04/19/24
December 06, 2004
Today, the Veterans Committee released their nominations for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Big names on the ballot include: Ron Santo, Gill Hodges and Jim Kaat. Who should they vote in? Should they vote any of them in?
I Have done some reading on this. Kaat, Oliva and Hodges have been mentioned as possibles this year throgu the veterans committee. Oliva was another one of those players whose career was cut short by injury. He was a pure hitter with power.. In alot of ways, he was better than Rod Carew. He has been getting support from some of the old sluggers in the hall. If you had ever see him play, you would know what I mean. "see the ball-hit the ball" Kaat is borderline, although he did pitch like 25 years. He was a great defensive pitcher--He won numerous gold gloves.----As an Old Twins fan, I would like to see Oliva and Kaat get in. Of course, the biggest joke is the that Bert Blylevin isnt in the hall. If he ever goes to the verterans committee, he'll get in.... I hope that the regular Hall voters come to thier senses and vote Bert in this year.. Anyway, it should be an interesting yeat for the Hall of Fame!
posted by daddisamm at 07:56 AM on December 07, 2004
Poor old Ron Santo. This is but another year that the dagger gets twisted in his heart.
posted by NoMich at 08:01 AM on December 07, 2004
Rose's induction into the Hall through the Vets committee could be tough--He has burned alot of bridges. Of course all of that it a moot point if "the life time ban" is still place! I have always said that The Commish should allow him to be elgiable for the Hall and then tell him to "go away". Rose had an Hall of Fame career as a player--So honor him for that but still keep the ban in place.. Keeping Rose out of the hall is only prolonging the expossure he gets for gambling on the game he played and managed! Honor him and make him go away..
posted by daddisamm at 08:02 AM on December 07, 2004
Right now Pete Rose is placing a bet on whether he gets in or not... I say why not Santo and Kaat? I could even believe that Kaat played in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s...that's a long damn time to be playing baseball 25 years in the majors, 16 gold gloves...
posted by chris2sy at 01:32 PM on December 07, 2004
And actually Tony Oliva was a lot better than I thought, just looking at the numbers...but a shortened career, if you call 15 years short. Sounds like Hodges has the best shot though.
posted by chris2sy at 02:09 PM on December 07, 2004
I'd vote for Santo without hesitation, but that's it for this list.
posted by spira at 08:07 PM on December 08, 2004
If you look at the stats, the player that should be in the hall is Oliva. Oliva is the best eligible hitter that is not in the hall. If you compare his BA, OBP and slugging percentage to other hall members you will find that he was better than a lot of them. The fact that he does not have the raw number of Home Runs orr RBIs that normally ensure selection should not matter. His career was cut short due to injury (like Kirby Puckett). Hispanic players have typically been under represented in the hall and I believe it is his time.
posted by AQBan at 06:17 AM on December 09, 2004
I'm not a "small hall" proponent, but none of the veteran committee choices seem like they SHOULD be in the HoF. I know there is some sabermetric push for Ron Santo and a smaller one for Jim Kaat, but I don't think anyone would cry foul if they didn't get in. Note: I think this was the last year that Pete Rose was eligible for the regular HoF vote. And if the rules stand, he won't be eligible for the veteran vote until 2007. That should be an interesting vote for those guys...