort (which helped pave part of the road to free agency, but didn't do it by itself) is what the Hall is looking for, either. A major award, preferably sponsored by the MLBPA, named for Flood, would be a better honor for his memory.
Flood is on the player ballot, and as a player he's not Hall-class. And I don't think his career, combined with his rather landmark legal effort, gets him there either.
Chipmaker's vote: no (but you fought the good fight, Curt, and you'll always be remembered for that; few players command that sort of lasting fame).
6. Joe Gordon
Playing career: 11 seasons (with a two-year break for military service); New York Yankees (1938-43, '46), Cleveland Indians (1947-50).
Standout season(s): 1942 (.322/.409/.491, 173 hits, 103 RBI, 155 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 253 HR (hit 246 while playing second baseman, the positional record until Joe Morgan surpassed him; now 4th among 2Bmen).
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1942 AL MVP, nine All-Star selections, games played in 1940-41. Member of five World Series champion teams (1938-41, '43, '48) and one other AL champion (1942).
Primary position: second base.
BBWAA Hall voting: 12 ballots, peaking at 28.53%.
2003 VC voting: 23.5%
2005 VC voting: 17.5%.
Baseball bonus points: was a manager for five seasons, running the Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics, and the original (1969) Kansas City Royals. Famously helped the intergration of baseball by quickly befriending Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, in 1947.
Gordon wasn't a huge, outfield/firstbase type bat, but he set the standard for second basemen. Very good hitter, excellent defense, got face time on champion teams, and if there had been a Rookie Of The Year Award in 1938 he'd probably have won it. About the only criticism here is the short career (not even discounting the time served in the military; many others from all walks made that sacrifice). However, it was a short, brilliant career. I'm good with that.
Chipmaker's vote: yes.
7. Gil Hodges
Playing career: 18 seasons; Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1943, '47-61), New York Mets (1962-63).
Standout season(s): 1954 (.304/.373/.579, 42 HR, 130 RBI, 142 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 370 HR (11th when he retired, now 61st).
Major honors and statistical crowns: eight All-Star selections, three NL Gold Gloves at first base (1957-59), games played twice. Member of two World Series champion teams (1955, 1959) and five other NL champions (1947, '49, '52-53, '56).
Primary position: first base.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 63.37% (on his final ballot).
2003 VC voting: 61.7% (highest return).
2005 VC voting: 65.0% (tied for highest return).
Baseball bonus points: was a manager for nine seasons with the Washington Senators and New York Mets, leading the 1969 Amazin's to the World Series championship. Hit four homers in one game in 1950 (Retrosheet.org doesn't yet go that far back). Jersey #14 retired by the Mets.
Hodges always comes up in these debates, for a few reasons – he was really good, he got a lot of face time in the World Series, he brought home the first (and considered wildly improbable) Mets championship, and he came agonizingly close to election through the BBWAA. Plus, the VC has treated him nicely the first two go-arounds. Hodges brings a big ball of baseball wax to the table.
But he was never really great. Never led the league in any positive hitting category; often among the leaders but never #1, no season where he sat down everyone else. Had four straight seasons with an adjusted OPS between 138 and 143 (his peak); that's pretty much my floor for Hall-class performance, and playing a historically power-heavy position (1B) should demand a bit more that wasn't there. If Hodges hadn't played for some highly storied Dodgers teams (and he did make strong contributions to them), he wouldn't be half so popular a candidate. It is inescapable that someone has to be The Best Player Not In The Hall, and to me Hodges fits that role perfectly (as soon as Santo gets elected, anyway). I expect he will get a plaque someday, but it doesn't bother me that he doesn't have one yet nor would it bother me if he never did get one.
Chipmaker's vote: no.
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