Larry Doby's most similar: Who deserves induction?

[Cowtipper]

None of the players most statistically similar to Larry Doby are currently in the Hall of Fame. The players that are statistically similar to him are:

Dolph Camilli
Bill Nicholson
Eric Davis
Jermaine Dye
Rudy York
David Justice
Carlos Beltran
Kirk Gibson
Raul Mondesi
Ray Lankford

I realize that one of the big reasons Doby is in the Hall of Fame isn't because of his statistics, rather it is because he was the first black player in the AL.

Still, which of the players most statistically similar to Larry Doby do you think should be in the Hall of Fame? Or in the cases of Jermaine Dye, Carlos Beltran, Raul Mondesi and Ray Lankford, which do you think should get in when they become eligible?

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

Dolph Camilli:

2-time NL All-Star (1939 & 1941)
NL MVP (1941)
NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1937)
NL Home Runs Leader (1941)
NL RBI Leader (1941)
2-times NL Bases on Balls Leader (1938 & 1939)
20-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1935-1942)
30-Home Runs Seasons: 1 (1941)
100 RBI Seasons: 5 (1936, 1938, 1939, 1941 & 1942)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 4 (1936-1939)

Bill Nicholson:

5-time NL All-Star (1940, 1941 & 1943-1945)
NL Runs Scored Leader (1944)
NL Total Bases Leader (1944)
2-time NL Home Runs Leader (1943 & 1944)
2-time NL RBI Leader (1943 & 1944)
20-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1940-1944 & 1947)
30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1944)
100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1943 & 1944)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1944)

Eric Davis:

2-time NL All-Star (1987 & 1989)
3-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1987-1989)
2-time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1987 & 1989)
1996 NL Comeback Player of the Year Award
20-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1986-1990, 1993, 1996 & 1998)
30-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1987 & 1989)
100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1987 & 1989)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1987)
50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 2 (1986 & 1987)
Won a World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990

Jermaine Dye:

1996 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
2-time AL All-Star (2000 & 2006)
2005 World Series MVP
AL Gold Glove Winner (2000)
AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2006)
20-Home Run Seasons: 7 (1999-2002 & 2004-2006)
30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (2000, 2005 & 2006)
40-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2006)
100 RBI Seasons: 4 (1999-2001 & 2006)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (2000 & 2006)
Won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005

Rudy York:

1935 MVP Texas League Beaumont Exporters
1936 MVP American Association Milwaukee Brewers
7-time AL All-Star (1938, 1941-1944, 1946 & 1947)
AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1943)
AL Total bases Leader (1943)
AL Home Runs Leader (1943)
20-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1937-1943 & 1947)
30-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1937, 1938, 1940 & 1943)
100 RBI Seasons: 6 (1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1943 & 1946)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1940)
Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1945

David Justice:

1990 NL Rookie of the Year Award
1990 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
3-time All-Star (1993, 1994 & 1997)
2000 ALCS MVP
2-time Silver Slugger Award Winner (1993/OF-NL & 1997/OF-AL)
1997 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award
20-Home Run Seasons: 9 (1990-1993, 1995 & 1997-2000)
30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1993, 1997 & 2000)
40-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1993 & 2000)
100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1993, 1997 & 2000)
Won two World Series with the Atlanta Braves (1995) and the New York Yankees (2000)

Carlos Beltran:

1999 AL Rookie of the Year Award
1999 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
4-time NL All-Star (2004-2007)
2-time NL Gold Glove Winner (2006 & 2007)
2-time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2006 & 2007)
20-Home Run Seasons: 7 (1999, 2001-2004, 2006 & 2007)
30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (2004, 2006 & 2007)
40-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2006)
100 RBI Seasons: 7 (1999, 2001-2004, 2006 & 2007)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 6 (1999, 2001-2004 & 2006)

Kirk Gibson:

NL MVP (1988)
1984 ALCS MVP
NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1988)
20-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1984-1988 & 1994)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1988)
Won two World Series with the Detroit Tigers (1984) and with the Los Angeles Dodgers ( 1988)

Raul Mondesi:

1994 NL Rookie of the Year Award
1994 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
NL All-Star (1995)
2-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1995 & 1997)
20-Home Run Seasons: 9 (1995-2003)
30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1997-1999)

Ray Lankford:

1989 MVP Texas League Arkansas Travelers
1991 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
NL All-Star (1997)
NL Triples Leader (1991)
20-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1992, 1995-1998 & 2000)
30-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1997 & 1998)
100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1998)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1996)

[jalbright]

Doby's a lousy choice for this kind of exercise, because it ignores his Negro League play and the fact he broke the color line in the AL. Those things clearly mark him as superior to his supposed "comps".

[Paul Wendt]

In the big NeL encyclopedia Jim Riley credits Larry Doby with 1942-43 and 1946-47, four seasons of major leagues play. In 1943 "he was a sensation fielding the keystone position and in demonstrating power at the plate and speed on the bases." Then he went to war for two years.

I suppose most people would give him three to six seasons of "credit" before 1948. That is a 1/4 to 1/2 expansion of his career, approximately.

He was a better major league batter than his "most similar batters" too. Only Dolph Camilli matches Doby's OPS+ 136 and only Stephenson is in the 130s. Because he played centerfield, Ray Lankford may be the best comp here. He didn't bat with the same quality or the same remarkable consistency. I give him five Larry Doby seasons, 1992 and 1995-98. But anyone may judge Doby and Lankford equals who employs a "timeline", perhaps in reference to the half-integrated or All-American composition of Doby's AL, or a penalty for Doby's AL against the contemporary NL.

[KCGHOST]

Doby got into the HoF for reasons other than his play. Thus trying to ask about players who are statistically comparable to him has no meaning.

[Cougar]

What everyone's said.

Beltran make make the HOF if the second half of his ML career more or less matches the first, but if that happens he'll no longer be very comparable to Doby.

[dgarza]

Doby got into the HoF for reasons other than his play.

Also this may be true, his MLB statistics alone tell me he didn't need any other reasons to be a HOF type player.

[jalbright]

Also this may be true, his MLB statistics alone tell me he didn't need any other reasons to be a HOF type player.

Especially if we give him some credit for playing in the Negro Leagues before Jackie Robinson broke the color line.