The Hall of Fame's 2014 Expansion Era ballot review -- part 1, the player candidates

Where has the time gone? Oh, I know where most of the year went for me -- down a spiritual drain -- but I'm thinking more about how the Expansion Era ballot (one of several successors to the Veterans Committee, though only the name has really changed) is going to be announced tomorrow, December 9th. So I best get a move on.

To save time, and because to do otherwise serves little purpose, I'm only going to do long reviews on new candidates. Fortunately (for this cause), the 2014 EE ballot has a lot of retreads, and since there's essentially nothing new to say about them and, after brief but fair consideration, no reason to give their baseball careers a thorough re-scrutinization or, indeed, any reason to change my previous support stances, I'll be doing rather short recaps on the repeat candidates. So let's go.

The players (6): Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Dave Parker, Dan Quisenberry, and Ted Simmons.

The managers (4): Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, Billy Martin, Joe Torre.

The executives (2): Marvin Miller, George Steinbrenner.

On with the players.

1. Dave Concepcion (career | reviewed on 2011 Expansion Era ballot)

Previous Hall consideration
BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 16.9%.
VC voting: 2011 -- 50% (8 of 16 votes).

Primary position: shortstop.

Playing career: 19 seasons, 1970-88 -- all with the Cincinnati Reds.

Standout season: 1978 -- 170 hits, 6 HR, 33 doubles (career high), .301/.357/.405, 114 OPS+, 3.7 WAR.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1974, 1976, 1981. Hitting was never Concepcion's forte, however.

Career WAR: 40.0.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: nine All-Star selections (five starts), 1982 All-Star Game MVP, five NL Gold Gloves for Shortstop, two NL Silver Sluggers for Shortstop, member (and a valuable one) of the legendary 1970s Big Red Machine, which won two World Series championships (1975-76), two other NL pennants (1970, '72), and two other NL West titles (1973, when Concepcíon was injured, and the final blaze of glory in 1979). Jersey #13 retired by the Reds.

Good with the glove, but not great. High profile due to being a worthy part of the Big Red Machine teams, but that doesn't make him a better player than he was. Defense-dominant candidates usually need a touch of field-built legend to drive their stories, and Concepcion does not have it, or at least not nearly enough of it. There was plenty of video in his years, so if there were some sterling plays to hold forth as his testimony, we'd have them available to review. Never measured up before, won't now.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


2. Steve Garvey (career | reviewed on 2011 Expansion Era ballot)

Previous Hall consideration
BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 42.6%.
VC voting: 2011 -- ≤43.8% (less than 8 of 16 votes).

Primary position: first baseman. 

Playing career: 19 seasons, 1969-87 -- Los Angeles Dodgers 1969-82, San Diego Padres 1983-87.

Standout season: 1978 -- all 162 games played, 89 runs, 202 hits, 36 doubles, 9 triples (his career high), 21 HR, 113 RBI, 40 walks, 10 stolen bases, .316/.353/.499, 137 OPS+, 4.6 WAR.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979. 

Career WAR: 37.6. 

Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1974 NL MVP, ten All-Star selections (nine starts), 1974 & '78 All-Star Game MVP, 1978 & '84 NLCS MVP, four NL Gold Gloves for First Base. Led NL in games played six times and hits two times. Six 200+ hit seasons. Member of five postseason teams, all of which went to the World Series, including the 1981 champion Dodgers. Jersey #6 retired by the Padres.

Garvey worked hard to make himself look good. And he was good -- but he was not great. He did step up in his postseason appearances, which is noteworthy. That's not enough, however.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


3. Tommy John (career | reviewed on 2011 Expansion Era ballot)

Previous Hall consideration
BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 31.7% on his final ballot.
VC voting: 2011 -- ≤43.8% (less than 8 of 16 votes).

Primary position: left-handed starting pitcher.

Playing career: 26 seasons, 1963-74 & '76-89 -- Cleveland Indians 1963-64, Chicago White Sox 1965-71, Los Angeles Dodgers 1972-74 & '76-78, New York Yankees 1979-82 & '86-89, California Angels 1982-85, Oakland Athletics 1985.

Standout season: 1968 -- 10-5 (.667), 1.98 ERA, 25 starts, 5 complete games, 1 shutout, 177.1 innings pitched, 117 K, 1.038 WHIP, 161 ERA+, 5.6 WAR.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1969, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981. But his most important season was 1976, as no one ever expected him to pitch at all.

Career WAR: 21.9.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: four All-Star selections, three coming after 1975. Led the AL in shutouts three times, and the NL in winning percentage twice.

John had three 20+ win seasons, all coming soon after his landmark surgery. John was the first baseball player to undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, a procedure which now informally bears his name: Tommy John surgery. His historic impact is the 1975 season, which he missed completely while recovering and rehabbing. Other than that, while he was a good pitcher, he was not a great one (though he bumped against the underside of greatness a few seasons). He holds a special distinction in baseball history, but that doesn't make him Hall measure.

I do think it is past time the Hall allowed his surgeon, Dr. Frank Jobe, the man who pioneered the ulnar collateral ligament repair technique, to stand as a Hall candidate. His impact has been enormous, restoring player health and playing careers. C'mon, Hall solons, think about it and do it.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


4. Dave Parker (career | reviewed on 2011 BBWAA ballot)

Previous Hall consideration
BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 24.5% on his second ballot.
VC voting: ballot rookie.

