Albright's March BBF voting guide

[jalbright]

Albright BBF HOF voting guide for March 2006

key:
blue=Negro Leagues
red=Japanese leagues
green=19th century
orange=not even in my queue
italics= not on my ballot for this month

Received 50% or more of the vote last month:
Players: Kirby Puckett (69), Stan Coveleski (69), Dizzy Dean (69), Lou Boudreau (69), Willie Foster (65), Bobby Grich (62), Jud Wilson (58), Pee Wee Reese (62), Mickey Welch (58), Enos Slaughter (58), Shigeo Nagashima (54), Early Wynn (50)

Contributors: Kennesaw Landis (70), Ernie Harwell (57), Clark Griffith (55), J. L. Wilkinson (70), Walter O'Malley (74), Charlie Commiskey (54), C. I. Taylor (54), Jack Dunn (54), Harry Caray (52)

Categories below this will have 1) all players with 50% or more of the votes last month (percentages from last month will follow their names in parentheses), 2) all players on my ballot, and 3) if there are no players in the category with over 50% of the vote last month, the leading vote getter in the category will be listed with his percentage of the vote last month in parentheses, so long as he received at least five (5) votes.

Negro League Pitcher Cannonball Dick Redding (38), Willie Foster (65)

Negro League Hitters Jud Wilson (58)

19th century pitcher Mickey Welch (58)

19th century hitter: George Wright (19),

Japanese pitcher: Kazuhisa Inao (19), Victor Starffin (35), Akira Bessho

Japanese hitter: Shigeo Nagashima (54), Isao Harimoto (19), Hiromitsu Ochiai

My ballot by position plus leading vote getters
Catcher: Bill Freehan (46)
First Base: Hiromitsu Ochiai, Jake Beckley (27)
Second Base: Bobby Grich (62), Joe Gordon (27)
Third Base: Shigeo Nagashima (54), Jud Wilson (58), Stan Hack (42)
Shortstop: Pee Wee Reese (62), Lou Boudreau (69), George Wright (19)
Outfield: Isao Harimoto, (19), Enos Slaughter (58), Kirby Puckett (69), Harry Stovey (38), Dave Parker
Starting Pitcher: Kazuhisa Inao (19), Victor Starffin (35), Early Wynn (50), Akira Bessho, Burleigh Grimes (22), Cannonball Dick Redding (38), Willie Foster (65), Stan Coveleski (69), Dizzy Dean (69), Mickey Welch (58)
Relief pitcher Bruce Sutter (42), Rollie Fingers (23)

Contributors
Managers: Hughie Jennings (48), Tetsuharu Kawakami (48), C. I. Taylor (54), , Kazuto Tsuruoka, Shigeru Mizuhara, Billy Martin (48)
Executives: Kennesaw Mountain Landis (70), Ed Bolden (26), J. L. Wilkerson (70), Matsutaro Shoriki, Clark Griffith (54), Walter O'Malley (74), Charlie Commiskey (54), Jack Dunn (54)
Pioneers: Dr. Jobe, Lefty O'Doul (26), Buck O'Neill (43)
Media: Ernie Harwell (57), Harry Caray (52)


Plugs for first time player candidates will appear in the discussion thread, and I will create a thread which will provide the plugs for all the holdovers on my ballot not covered in the discussion thread this month.

Jim Albright

[jalbright]

New to my ballot:

Stan Coveleski: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=243

Rollie Fingers: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=236

Stan Hack: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=222

George Wright: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...8&postcount=98

Jim Albright

[jalbright]

Negro Leaguers

Pitchers

Willie Foster: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...9&postcount=53

Cannonball Dick Redding: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...7&postcount=52

Position player

Jud Wilson: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...5&postcount=51

[jalbright]

19th century players

Pitcher: Mickey Welch is not even in my queue

Position players:

George Wright: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...8&postcount=98

Harry Stovey: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=210

[jalbright]

