Feathers were ruffled

I’ve taken plenty of heat this week for merely suggesting that Don Mattingly was Hall worthy. It was almost as if I was accountable for 74.9% of this Monday’s vote and all I had to do was convince ONE person to join my side.

I don’t have a vote, people, but if I did…“Donnie Baseball” would be a guy that I would have to think long and hard about voting for.

I'm serious.

Plenty of you took the opportunity to tell me WHO you thought was more worthy than Mattingly. That being said…let me cut through the clutter that typically fills the first couple of paragraphs of every new post and jump right in.

Mark Grace is not, I repeat NOT a Hall of Famer.

There, I said it Cubs fans…your beloved “Gracie” is not going to be on the short list of new inductees when they are announced Monday.

“But what about all those hits he had in the 90s?”

It’s true…Grace’s 1,754 base hits in the decade of the 90s led all major leaguers. Seven more than Rafael Palmeiro (1747), 26 more than Craig Biggio (1728) and 41 more than Tony Gwynn (1713)…each one of them (steroids aside) SHOULD BE Hall of Famers.

As a sidenote…it should be noted that when you break down hits leaders by decade, only ONE decade (the 1980s) does not have its leader (Pete Rose) in the Hall of Fame. But did Grace ever lead the league in hitting? Nope. He was just the model of consistency.

Matter of fact, Grace never led the league in hits, much less batting average. The closest he ever came in leading the league in hits was 1993 where he trailed league leader Lenny Dykstra by one.

Grace is a guy who, while carrying a career .303 batting average, never finished higher than THIRTEENTH in the MVP voting and appeared in only three All-Star Games.

Sure, he got his World Series ring with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and brought home the Gold Glove four times, but you know what…so did Steve Garvey.

Amd that’s where their similarities end.

“But Grace is a good guy…we LOVE him here in Chicago!”

Do ya? If so…why?!? He kinda left your city with a sour taste in his mouth and let EVERYONE know about it. He’ll talk about how much he loves the Windy City in one breath…but bash it in the next.

Consider what he said as he suited up to take field against the Yankees in the 2001 World Series…“I've never been to Yankee Stadium. I've never played the Yankees all these years. I've always been in the National League, and believe it or not, the Cubs have never played the Yankees in the postseason.”

Maybe what he said was true, but then he dropped this one after winning the World Series in Arizona…“I’m not good enough to play for the Chicago Cubs, but I’m good enough to play for the World Champions.”

Ouch.

He was colorful…a great quote. A Hall of Famer? Not quite.

Sorry, friends.

Remember the "Athlete"?

***Claiming that “Donnie Baseball” made him do it…here’s JB’s take on a certain someone on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot.***

I have an unfortunate addiction to fixating on anything that comes across the TV with a scoreboard.

Golf, tennis (preferably women’s, for obvious reasons), badminton…doesn’t matter. Hell, if I come across MTV and the “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” is on…I want to know who wins in the gauntlet.

This past weekend, I stumbled upon the Under Armor All-America High School Football Game.

I started seeing listings for this guy rated THIS by that service and this guy rated THAT by this service…blah, blah, blah. What intrigued me the most was seeing several players with a position listed as “ATH”. It stands for “ATHLETE”, which apparently means the individual is far too talented to be listed at just one position.

As I watched several 18 and 19 year-old boys do sack dances and stand over the Blue Chip QB they just hammered, I reminisced about an “ATH” I loved during my youth. He was drafted in the first round by an MLB team and gravitated to become the face of the franchise. He was drafted as a CATCHER (I know…“ATHLETE” and “CATCHER” in the same paragraph, but give me a second here), but was far too talented to ruin his knees and wreck his offense worrying about how to handle a pitching staff.

Though you may have a recent retiree in mind, don’t even think about saying Craig Biggio…"The Murph” was a catcher with entirely too much offensive talent, a cannon arm and a gait like a gazelle to spend his time rotting away behind the plate.

When the Atlanta Braves made Dale Bryan Murphy the fifth overall pick in the 1974 draft, they knew they were choosing a 6’5” 215-pounder out of Portland, Oregon (when do you get to play baseball in Portland…between downpours?) with an unlimited supply of power from the right side of the plate. Only problem…he’s a catcher and the DH rule wasn’t available to the Senior Circuit.

Besides, Murphy was too good to be DH material anyhow.