Primary position: right field, finished as a designated hitter.

Playing career: 19 seasons, 1973-91 -- Pittsburgh Pirates 1973-83, Cincinnati Reds 1984-87, Oakland Athletics 1988-89, Milwaukee Brewers 1990, California Angels 1991, Toronto Blue Jays 1991.

Standout season: 1978 -- 194 hits, 32 doubles, 12 triples, 30 HR, 117 RBI, 102 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, .334/.394/.585, 166 OPS+, 7.1 WAR.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1975, 1977, 1979, 1985.

Career WAR: 37.8. 

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Seven All-Star selections (four starts), 1978 NL MVP, 1979 All-Star MVP, three NL Gold Gloves for OF, three Silver Sluggers (two NL for OF, one AL for DH). Led league in batting twice, slugging twice, hits once, RBI once. Member of two World Series champions, the 1979 Pirates and the 1989 Athletics.

Good grief, Parker just finished his entire tenure on the BBWAA ballot, and here he is again, on the ballot his first time eligible. The Hall needs a better constraint mechanism, because if 15 years of the BBWAA clearly saying No to Parker does nothing to dissuade the Expansion Era selection committee from giving him another chance this soon, there needs to be a longer mandatory delay.

Parker had a great peak going, and then blew it due to a bad pharmaceutical habit. By the time he kicked that, he had lost several prime seasons. He recovered a bit, but the magic was gone, and then it was just a long, slow career tail. Parker truly was great for a too-short span, and then became a "coulda been". Oh well. Stay off drugs, youngsters.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


5. Dan Quisenberry (career) 

Previous Hall consideration
BBWAA voting: 1 ballot, receiving a mere 3.8%, and relegated. This was brutally unfair.
VC voting: ballot rookie.

Primary position: right-handed relief pitcher. A classic submariner. 

Playing career: 12 seasons, 1979-90 -- Kansas City Royals 1979-88, St. Louis Cardinals 1988-89, San Francisco Giants 1990. 

Standout season: 1983 -- 5-3 (.625), 1.94 ERA, 69 games, 62 games finished, 45 saves, 139.0 innings pitched, 48 K, 0.928 WHIP, 210 ERA+, 5.5 WAR. 

Other noteworthy seasons: 1982, 1984, 1985.

Career WAR: 24.9.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: three All-Star selections. Led the AL in saves five times. Five AL Rolaids Relief awards. Member of the 1985 World Series champion and the 1980 AL champion Royals teams. Finished in the top five in AL Cy Young Award voting five times, twice as high as second place, which is rare for a reliever. His 45 saves in 1983 set the major league record (which lasted only until 1986, but for a brief time it was his).

At last, new blood on the ballot!

Quisenberry isn't a Hall of Fame level player, but he definitely deserved better than the BBWAA gave him in his one measly time on their ballot. Sure, relief pitchers are considered second-class baseball citizens -- moreso in 1996 when he stood as a candidate than today -- but this was the Quiz! His brilliant peak was evident! How did they miss so badly? Grrr.

Well, he did fall off a cliff after 1985. Partly this was due to the Royals collapsing after the championship season (which was flukish anyway, but they did it), so the save opportunities weren't there in large amounts. Partly Quiz got old -- 1986 was his age 33 season, and he'd been piling up plenty of innings. The CYA votes stopped being cast, though with good reason. He had a short, albeit very good career, and a short (four seasons, with two more preceding almost as noteworthy) peak, albeit a brilliant one.

I am delighted to see a new player name on this ballot, and I'm delighted to see it be Quisenberry, and I am delighted to see him get another chance. I will be thrilled if he gains the plaque -- but I doubt he will. Much as I liked him, and as good as he was, his career (even for an ace closer in the era he played during) is not Hall class, and I cannot support his candidacy.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


6. Ted Simmons (career | reviewed on 2011 Expansion Era ballot)

Previous Hall consideration
BBWAA voting: one ballot, finishing with 3.7%.
VC voting: 2011 -- ≤43.8% (less than 8 of 16 votes).

Primary position: catcher.

Playing career: 21 seasons, 1968-88 -- St. Louis Cardinals 1968-80, Milwaukee Brewers 1981-85, Atlanta Braves 1986-88.

Standout season: 1975 -- 80 runs, 193 hits, 32 doubles, 18 HR, 100 RBI, 63 walks, .332/.396/.491, 142 OPS+, 4.9 WAR.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980.

Career WAR: 50.2.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: eight All-Star selections (two starts), one NL Silver Slugger for Catcher. Twice led NL in runners caught stealing. Member of the first two Brewers postseason teams, including the 1982 American League champions.

Simmons was a switch-hitting catcher, and a good one, who never led the league in any popular offensive category (he did lead twice in intentional walks), but had a bunch of top five or top ten standings pretty much every year during his peak, as well as among career numbers for catchers. It is Simmons' hard fortune to have been playing the same position in the same league at the same time as all-time great and Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, so Simba never looked to be better than second-best at anything, particularly among catchers. Being second-best to Bench is no cause for shame, though, and this man more than held his own on the diamond. A better player than most realized, and well deserving of the bronze plaque. I supported him before and I'm proud to do so again.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes!

Summary of the player candidates: I support Simmons.

Coming later tonight: the managers and executives. A few repeat candidates, of course.