Japanese Players

Pitchers

Kazuhisa Inao: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=178

Victor Starffin: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=179

Akira Bessho: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=189


Position Players

Shigeo Nagashima: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=183

Isao Harimoto: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=184

Hiromitsu Ochiai: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=190

[jalbright]

Position players other than outfielders


Catcher

Bill Freehan: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=213

First Base

Jake Beckley, who's not even in my queue

Hiromitsu Ochiai: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=190


Second Base

Bobby Grich http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=203

Joe Gordon: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=202


Third Base:

Jud Wilson: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...5&postcount=51

Shigeo Nagashima: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=183

Stan Hack: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=222


Shortstop

Lou Boudreau: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=223

Pee Wee Reese: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=114

George Wright: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...8&postcount=98

[jalbright]

Outfielders and Pitchers

Outfielders

Kirby Puckett is in my queue but not on my ballot

Isao Harimoto: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=184

Enos Slaughter: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=148

Harry Stovey: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=210

Dave Parker: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=196

Pitchers:

Cannonball Dick Redding: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...7&postcount=52

Willie Foster: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...9&postcount=53

Dizzy Dean: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=216

Kazuhisa Inao: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=178

Victor Starffin: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=179

Early Wynn: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=144

Red Ruffing: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=186

Akira Bessho: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=189

Burleigh Grimes: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=214

Rollie Fingers: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=236

Stan Coveleski: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=243

[jalbright]

posts on Contributors:

Ed Bolden: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=25

C. I. Taylor http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...1&postcount=24

J. L. Wilkinson http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...3&postcount=26

Lefty O'Doul http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=212

Matsutaro Shoriki http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=212

[jalbright]

Other contributors
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Pioneer
Dr. Jobe His invention of the Tommy John surgery has saved countless pitching careers, including, of course, Tommy John's.
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Media
Harry Caray Though his status as a Chicago baseball mainstay is important, lots of announcers have that qualification and I'm not voting for them. What sets Harry apart in my mind is his role in popularizing the use of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the seventh inning stretch. Put the two together, and I think he qualifies.

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Japanese managers
Success points are a Bill James creation. The numbers given are not discounted in any way, and are from a system I modeled on James' system, but isn't identical to it.

Kazuto Tsuruoka Manager's Success Points: 70
He is Japan's winningest manager, with 1807 regular season victories to his credit as well as a .609 winning percentage. His teams were over .500 in 21 of the 23 seasons he managed, and he won 11 pennants. In those 11 pennants was a stretch of 4 pennants in five years and another stretch of 4 pennants in six years.

Tetsuharu Kawakami Manager's Success Points: 60
He managed fourteen seasons for the Yomiuri Giants and was over .500 each season. He won 11 pennants and won the Japan Series every time. Nine of those pennants were consecutive, the fabled "V-9" Giant club.

Shigeru Mizuhara Manager's Success Points: 62
He won eight pennants in nine years from 1951 to 1959 for the Yomiuri Giants. He also won four Japan Series in the period 1951 to 1955 and won a pennant for the Flyers.
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Major League managers
The major league managers I think I'd put in, together with their Manager's success points (as calculated by Bill James this time) and any comments I have:

Billy Martin 29 points .His behavior was poor, and he wore out his welcome quickly no matter where he went. But if you wanted to win right now, there was nobody better while he was around managing.


James has written it usually takes 30 success points to get a manager in. However, there are two who are close and also are in the HOF as players. I don't endorse them as players, but I think the combination of playing career and managerial success makes them deserving.

Hughie Jennings 24 points. An excellent shortstop, albeit in a short career. I can't go for him just as a player, but when you combine the roles, I can.
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Major League executive

Kennesaw Mountain Landis He certainly could have done better in terms of dealing with the color line. But he did work hard to repair the damage to baseball's credibility from the Black Sox scandal, and he was undeniably successful there.

Walter O'Malley The man who took the majors to the West Coast, hired Walter Alston, and a few other things.