After spending his call-up in 1976 and 1977 as a backstop, the Braves had a brainstorm. They needed to move this catcher, with tons of offensive potential, a rocket arm and athleticism for days, to a position that was better suited to his tools…first base!

Now a more accurate reason for Murphy’s switch from first to the outfield in spring training 1980 is Bob Horner, the Braves 1978 first rounder (number one overall pick), needing somewhere to play when he wasn’t fighting off groundballs like a hockey goalie at the hot corner or injured.

Again, I am arguing it was because of Murphy’s athleticism…not too hard though. Murphy’s FIVE Gold Gloves (playing mostly centerfield) wins that debate for me.

So let’s get to it, Dale Murphy should be a Hall of Famer.

He destroyed National League pitching in the 80’s. On top of the five, 24K Rawlings, he was a seven time All-Star and was 30-30 in 1983…year two of back-to-back MVP seasons. He very easily could have won two more…one in 1984 (.290, 36 HR, 100 RBI) and again in 1987 (.295, 44, 105) if not for two Cubs.

Two Cubs!

Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson did both deserve it, not disputing that, but Murphy finished ninth and eleventh in voting respectively in those years. Guys named "Wallach" and "Cruz" finished ahead of him in voting and in ’84 he beat Jody Davis in voting by just 3 points.

Come on…Jody Davis?!? The guy on top of trophies had a better batting stance than him.

How does Murphy stack-up with some current Hall members?

Let’s put him up against two…one a catcher, one a center fielder (irony intended). “The Murph” scored more runs, had more hits and homers than the catcher and won as many MVP awards. The center fielder…Murphy had 2 more MVP awards than him.

Is Murphy better than Johnny Bench and Duke Snider? Probably not.

Does he belong in the same class? Absolutely.

He unfortunately did not have the benefit of playing for, and winning World Series titles like Bench and Snider did. He played in Atlanta when they were shitty at best and he was most, if not all, of what they had.

As I drifted back into consciousness to some wide receiver from the State of Florida committing LIVE, on the spot to the Gators (what a shocker), I longed for the days of a true “ATH.” Like when a 1983 Dale Murphy Topps card made my day when I got one in a pack.

As I recalled the stale flavor of baseball-card-pack bubble gum, I thought to myself what I thought then…“The Murph” sure smells like a Hall-of-Famer.

I'm tired of the Yankees

I’ve had some time to think about this next statement, but even at the risk of coming across like a thirteen year-old with a Myspace page…I’ll say it.

I hate the New York Yankees.

Oh sure, I’ve talked before about how much I would like to visit Monument Park. I’ve even sung the praises of Yankee great Ron Guidry by comparing him (quite favorably I might add) to Sandy Koufax. But all their history and the legacy of the pinstripes aside, I can’t get behind their off-season signings.

Hell, I know Yankees FANS who can’t argue that the signings of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and, most recently, Mark Teixeira AREN’T good for the game.

All that said, I do sleep better knowing that (A) they were not invited to the annual Frank Caliendo promo fest Major League Baseball calls the “playoffs” and (B) they haven’t won a World Series since BEFORE the Twin Towers were rubble.

I guess at the end of it all, I can take solace in the fact that we’ve seen this movie before…25 years ago.

The “Bronx Bombers” OWNED baseball in the late 70s. They averaged 98 wins from 1976 to 1980 and took home two world championships. Owner George Steinbrenner was at his most colorful. He hired and fired Billy Martin twice (he’d make three more stints as manager throughout the 80s) and brought players in left and right to capture the pennant.

Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Goose Gossage were all brought in to win.

And they did.

In the decade following, Steinbrenner again opened up his wallet to buy some hardware. He brought in Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson and Don Baylor to round out a lineup already chock full of established stars like Guidry, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles and a certain up and coming first baseman.

Steve Balboni.

Problem is…this didn’t work. The Yankees went from dominating the American League to going twelve straight years of NOT making the playoffs…their longest such streak since BEFORE Babe Ruth came over from BeanTown.

Apparently, you can’t buy chemistry and I’m hopeful that my friend Nick Underhill was right when he wrote THIS last month. Sure, he recanted his statement eleven days later…but I’m sticking to my guns.

Now, to think I’m going to spend the next dozen (or more…probably many more) paragraphs trumpeting Balboni’s career would be insane. Granted, his lifetime numbers of .229, 181 homeruns and 495 RBIs are as rotund as he was, but it’s the Lou Gehrig to Balboni’s Wally Pipp that I’m excited about.

