Ruben Sierra

[Cowtipper]

Over 20 years in the majors, Ruben Sierra hit 306 home runs, drove 1322 runs in, and in three LCS', he hit .340. A four time All-Star and one time Silver Slugger, Sierra's best year was probably 1989 when he led the league in games, slugging percentage, total bases, extra base hits, triples and RBI.

Compared to Roberto Clemente when he first came up, Sierra ranks 85th all time in RBI, 95th in extra base hits, and fifth all time in sacrifice flies.

So...does Ruben Sierra have any argument for the Hall of Fame?

[SamtheBravesFan]

Do I really need to say that particular two-letter word here?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Over 20 years in the majors, Ruben Sierra hit 306 home runs, drove 1322 runs in, and in three LCS', he hit .340. A four time All-Star and one time Silver Slugger, Sierra's best year was probably 1989 when he led the league in games, slugging percentage, total bases, extra base hits, triples and RBI.

Compared to Roberto Clemente when he first came up, Sierra ranks 85th all time in RBI, 95th in extra base hits, and fifth all time in sacrifice flies.

So...does Ruben Sierra have any argument for the Hall of Fame?

No, he doesn't. One would have to be on some kind of mind-bending drugs to even casually entertain the idea of Ruben Sierra as a HOFer.

Here's an OUTFIELDER who couldn't even manage a .500 Offensive Winning Percentage for his career. The ONLY HOFers who have OWPs under .500 are the most elite glove men of the middle infield (Maz, Rabbit). Even Phil Rizzuto's OWP is at .500, and he was at least a GG SS.

The only year Sierra had to even write home about was 1989. He was merely a good outfielder, at best, the other years. He was ballyhooed because he came to the majors at age 20, and Bill James predicted great things for him, but he got too big to play CF, then he got too injured to play the field. Plus, he never walked, he wasn't THAT great a hitter for average, and he didn't have enough power to stay in the game at the top levels as a slugger.

For all the ballyhoo, Sierra turned out to be a half-good ballplayer. A guy who did just about everything kinda OK, but nothing extraordinarily well. If he had a wee bit more patience, he MIGHT have been able to build on his power a bit and become a guy who could bring his OWP closer to .600, but he never got that.

If Ruben Sierra were to be inducted into the HOF, he WOULD, IMO, be the worst player in the HOF. Even George Kelly, who is probably the worst player in the HOF, had a .575 career OWP; that's .077 higher than Sierra. Sierra's election, if, God forbid, it ever happened, would be more than a mistake; it would be a travesty. It would be a precedent that would create a HOF gray area between Highpockets Kelly and Sierra that would open the door for Darryl Strawberry to go into the HOF. And, in truth, what argument against that could you come up with if Sierra is in? (Straw is a FAR superior pick vs. Sierra.) How could you deny Jose Canseco? Oh, LORD, it would get ugly.

[Go get em Tigers]

I liked Sierra a lot as a player, but...

...but the numbers just aren't there. 306 HR's, 1322 Rbi's, .268 average, four time all star with one silver slugger award. No, Ruben Sierra will not be elected into the Hall of Fame.

[Cowtipper]

Do I really need to say that particular two-letter word here?

"Ya"?

(just joking)

By the way, someone actually voted "yes".

I am shocked.

[Fuzzy Bear]

...but the numbers just aren't there. 306 HR's, 1322 Rbi's, .268 average, four time all star with one silver slugger award. No, Ruben Sierra will not be elected into the Hall of Fame.

In looking at his stats, I was surprised to find out just how low Sierra's OWP. was. Darryl Strawberry, with his .675 OWP, absolutely towers over Sierra; if you take only their five best years, Straw STILL clobbers Sierra.

Here's the difference between Ruben Sierra and Darryl Strawberry. Darryl Strawberry had three (3) truly great seasons, and had a six-year run when he could credibly be listed as a "great ballplayer". Ruben Sierra only had one truly great season, 1989, and hit at the level of an OK middle infielder for his career. Darryl Strawberry did not have a HOF career, but he was on a HOF path through 1991. Ruben Sierra was NEVER on a HOF path; his limited, unperfected skill base, exacerbated by his poor plate discipline, brought him to an early decline. That he ended up a DH is an irony; he was a poor choice as a DH, given his low OWP.

It's silly to even think he was ever on the way to the HOF.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

No, he doesn't. One would have to be on some kind of mind-bending drugs to even casually entertain the idea of Ruben Sierra as a HOFer.

