Reinventing the Baseball Hall of Fame: Part 8

The 'Steroids Era' is not the first controversial period in baseball history. The 'Lively Ball Era' of the 20s and 30s produced some of the most prolific offensive achievements, from Babe Ruth's prodigious seasonal Home Run totals to Hank Greenberg's incredible RBI numbers. The seasonal League Batting Average during the 'Lively Ball Era' was over .280, and an all-time record of .296 was achieved in 1930. Eight players hit over .370 that year, seven slugged over .650, five scored in excess of 150 Runs, seven had 220 hits or more, and six drove in 150 plus runs.

Chuck Klein of the Phillies hit 40 Home Runs with 170 RBI and a .386 Batting Average, yet did not lead the National League in any of the three categories in 1930. He finished second to Hack Wilson's (then) NL record 56 Home Runs and MLB record 191 RBI, and was third in Batting Average behind Bill Terry's .401 and Babe Herman's .393. In 1933, Klein finally won the Triple Crown, but with less spectacular numbers of 28 Home Runs, 120 RBI and a .368 Average. Across town, Jimmie Foxx of the Athletics also won the Triple Crown in 1933, but with more impressive statistics. Foxx clubbed 48 Home Runs with 163 RBI and a .356 Average. If Klein had played in the AL that season, he would have finished fourth in Home Runs and third in RBI, showing that the offensive explosion had waned. Klein enjoyed his best seasons during an offensive surge, while playing in a hitter's park, and his Hall of Fame credentials were thus lessened.

When the Hall of Fame judged the 'Lively Ball Era' players, some were ignored for many years, as voters believed hitters' numbers were artificially inflated. Wilson and Klein would wait until 1979 and 1980 respectively to be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee, while mediocre players from the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals of the same era were elected by the Veteran's Committee between 1970 and 1973. These players, who were dubbed 'Frisch's Friends' included Rube Marquard, Dave Bancroft, Ross Youngs, and George Kelly from the Giants; and Jesse Haines and Chick Hafey of the Cardinals. All were elected by the committee chaired by Hall of Famer Frankie Frisch, and all were teammates of his at some point in their careers. None were ever serious prospects for the Hall of Fame, and most were among the worst selections in history. Two more Giants borderline players were elected after Frisch's death in 1973, Freddie Lindstrom in 1976 and Travis Jackson in 1982.

Evaluating pitchers throughout baseball history has been more difficult than evaluating position players. The early days of baseball saw many pitchers win 300 games in a short amount of years, as teams employed only two starting pitchers. The turn of the century until World War I was known as the 'Dead Ball Era' as runs were difficult to score, and thus ERAs of good pitchers were very low. The highest Win totals in history come from this era, with Cy Young's 511, Walter Johnson's 417, and 373 by both Christy Mathewson and Pete Alexander. The offensive explosion of the 'Lively Ball Era' made pitchers' ERAs rise and Win totals fall from 1920-1940. There are more borderline worthy pitchers from this era than any other, including Burleigh Grimes, Red Ruffing, Herb Pennock, and Waite Hoyt.

The War Years sent many great players and pitchers to fight overseas and thus miss some of their prime years. Hal Newhouser, who was a losing pitcher at the beginning of his career, dominated during the War Years of 1944, 1945 and 1946. So dominating was Newhouser that he won two consecutive MVP Awards and finishing 2nd in 1946, posting a record of 80-27 over the three years with an ERA under 2.00. The rest of his career was mediocre and he finished with unspectacular numbers of 207 Wins and an ERA of 3.06, but was nonetheless elected to the Hall of Fame because of his seasons during World War II.

Recent years have seen the most 300 game winners since the 19th Century. Many pitchers finished just shy of 300 after lengthy careers, while others with shorter careers are close to Hall of Fame status. Tommy John and Jim Kaat both pitched more than 25 years and each won more than 280 games, but both failed to win 300 games and neither was elected to the Hall of Fame. Don Drysdale, Jim Hunter, and Jim Bunning were all elected despite winning less than 225 games each, yet contemporary Luis Tiant is on the outside looking in. Tiant has more wins and shutouts than the three Hall of Famers, but a higher ERA and less league leading categories in his career. Critics claim that if one player has similar numbers to another who was elected to the Hall of Fame, then the one player belongs as well. So, where does the line between Hall of Famer and great player begin?

Borderline Players worthy of the Hall of Fame:
-Joe Medwick : Cardinals OF
-Chuck Klein : Phillies OF
-Jim Bottomley : Cardinals 1B
-Jim Rice : Red Sox OF
-Harold 'Pie' Traynor : Pirates 3B
-Billy Williams : Cubs OF
-Willie Stargell : Pirates 1B
-Willie McCovey : Giants 1B
-Max Carey : Pirates OF
-Jacob 'Nellie' Fox : White Sox 2B

Borderline Pitchers worthy of the Hall of Fame:
-Bob Lemon : Indians
-Vic Willis : Braves/Pirates

Borderline Managers worthy of the Hall of Fame:
-Al Lopez : Indians/White Sox
-Miller Huggins : Yankees
-Lou Piniella : Mariners
-Dick Williams : Expos
-Alfred 'Billy' Martin : Yankees

Borderline Executives worthy of the Hall of Fame:
-Ed Barrow : Yankees
-George Weiss : Yankees
-Lee MacPhail : Yankees
-Warren Giles : NL President
-Will Harridge : AL President

Best fielding players worthy of the Hall of Fame:
-Brooks Robinson : Orioles 3B
-Ozzie Smith : Cardinals SS
-Luis Aparicio : White Sox SS
-Ryne Sandberg : Cubs 2B
-Dwight Evans : Red Sox OF
-Jim Kaat : Twins P

Next ten position players worthy of the Hall of Fame:
-Eddie Mathews : Braves 3B
-Richie Ashburn : Phillies OF
-Ernie Banks : Cubs SS
-Edwin 'Duke' Snider : Dodgers OF
-Harmon Killebrew : Twins 1B
-Charles 'Gabby' Hartnett : Cubs C
-Ernie Lombardi : Reds C
-Carlton Fisk : Red Sox/White Sox C
-Gary Carter : Expos/Mets C
-Ted Simmons : Cardinals C