Don Mattingly.

I know what you’re thinking…did this guy lose his mind? He must’ve just got done watching the Cheers finale (that’s a 1993 reference, gang), because “Donnie Baseball” hasn’t been relevant since BEFORE the strike of 1994.

How did I go from HATING the Yankees to writing about, arguably, one of their most popular players?

I’ll tell ya.

Like most of the world, I was enamored with Mattingly when he hit the scene. I had his 1984 Donruss rookie card encased in Lucite and thought I was witnessing the second coming.

That being said, I’m not so sure we weren’t.

During a six-year run beginning in 1984, Mattingly averaged 26 home runs, 114 RBIs and a .327 batting average. No player during that stretch had more RBI than Mattingly's 684, while only Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (1,269) had more hits than Mattingly's 1,219.

That six-year peak (from 1984 to 1989) is clearly one of the best of his generation and overall, his brief career stacks up with some others in the Hall.

Let’s compare him with a recently inducted Hall of Famer and YOU explain to ME why Mattingly can’t get more than 28 percent of the vote. Matter of fact, if someone can tell me how less than TEN percent of the voters in 2007 thought Mattingly was Hall worthy…I’m waiting.

So, let’s compare!

HALL CANDIDATE A played in only 1785 games at the major league level. However, in that short career…he notched 2153 hits, 222 homeruns and 1099 RBI.

Known primarily as a contact guy, this player had a career batting average of .307 and an on base percentage of .358. Seven times, this player finished in the top ten in hits and five times, he was in the top ten in batting average…leading the league only once. He had a stretch of five out of six years, where he finished in the top five in RBI.

Let’s look at the trophy case.

HALL CANDIDATE A was once a league MVP and four straight years, he finished in the top ten in voting. He was an All-Star six times and had a surprisingly spectacular glove, bringing home the Gold Glove at his position in nine out of ten seasons.

As I’ve said before, post season accolades can make you or break you. In this player’s career…he had a career post season batting average of .417.

Now…let’s check out the resume of HALL CANDIDATE B by using the same EXACT criteria. Matter of fact, I’m going to cut and paste the preceding and make the appropriate changes.

Here we go.

HALL CANDIDATE B played in only 1783 games at the major league level. However, in that short career…he notched 2304 hits, 207 homeruns and 1085 RBI.

Like HALL CANDIDATE A, HALL CANDIDATE B was also known as a contact guy. He had a career batting average of .318 and an on base percentage of .360. Ten times, this player finished in the top ten in hits and seven times, he was in the top ten in batting average…leading the league once. Only twice did he finish in the top five in RBI.

Let’s look at the trophy case.

HALL CANDIDATE B was never a league MVP, but there was a stretch where nine times in eleven years, he finished in the top ten in voting. He was an All-Star ten straight years and while he was heralded as having a spectacular glove, he was only golden six times.

Again, as I’ve said before, you have to look at post season accolades. In this player’s career…he had a career post season batting average of .309.

Now, here’s the part where you can separate who is who.

HALL CANDIDATE B has two World Series rings in two chances and if you paid any attention in the first half of this post, you know that Mattingly has none.

So, who is HALL CANDIDATE B? It’s the very guy who gave Mattingly the moniker “Donnie Baseball” of course…Kirby Puckett.

Yeah, the same Kirby Puckett who went into the Hall in 2001...coincidently, both his and Mattingly’s first year on the ballot. 2001 also yielded the highest amount of support for Mattingly…28.2%.

"I don't think I'm a Hall of Famer," Mattingly told Newsday last year. "I don't think I have the numbers. Part of it is longevity, and I wasn't able to do that and do the things that I did early in my career."

Mattingly is a modest, modest man.

If his numbers show anything it’s that he HAS the numbers. As I’ve shown, his numbers are on par with Kirby Puckett. Sure, neither had the longevity (both were forced out due to injury)...but there are a number of players in the Hall who played in LESS games.

If you’ve heard me sound off about Albert Belle…you know I think the longevity argument is flawed. On the flipside, I think some players play their way into the Hall by playing in TOO MANY games.

Simply put, the “longevity” argument is garbage and Mattingly is, again, being modest by bringing it up. But I get it, he’s not out there playing the “I’m a Hall of Famer” game like some players do...he’s allowing others to bang his drum.

And I guess that’s what I am doing…my personal feelings about the New York Yankees aside.

