2007 Baseball HOF VC Ballot: The Players (part 2 of 4; the position players, part ii of iii)

8. Marty Marion
Playing career: 13 seasons; St. Louis Cardinals (1940-50), St. Louis Browns (1952-53).
Standout season(s): 1944 (.267/.324/.362, 6 HR, 63 RBI, 91 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: .969 fielding percentage.
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1944 NL MVP, eight All-Star selections, doubles once. Member of three World Series champion (1942, '44, '46) and one other NL champion (1943) teams.
Primary position: shortstop.
BBWAA Hall voting: 12 ballots, peaking at 40.00%.
2003 VC voting: 21.0%.
2005 VC voting: 20.0%.

Baseball bonus points: was a manager for six seasons, for the Cardinals, Browns (where he was a player/manager, a rare breed even then, now essentially extinct), and Chicago White Sox.

Marion was a dazzling fielder, turning bunches of double plays, but had no power whatsoever, particularly surprising because he was, at 6'2", a very large shortstop, which was pretty rare pre-Ripken. An injury to his back ended his Cardinals playing career, and his short revival across town was nothing encouraging. Health can always be such a significant factor in a player's career, and sometimes these sorts of things happen. If he was even league-average at the plate I'd be much more willing, but that noodlebat (he usually batted eighth) is too much for any glovework to overcome. The MVP Award and All-Star games will have to be enough recognition for Marion.

Chipmaker's vote: no.

9. Roger Maris
Playing career: 12 seasons; Cleveland Indians (1957-58), Kansas City Athletics (1958-59), New York Yankees (1960-66), St. Louis Cardinals (1967-68).
Standout season(s): 1961 (.269/.372/.620, record 61 HR, 142 RBI, 167 adjOPS), 1960 (.283/.371/.581, 39 HR, 112 RBI, 161 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 275 HR.
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1960 and 1961 AL MVP, four All-Star selections, one AL Gold Glove for outfield, HR once (famously), RBI twice, SLG once, Runs once. Member of three World Series champions (1961-62, '67) and four other league champion teams (1960, '63-64, '68). Jersey #9 retired by the Yankees.
Primary position: right field.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 43.09%.
2003 VC voting: 22.2%.
2005 VC voting: 23.8%.

Maris had a good career but nowhere near a great one. Outside of his two great, deservedly MVP-winning seasons, he never posted a full season adjOPS of 130 or more, and after 1962 he only played in 140+ games once. Maris' enduring fame rests upon that one statistic, 61 home runs in the 1961 season, and that simply is not and never should be enough for the honor of the Hall. If he had finished with 59 homers, the continuing debate wouldn't even be a whimper. That he reached his record mark while playing in Yankee pinstripes simply magnifies the frenzy of his proponents; the Yankee franchise brings unusual passion and emotion with it, which is mostly well-earned if sometimes misplaced. The MVPs and the All-Star games are the right amount of honoraria for Maris. And he does still hold the American League single season record for home runs, at least for a 162-game schedule.

Chipmaker's vote: no.

10. Minnie Minoso
Playing career: 17 Major League seasons; Cleveland Indians (1949, '51, '58-59), Chicago White Sox (1951-57, '60-61, '64, and gimmick appearances in 1976 and 1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1962), Washington Senators (1963); plus three seasons with the New York Cubans of the Negro Leagues (1946-48).
Standout season(s): 1954 (.320/.411/.525, 19 HR, 116 RBI, 18 triples (!), 119 runs, 155 adjOPS); 1956 (.316/.425/.525, 21 HR, 88 RBI, 11 triples, 149 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: .389 OBP, which is just below the Top 100 through 2006, and if we throw out all the 19th-century guys with impossibly high OBPs he'd rank pretty well (around 70th) indeed.
Major honors and statistical crowns: seven All-Star selections; three Gold Gloves for outfield (1957, '59-60), Hits once, doubles once, triples three times, stolen bases three times, total bases once. Hit-by-pitch ten times, which had to hurt but got him on base. Only man to play in five calendar decades, though the last two were PR stunts. Jersey #9 retired by the White Sox. Also a two-time All-Star in the Negro Leagues, and a member of the 1947 champion team.
Primary position: outfield.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 21.08%.
2003 VC voting: 19.8%.
2005 VC voting: 15.0%.
2006 Special Negro League voting: not elected (vote totals not released).

