Dizzy Dean's most similar: Who deserves induction?

[Cowtipper]

Of the ten players most statistically similar to Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean, none of them are in the Hall of Fame. Those ten pitchers are:

Don Newcombe
Mort Cooper
Dave Foutz
Jim Bagby
Hooks Wiltse
Harry Brecheen
Ray Kremer
Sal Maglie
Johnny Allen
Tim Hudson

Which, if any, should be in the Hall of Fame? Or in Tim Hudson's case, will get in the Hall of Fame when eligible?

It should be noted that Bagby played only nine years, so he isn't eligible. I'll include him on the poll anyway.

Here are some notable achievements for each, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com:

Newcombe:

4-time NL All-Star (1949-1951 & 1955)
NL Rookie of the Year Award (1949)
NL MVP (1956)
ML Cy Young Award (1956)
NL Wins Leader (1956)
2-time NL Winning Percentage Leader (1955 & 1956)
NL Strikeouts Leader (1951)
NL Shutouts Leader (1949)
15 Wins Seasons: 5 (1949-1951, 1955 & 1956)
20 Wins Seasons: 3 (1951, 1955 & 1956)
25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1956)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 6 (1949-1951, 1955, 1956 & 1959)
Won a World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955
Black ink: 21, grey ink: 136
Statistically similar Hall of Famers: Dizzy Dean

Cooper:

4-time NL All-Star (1942, 1943, 1945 & 1946)
NL MVP (1942)
NL ERA Leader (1942)
2-time NL Wins Leader (1942 & 1943)
2-time NL Shutouts Leader (1942 & 1944)
15-Win Seasons: 3 (1942-1944)
20-Win Seasons: 3 (1942-1944)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1939, 1940 & 1942-1944)
Won two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals (1942 & 1944)
Black ink: 18, grey ink: 125
Statistically similar Hall of Famers: Dizzy Dean

Foutz:

Was also a solid position player.

2-time League Saves Leader (1886/AA & 1890/NL)
AA ERA Leader (1886)
AA Wins Leader (1886)
AA Winning Percentage Leader (1886)
15-Win Seasons: 4 (1884-1887)
20-Win Seasons: 3 (1885-1887)
30-Win Seasons: 2 (1885-1886)
40-Win Seasons: 1 (1886)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1884-1887 & 1892)
300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1885-1887)
400 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1885-1886)
500 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1886)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1889 & 1890)
100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1887 & 1889)
Won a World Series with the St. Louis Browns in 1886
Black ink: 17, grey ink: 41 (batting), 95 (pitching)
Statistically similar Hall of Famers: Dizzy Dean

Bagby:

AL Wins Leader (1920)
AL Winning Percentage Leader (1920)
2-time AL Games Pitched Leader (1918 & 1920)
AL Innings Pitched Leader (1920)
AL Complete Games Leader (1920)
15 Wins Seasons: 5 (1916-1920)
20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1917 & 1920)
25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1920)
30 Wins Seasons: 1 (1920)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1916-1920)
300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1917 & 1920)
Won a World Series with the Cleveland Indians in 1920
Black ink: 14, grey ink: 88
Statistically similar Hall of Famers: Dizzy Dean

Wiltse:

15 Wins Seasons: 4 (1905, 1906, 1908 & 1909)
20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1908 & 1909)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1906 & 1908-1910)
300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1908)
Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1905 (he did not play in the World Series)
Set a ML record by winning the first 12 decisions of his career, a record he shares with reliever Butch Metzger. Wiltse's streak was May 29 to September 15, 1904.
Grey ink: 89
Statistically similar Hall of Famers: Dizzy Dean

Brecheen:

2-time NL All-Star (1947 & 1948)
NL ERA Leader (1948)
NL Strikeouts Leader (1948)
2-time NL Shutouts Leader (1946 & 1948)
15 Wins Seasons: 5 (1944-1948)
20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1948)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1946-1949)
Won two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals (1944 & 1946)
Black ink: 10, grey ink: 98

Kremer:

2-time NL ERA Leader (1926 & 1927)
2-time NL Wins Leader (1926 & 1930)
NL Winning Percentage Leader (1926)
NL Games Pitched Leader (1924)
NL Innings Pitched Leader (1930)
NL Shutouts Leader (1924)
15 Wins Seasons: 7 (1924-1930)
20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1926 & 1930)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 8 (1924-1931)
Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925
Black ink: 25, grey ink: 101