The Hall of Fame voting is revealed Monday, but if you’ve got something to say about Jim Rice, Andre Dawson or even Dale Murphy…I’d like to hear from you!

Drop me an email at hallofverygood@yahoo.com and who knows…your words might just end up on this website!

***Note: Based on the "Is Don Mattingly a Hall of Famer" poll that was on the page...50% of you think he is.***

Merry Christmas!

Is it just me...or does David Wells look good in red? Anyway...Merry Christmas, gang!

Or in the case of our Jewish Hall of Fame friends Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg...enjoy your Thursday!

Game Over

"He makes it look easy. You wish there was another league he could get called up to." - Dwight Gooden on Greg Maddux

13 years, 3 different trials and THIS is what we get…9 to 33 years in prison?

After all the garbage we’ve had to endure (the white Bronco, Kato Kaelin, the dude with the Rollie Fingers mustache)…we can’t even get a REAL sentence?!?

What’s even worse is that O.J. Simpson NOT going to jail for life for, what he claims, “confronting friends” was EVERYONE’S top story on the same day that (arguably) baseball’s best right-handed pitcher of the live-ball era announced he was hanging it up.

But I’m not surprised.

Regardless of his accomplishments (and there were PLENTY), Greg Maddux has never really been in the spotlight. I mean, here’s a guy who never evoked a “can you believe you did THAT” response from anyone. There were never any “Manny being Manny” moments…he never got hit with any weapons charges.

He never threw a perfect game, much less a no-hitter.

He was more professor than pitcher...looked more like an astronaut than an ace. There was no “Mad Hungarian” slapping of the glove…no Jonathan Papelbon glare.

And not that it is the benchmark of how you should rank a guy, but he only made the cover of Sports Illustrated once.

Once.

355 career wins (eighth all-time), eight All-Star game selections (three starts) and 35 post season games and he only makes the cover once?

By comparison, the afore mentioned Simpson made the cover NINE times. Maddux’s stiffest competition in the “best righty of the live ball era” category, Roger Clemens, fronted SI seven times.

But he doesn’t need to be on some magazine to prove his worth. If you’re curious as to how good Maddux was…just look at his stats and marvel at how many things you DIDN’T know about the guy.

At 355-227, Maddux carried a career winning percentage of .610. Every Hall eligible pitcher 100 games over .500 is enshrined.

Throw out the six games he pitched in 1986 and he only had THREE losing seasons out of 22. And of those 22 seasons, Maddux had 13 or more wins in all but two…a feat matched by no other.

He won his four Cy Young Awards in four consecutive years (1992-1995). During that time, he notched a 75-29 record and a 1.98 ERA. It is worth mentioning that along with that miniscule ERA comes another historic footnote. During the live-ball era, there have only been five pitchers to have full-season ERAs under 1.65… Bob Gibson (1968), Luis Tiant (1968), Dwight Gooden (1985) and Greg Maddux.

Twice.

In 1997, you could take off your shoes and count the number of batters (20) that Maddux walked on your fingers and toes. During one stretch (1994-1997), Maddux threw 890 innings, walking 102 and striking out 686.

To say he was a “control pitcher” is an insult to the phrase. Maddux was THE control pitcher of his generation. Joe Morgan once said that Maddux “could put a baseball through a life saver if you asked him." And the Braves, Cubs, Dodgers and Padres did...740 times. More than all but three pitchers (Cy Young, Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton) in history.

Never a power pitcher, his 3371 strikeouts rank him tenth all-time. Of the Hall eligible pitchers ahead of him, only Bert Blyleven does not have a plaque in Cooperstown. "Mad Dog" was crafty.

In 2006, Maddux matched Jim Kaat’s record by earning his sixteenth consecutive Gold Glove. Not to remain tied atop any leader board…he brought home the hardware in both 2007 and 2008 bringing his total to 18.

I could go on and on for days chronicling what Maddux has done…but I won’t.

I will, however, predict that Maddux will quietly be the first unanimous Hall selection when he is eligible in 2014. And as a sidenote, keep an eye on the class of 2014…it could shape up to be a crowded, crowded field depending on how this offseason plays out.

Just the fax, man...just the fax

I’d love to tell you that I’ve been so busy with work or other projects that I haven’t been able to fulfill my duties here…but it would be a lie. Fact is, even with all that has happened since we’ve last talked (the World Series, etc.) I’ve had precious little to say.