Minoso carries a complex candidacy. The "five decades" stunt (which I don't hold against him, but give no credit for) is what he's best known for, unfortunately. He was a very good hitter with flashes of greatness and also a very good fielder. And while he lost some time from the majors as the color barrier slowly fell, it wasn't a great deal and probably, alone, not enough to tip any Hall scales either way. Minoso has a hard time standing out because his contemporaries in the outfield include such names as Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Robinson, Snider – tough crowd. He remains one of the most popular players in White Sox history. Faded quite quickly after 1961. Finished fourth in the AL MVP voting three times over eight years, so he sustained his peak very well. His three seasons in the Negro Leagues, although a small sample size, were pretty good (two seasons) to amazing (batted .392 in 1948; to see the official statistics compiled for the 2006 Special Election committee, click and scroll down to page 7 – PDF file).

While I strongly am against Hall consideration including any sort of "what might have been" when discussing players who lost time to injuries, there is, I think, a difference between that sort of situation and the men who ran up against the color barrier. Those men were in a "were not allowed to be" scenario, in which case I have no problem whatsoever looking at the Negro League stats and imagining what might have been had they been in the National or American League. Minoso's actual age reportedly is five years greater than his official age; give him back three years with the Cubans and five more as well and, heck, Willie Mays might be looking upwards at Minoso in some respects. This doesn't make him a stronger candidate, but just think what he could have done... ah, baseball, you are a harsh mistress, we cannot help but think of you in so many ways. Minoso was darn good and, merely by dint of his skin, was denied at least three years, possibly as many as eight or nine, in which he could have shown his stuff, maybe even better than the best recorded.

Chipmaker's vote: yes (because, sometimes, the stats don't tell it all).

11. Thurman Munson
Playing career: 11 seasons; New York Yankees (1969-79).
Standout season(s): 1973 (.301/.362/.487, 20 HR, 74 RBI, 141 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 1558 hits.
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1976 AL MVP, 1970 AL ROY, seven All-Star selections, three AL Gold Gloves at catcher (1973-75), singles once. Member of the 1977-78 World Series champion and the 1976 AL champion teams. Jersey #15 retired by the Yankees.
Primary position: catcher.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 15.46% (on his first ballot, and Munson got early consideration due to the unfortunate end of his career).
2003 VC voting: 4.9%.
2005 VC voting: 2.5%.

Munson draws a lot of popular support among fans, particularly Yankees fans, because he was a marketable tuff guy, played on some noteworthy teams, and had the tragic ending which keeps his memory alive. Catcher is a tough position, and we have to give the men who played a lot there something of a break. But even with that break, Munson had a very short career (for a sad reason, but think of it as an extreme injury) and, to be honest, was fading badly – perhaps so much catching had really beaten him down no matter how tough he tried to be – and probably didn't have a lot of revival ahead of him, even switching to first base or DH, had he lived. We saw his best, and outside of his best, he didn't have enough to win Hall bronze. Like Maris, a short and very good peak in pinstripes. That makes him popular, but it doesn't earn him the plaque.

Chipmaker's vote: no.

12. Lefty O'Doul
Playing career: 11 seasons; New York Yankees (1919-20, '22), Boston Red Sox (1923), New York Giants (1928, '33-34), Philadelphia Phillies (1929-30), Brooklyn Dodgers (1931-33).
Standout season(s): 1929 (.398/.465/.622, 32 HR, 122 RBI, 254 hits (NL record, still), 152 Runs, 159 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: .349 AVG (4th all-time among players with 3000+ plate appearances).
Major honors and statistical crowns: selected as an All-Star in the first game in 1933; two NL batting titles (1929, 1932), OBP once, hits once. Member of the 1933 World Series champion Giants (didn't do much, but what he did do was good – hit a two-run single and later came around to score in Game 2, his only at-bat in the Series). The bridge across McCovey Cove in San Francisco is named for him.
Primary position: outfield.
BBWAA Hall voting: 10 ballots, peaking at 16.73%.
2003 VC voting: not considered.
2005 VC voting: not considered.