Maglie:

2-time NL All-Star (1951 & 1952)
NL ERA Leader (1950)
NL Wins Leader (1951)
NL Winning Percentage Leader (1950)
NL Shutouts Leader (1950)
15 Wins Seasons: 3 (1950-1952)
20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1951)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1950-1952 & 1954)
Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1954
Black ink: 16, grey ink: 96

Allen:

AL All-Star (1938)
2-time AL Winning Percentage Leader (1932 & 1937)
15 Wins Seasons: 4 (1932, 1933, 1936 & 1937)
20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1936)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1936 & 1938)
Won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1932
Black ink: 10, grey ink: 110

Hudson:

2-time AL All-Star (2000 & 2004)
AL Wins Leader (2000)
AL Winning Percentage Leader (2000)
2-time AL Shutouts Leader (2003 & 2004)
15 Wins Seasons: 5 (2000-2003 & 2007)
20 Wins Seasons: 1 (2000)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 6 (2000-2003, 2006 & 2007)
Black ink: 20, grey ink: 116

[jjpm74]

This is an intriguing group. Out of all of them, Dave Foutz and Don Newcombe have the strongest cases.

[Paul Wendt]

Sal Maglie too

Sal Maglie has a case too and as for Newcombe and Foutz it turns on why he did not play longer in the major leagues.

Newcombe played in the Negro Leagues in his youth, at least one extra year in the Dodgers minors by design for racial integration, and he was almost 28 when he returned from Korea in 1954.

Maglie played the last two months of 1945 in the majors and returned in 1950 at age 33 for 1600 innings of dominance, 114-58.

Judith Testa's 2006 abstract is a must read although his NL 1945 record shows that her description of his talent ("no particular promise") is off the mark.
Sal Maglie at SABR 2006
(Ironically, Dolph Luque is another pitcher with a Hall of Fame case that turns partly on his unusual career path, but he was a regular throughout his 30s and remained in the majors thru age 44 --after working the Negro Leagues and in Cuba-- so he amassed a very different MLB record from Dean and his "similars".)

Remarkably, Newcombe and Maglie finished 1-2 in both the NL MVP and the Cy Young awards of 1956.

--
Foutz was almost 28 when he reached the majors mid-season 1884 after a brief and dominating minor league career. In one respect he is the least promising candidate of the three. He traveled to Colorado in the gold rush, a few years late, and started playing serious competitive baseball a few years late. So those who focus on "forces beyond his control" to excuse short careers will probably turn thumbs down quickly for Foutz.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Dean really is not in based on his career numbers, so I'm not sure how valid this sort of comp is in regards to HOF candidacy. In regards to fame and peak (right or wrong, reality is what it is) I'd say Newcombe might be closest, based on what I have read and heard. How was Foutz regarded in his era?

[stejay]

I would probably go for Newcombe out of them.

[KCGHOST]

Dean got in for other reasons than overall career performance. He got sympathy for how his career ended and was able to keep himself in front of the voters as a broadcaster.

Picking other pitchers whose career numbers somewhat parallel Dean's is pretty much a way of saying the guy doesn't belong.

[Buzzaldrin]

How was Foutz regarded in his era?

Higher than just about any other player in baseball. His pitching career was not ended by age BTW, but by a broken thumb. A real shame, because it would have been interesting to see what he could've done with a couple more good years after 1887, in spite of being past 30. When he was dealt to Brooklyn in the biggest fire sale in major league history (forget Harry Frazee), he moved to first base, became team captain and was the spark plug that led Brooklyn to two straight pennants despite not having a single real star except Bob Caruthers (who he had originally convinced Comiskey to sign with the Browns back in 84 in spite of Bob's highly lackluster minor league career). He finished his career with 4 seasons as player manager in Brooklyn, but still playing well enough to go 13-8 in 1892 and topping .300 in 1894 (at ages 35 and 37) as a part timer.

HOF?

Even as one of my favorite players of all time still borderline, and one of the all time great "what might have beens", but a .690 lifetime winning percentage is nothing to sneeze at.