Oh…and I’ve rekindled my unhealthy relationship with John Madden via my Playstation. Damn you, John Madden! Damn you straight to Hades you marbled-mouthed old fool!

Okay, now that I’ve cleared the air…there was ONE thing that got my blood boiling. What is it you ask? Click this link (HERE) and then come back on over…I’ll wait.

5

4

3

2

1

Alright…are you back?

Good.

Really, San Diego…by fax? You relieved (pun intended) the most prolific closer in Major League Baseball history via FAX?!? This is a guy that, and here comes the shameless plug, Jeff Montgomery told me was “obviously” a Hall of Famer.

Why the disrespect San Diego? Was the four million Hoffman was asking for too much?

By comparison, the 41 year-old Hoffman’s 30 saves were better than high priced counterparts Todd Jones (18 saves, $7 million), Jason Isringhausen (12 saves, $8 million) and Eric Gagne (10 saves, $10 million).

Sure, Hoffman had an off year. But you know what Padres…so did you! Next time, you release a guy by fax…recognize the fact that he saved 30 of your 63 victories. And somehow, I don’t think the four saves he blew keep you from the playoffs.

Alright, all that being said, let’s get to the REAL reason I posted this diatribe. That’s right…here’s more from Monty!

Regarding former teammate George Brett:
“George Brett was a great teammate for anyone to have the opportunity to play with. It didn’t matter if you were a September call up or a veteran player, George helped make you feel comfortable even in tough times. When he got his 3000 hit I gave him a desk clock with Lou, The Ultimate Professional, Congratulations on number 3000, Monty engraved on it as I felt that “The Ultimate Professional” summed him up best. Lou was his nickname.”

Toughest out:
“Harold Baines (Hall of Famer or not, he was my toughest out), Don Mattingly, Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken to name a few.”

Surprisingly easy out:
“He wasn’t an easy out but I had very good success against Joe Carter until he hit two homers against me late in my career. One was when I was pitching my third or fourth night in a row and one was a mop up game. I only remember this about Joe because he is my current neighbor and someone told me the statistics.”

Regarding Jim Edmonds and his Hall of Fame chances:
“I agree with you on Edmonds . If you could measure the plays he made on defense that not many others have a way of making, it would certainly add to his credentials.”

Batter (past or present) that Monty would have loved to have faced...but never got the chance:
“Pete Rose or Babe Ruth”

Regarding his All-Star appearances:
“Of my three All-Star Games, 1993 was the best as we won, I pitched well, and I loved going to Baltimore since I had several friends there and my family would normally come in from Ohio.”

Major influences:
“Pete Rose was the player I tried to play like as a kid. My Dad was usually the one I would call for advice about my career.”

On his predecessor in Kansas City…Dan Quisenberry:
“I knew Quiz had put up some great numbers and never thought of myself as one who would eclipse his save total. I was fortunate to have been given the opportunities and worked hard to stay healthy.”

Prediction for 2009:
“I will not be surprised if K-Rod blows out his arm next year.”

Yikes.

Maybe whatever team decides they want to break the bank on K-Rod should just drop the four million on Hoffman. It MIGHT just be a better decision.

The Age of the Closer?

Remember the long ball?

Yeah…it wasn’t THAT long ago that “chicks dug the long ball” and freaks of nature like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds graced the cover of every sports magazine across the country.

As of late, we’re seeing more and more of Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera than their slugging counterparts. We’ve seen both K-Rod and Trevor Hoffman as the lead story on SportsCenter a few times.

Heck…three of the last five Hall of Fame induction ceremonies have included closers!

We’re living in the “Age of the Closer”, gang…get used to it.

Hoffman’s 554 saves have become the pitching equivalent of Bonds’ 762 round trippers. K-Rod’s 62 saves earned him a nightly countdown on ESPN akin to homerun chase of 1998.

Pretty impressive stuff until you think about it.

I mean, Lee Smith (the former all-time saves leader) wasn’t exactly Hank Aaron on the mound and Bobby Thigpen (the former record holder for saves in a season) was no match for the mythos of Roger Maris. And let’s face it…closing out a 4-2 game still isn’t as sexy as knocking one out of the park and winning that same game 5-4, right?

But regardless of the recent balloon in saves, it isn’t like they’re growing on trees.

Allow me break it down.

One of the most celebrated numbers in the game is 500 home runs and there are 24 players who have eclipsed that total. Give the average baseball fan a few minutes and he can name a number of them. On the other side of the coin are the 23 pitchers with 300 or more wins.