Baseball bonus points: started out as a pitcher but didn't impress anyone. Played in the Pacific Coast League with the San Francisco Seals during the four-year break in his major league career, winning the 1927 MVP. Later managed in the PCL for 23 seasons.

O'Doul broke into the big leagues as a pitcher, but only got into 34 games in his first four seasons, pitching 77.2 innings. Obviously this part of his career isn't going to get him into the Hall. Had a great four-season peak after he came back. Invaluable in planting baseball in Japan and encouraging the game in that nation for the rest of his life. Acclaimed as a great hitting instructor whom even Ted Williams credited. The career transformation and comeback is a good story, but as a player (and this is the player's ballot), O'Doul isn't Hall measure. If he comes up on the non-player ballot as a "lifetime contributor/ambassador for the game" he'll have a better chance. Outside of his four-year peak, he doesn't have enough on the major league field for Cooperstown.

Chipmaker's vote: no.

13. Tony Oliva
Playing career: 15 seasons; Minnesota Twins (1962-76).
Standout season(s): 1964 (.323/.359/.557, 32 HR, 94 RBI, 217 hits, 150 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 1917 hits.
Major honors and statistical crowns: 1964 AL ROY, eight All-Star selections, one AL Gold Glove for outfield (1966), three AL batting titles, slugging once, runs once, hits five times (two 200+ seasons), doubles four times. Member of the 1965 AL champion and 1969-70 AL West champion Twins. Jersey #6 retired by the Twins.
Primary position: right fielder for eight full seasons, DH for three.
BBWAA Hall voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 47.31%.
2003 VC voting: 59.3% (second highest return).
2005 VC voting: 56.3% (third highest return).

I don't hold playing DH against anyone. It's a real position (and has now been around for over a third of a century) and sometimes it's the best fit for a player. Oliva could hit, and he did that very well in a notoriously difficult era (the 1960s). But his glove and defense was right around league average (and, as a DH, non-existent), and while he hit well he never had the sort of dominant, monster seasons that outfielders tend to need to earn a plaque. Peak OPS seasons of 154 and 150, a 146, a 140, 139, some other 130s... that, to me, is just missing the level the Hall looks to honor. A knee injury moved him from the outfield to the DH slot, but as with many others, injuries happen and are a part of the game. Oliva stands well next to Hodges as The Best Player Not In The Hall (after Santo, of course). Gotta be someone, and Oliva fits the role.

Chipmaker's vote: no.

14. Al Oliver
Playing career: 18 seasons; Pittsburgh Pirates (1968-77), Texas Rangers (1978-81), Montreal Expos (1982-83), San Francisco Giants (1984), Philadelphia Phillies (1984), Los Angeles Dodgers (1985), Toronto Blue Jays (1985).
Standout season(s): 1982 (.331/.392/.514, 22 HR, 109 RBI, 204 hits, 150 adjOPS).
Career stat highlight: 2743 hits.
Major honors and statistical crowns: seven All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers (at three different positions – 1980 OF, 1981 DH, 1982 1B), one NL batting title, hits once, doubles twice, RBI once. Two 200+ hit seasons. Member of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates and five other division champion teams.
Primary position: outfield for 2/3 of career, then 1B.
BBWAA Hall voting: 1 ballot, peaking at 4.29%.
2003 VC voting: not considered.
2005 VC voting: not considered.

Baseball bonus points: from the time he was traded to the Rangers through the end of his career, Oliver wore jersey #0 – yes, zero – to symbolize his initial. Wearing zero is extremely rare in baseball and somewhat bizarrely cool, and just had to be mentioned.

Oliver ranks fourth in hits among eligible players not in the Hall (behind Baines, Dawson, and Pinson). He had a very good career and was often among the league leaders in several categories, but never put up a dominant season outside of 1982. Playing very well for a long time is valuable, but not really what the Hall is looking to honor.

Chipmaker's vote: no.