Here's an OUTFIELDER who couldn't even manage a .500 Offensive Winning Percentage for his career. The ONLY HOFers who have OWPs under .500 are the most elite glove men of the middle infield (Maz, Rabbit). Even Phil Rizzuto's OWP is at .500, and he was at least a GG SS.

The only year Sierra had to even write home about was 1989. He was merely a good outfielder, at best, the other years. He was ballyhooed because he came to the majors at age 20, and Bill James predicted great things for him, but he got too big to play CF, then he got too injured to play the field. Plus, he never walked, he wasn't THAT great a hitter for average, and he didn't have enough power to stay in the game at the top levels as a slugger.

For all the ballyhoo, Sierra turned out to be a half-good ballplayer. A guy who did just about everything kinda OK, but nothing extraordinarily well. If he had a wee bit more patience, he MIGHT have been able to build on his power a bit and become a guy who could bring his OWP closer to .600, but he never got that.

If Ruben Sierra were to be inducted into the HOF, he WOULD, IMO, be the worst player in the HOF. Even George Kelly, who is probably the worst player in the HOF, had a .575 career OWP; that's .077 higher than Sierra. Sierra's election, if, God forbid, it ever happened, would be more than a mistake; it would be a travesty. It would be a precedent that would create a HOF gray area between Highpockets Kelly and Sierra that would open the door for Darryl Strawberry to go into the HOF. And, in truth, what argument against that could you come up with if Sierra is in? (Straw is a FAR superior pick vs. Sierra.) How could you deny Jose Canseco? Oh, LORD, it would get ugly.

I watched Sierra a lot during his early part of his career. He was incredibly talented. That is not an exaggeration. He did have HoF talent but he didn't work at his craft. He didn't work hard to get better. Another weakness was the inability to draw even a fair amount of walks. Thus, he fritted away a possible HoF career. He did have another fine season besides '89. His '91 was almost as good as his '89 season.

.307/.357/.502, 138 OPS+, 25 HRs, 116 RBI, 110 R, 44 doubles, 203 hits, 16 SB/4 CS

His '01 season was solid in a part time role. But in no way, shape or, form is Sierra a HoF candidate.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

It's silly to even think he was ever on the way to the HOF.

It's not silly to think that he had tremendous talent at a young age. He actually did. Everyone believed this, scouts epecially. It's easy to say now, after-the-fact, after his career is now over he never had HoF type talent. Not all great 19-21 year olds pan out. Cesar Cedeno was another. At age 21-22 he was every bit as good as Mickey Mantle. But he didn't move forward from that foundation. Sometimes young extremely talented players don't improve as many think they should.

[baseball junkie]

If Sierra had been able to keep up his production early in his career, he'd be a lock for the HOF. I think the trade to Oakland sank Sierra's career. He now has absolutely no chance.

It's unfortunate. I remember when he first came up and was being compared to Clemente. At the time it seemed a legit comparison.

He was just never the same after his trade away from the Rangers.

[Los Bravos]

Sierra's best year was probably 1989 when he led the league in games, slugging percentage, total bases, extra base hits, triples and RBI.

He should have won the MVP that year.

I'm a little surprised he managed 1300+ RBI with all the fits and starts his career had.

[KCGHOST]

When I first saw Sierra with the Rangers I though he was going to be a superstar. Not a shining moment in my judgment of a player's future development.

[Paul Wendt]

Sierra was often compared with Roberto Clemente and I believe the optimists forecasted that he would approximately match Clemente. (more than just another RF from PR).

Playing every day and batting .293 at age 23-26, he had 1160 hits including 734 in those four seasons. I'm sure many people expected 734 and 734 in his next eight seasons which would have been 2628 (=1160+1468) hits thru age 34.

[dgarza]

When I first saw Sierra with the Rangers I though he was going to be a superstar.

Same here. He seemed more than just a flash in the pan.

Not a shining moment in my judgment of a player's future development.

Well, that happens to us all. And the opposite. I've seen players who'd I thought had no future become, well, Bernie Williams.

[Rotoprofessor]

Sierra clearly had the talent to be a great player, but that talent just never really translated into a great career. The statistics aren't there for me to even consider him for the Hall of Fame. Things definitely could've gone differently for him, but he just did not dominate the game for a long enough stretch to justify being elected.

[VIBaseball]

I seem to recall that he had a great natural lean baseball physique and ruined himself with the wrong kind of weight training. He got overly built up and muscle-bound, losing flexibility and altering his swing.