Both are MILESTONE numbers! You get to those numbers and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that would disagree with your Hall of Fame credentials.

So what is the equivalent for the closer? Is there one?

Recently, I had the privilege to talk with former Major Leaguer and member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame Jeff Montgomery and he shared some insight on that very topic (and a few others)…what is the milestone for closers?

“300 saves used to be the milestone mark when closers were two or three inning guys but 400 will be the new mark as most good closers will reach the 40 save per year mark even on mediocre teams,” Montgomery said.

He’s right.

As recent as 1994 (when Goose Gossage threw his last pitch), there were only five closers that had eclipsed that magic number of 300 saves. Currently, there are 21 pitchers with 300 or more career saves with Montgomery being one of them with 304.

“The fact that managers started using closers as ninth inning specialists in the late 80’s and early 90’s (as LaRussa did with Eckersley) with so much success has allowed season save numbers to escalate dramatically.”

But will this inflate the number of closers in Cooperstown and will it make people look at the accomplishments of Rollie Fingers, Goose and Bruce Sutter and wonder why they are enshrined?

“Not really,” Montgomery responded. “The one great year will not get anyone any votes for the Hall…Goose and company were established, long term dominant relief pitchers.”

So who gets in?

“I think Lee Smith should be considered for the Hall as well as John Franco. Obviously Rivera and Hoffman will get in with their totals both being north of 500 at their retirement and (that) should help Smith and Franco’s cases for election. If (Billy) Wagner returns and surpasses the 400 mark he should be considered also.”

Smith is at 478 and held the all-time saves mark for thirteen years, but so far…the most support he’s gotten for induction to the Hall was this past year when he garnered 45%.

Franco is (quietly) fourth on the all-time list with 424, but more importantly, he has the most saves ever by a left hander and is one of three with more than 300. Add to that that he is second all-time in games finished (Smith is number one) and third all-time in games pitched…and you’ve got a serious contender for induction in 2011.

After that, it’s a crapshoot since there is going to be some tough competition out there sucking up Hall of Fame votes and only time will tell what the magic number (if there is one) ends up being for relievers to get their piece of the pie.


***Jeff Montgomery played thirteen seasons in the Majors…twelve of them with the Kansas City Royals. He is a three time All-Star, a member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame and their all-time leader in games pitched, games finished and saves. “Monty” resides in the Kansas City area and lends his expertise to Sports Radio 810 WHB-AM.***

Long time friend...first time reader

I don’t do requests…it’s true.

Sure, there have been instances where I’ve asked for ideas or suggestions, but generally, I don’t pay attention to the “you should write about about so and so” emails.

Until now.

Sorta.

I got an email from a friend earlier in the week. I was shocked. I hadn’t heard from him in a couple of years and to top it off, I had no clue he knew about this site…much less what a “blog” was. Suffice it to say, after the standard pleasantries, there it was…”you should write a little more about the Cubs in your blog.” Ugh.

The Cubs? Really?!?

Had this dude actually read my site? Outside of Lee Smith, I can’t say I’ve really trumpeted many Cubs (I’m looking your way “Ryno”) as Hall of Famers. But I had a plan. I had an idea on how I could fulfill BOTH of our wants.

Jim Edmonds.

Yeah…”Jimmy Baseball”! He’s a Cub still, right? Admittedly I’ve been kicking Edmonds around for a while now…I just haven’t been motivated enough to write about him.

There were a few avenues to go down. I started by comparing him to contemporary outfielders like Steve Finley and Luis Gonzalez. Both guys who, in my mind, would illustrate what I already thought…Jim Edmonds DOES NOT belong alongside those enshrined in Cooperstown because, frankly, not one of the three belongs in the same sentence as the sleepy New York town.

Sure, Edmonds is good. He’s a world champ, a four-time all-star and twice he’s finished in the top five in the MVP voting. But Hall worthy? No way. The fact that he’s never finished in the top five in any major statistical category cemented my opinion. (NOTE: Jake has added a couple of statistics that I obviously overlooked in the comments section below. That being said...my opinion hasn't changed.)

But then I remembered…you CAN go into the Hall based on your defense (a la Bill Mazeroski or Ozzie Smith) and Edmonds did bring home eight Gold Gloves in a nine year span. With this guy…defense was the delicious dessert at the forefront and his batting was the icing.

At the plate, Edmonds has 379 career home runs (more than Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner and Tony Perez), a .285 career batting average with five seasons above the .300 mark.

Barring injuries (and honestly, couldn’t we say that about a bunch of players), Edmonds could be nearing 500 bombs and 2500 hits versus where he’ll end up…closer to 400 and 2200.

He is good…just not great.

On paper, his stat line is comparable to a player that, for some reason, still has a weird groundswell of support…Dick “Richie” Allen.

At first thought, the two couldn’t have been more opposite. If you look at their fielding accomplishments alone, you wouldn’t even continue the comparison. Allen had more errors in his first two full seasons (67) than Edmonds has had over his sixteen year career (51).

Sure, they played different positions. Edmonds has primarily been a centerfielder whereas Allen played everywhere. The guy was a hired stick who would have been a terrific DH had he played in the American League and not started his career ten years prior to the implementation of the role.

Allen was once quoted as saying “I can play anywhere…first, third, left field, anywhere but Philadelphia.” It is ironic that in 1977, Dick walked away from baseball after the Oakland A’s tried to make him what he should have always been…a designated hitter.

I’m sure that didn’t help the public’s perception of Allen.

So, back to Edmonds. Jim has always been seen as a “good guy”…he is liked and hasn’t come close to sniffing a controversy. Allen was HATED. It got so bad in Philadelphia, that when he took the field, he became John Olerud-like by donning a batting helmet to protect his skull from the batteries and other debris being hurled by the Phillie faithful.

But, enough about that. I mentioned these guys are similar (and Baseball Reference would agree)…but how?

Well, without getting into TOO much depth, their stat lines are virtually as identical as the number they both wore. Career batting average, on base percentage and slugging slightly favors Allen (.292, .378 and .534) when compared to Edmonds (.285, .377 and .527). The totals swing in Edmonds favor. Jim has Dick beat with runs, hits, homers and RBI (1201, 1874, 379 and 1171 compared to 1099, 1848, 351 and 1119) but did play in a few more games. Allen hit 30 or more home runs six times and only three times, knocked in 100 or more. Seven times, Allen hit better than .300 and six times he finished in the top ten among the league leaders.

Clearly, you can see that the comparison is pretty much a wash, but Allen did garner some hardware.

“Richie” brought home his only MVP award in 1972, his first of three seasons with the White Sox and, like Edmonds, he only finished in the top five in MVP voting twice. Also like Edmonds, you could point at a few other seasons where they were on the short list of the league’s elite.

However, UNLIKE Edmonds…Allen was a man on an island.

Edmonds played alongside the underrated duo Garrett Anderson and Tim Salmon while with the Angels and then, with the Cardinals, was plugged into lineups that included Mark McGwire, Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen.

The best player Allen played alongside during his first stint with the Phillies…Johnny Callison.

Who?

EXACTLY.

While with the Cardinals in 1970, Allen was in the same lineup as Lou Brock and Joe Torre...but they’re not exactly McGwire and Pujols now are they? The best lineup Allen ever saw was in 1975 and 1976 when, during his second stint in Philly, he was paired up with Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.

"He was the greatest player I ever managed, and what he did for us in Chicago was amazing," Allen's White Sox manager Chuck Tanner said. "In Pittsburgh I had guys like Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, Phil Garner, Bill Madlock, but in Chicago it was Dick Allen and, what, Bill Melton? There just wasn't a lot of talent there. With Dick...well, we were able to battle the Oakland A's, one of the greatest teams ever. Without him we simply weren't a first division team."

Allen’s impact on the game was much like Albert Belle’s. Both were guys that swung a big stick, but weren’t necessarily favorites of the media (Allen was at least a hit with his teammates) and that was reflected in how they were received when up for enshrinement.

Dick Allen spent fourteen years on the Hall of Fame ballot hovering between 3.7% (1983) and 18.9% (1996). During that span, his vote totals were constantly eclipsed by notable “almost” Hall of Famers Ron Santo, Joe Torre and Tony Oliva even though the numbers would show that he was better. Unfortunately, this carried over to the Hall of Fame Veterans Committe as well. As recent as 2007, Allen received only 13.4% of that vote. You can't say the guy wasn't consistent.

How will Edmonds fair when he is up for election five years after he makes that last diving catch in deep center.

Only time will tell.

***For more on the case for (and against) Dick Allen's inclusion in the Hall of Famer, check out Dick Allen (for) the Hall of Fame HERE***