Rick Ferrell's most similar: who deserves induction?

[Cowtipper]

None of the 10 most similar players to Rick Ferrell are in the Hall of Fame. Those players are:

Deacon McGuire
Jim Gantner
Claude Ritchey
Tony Cuccinello
Bill Jurges
Wally Schang
Willie Kamm
Art Fletcher
Dick Groat
Tony Pena

Of these players, which ones do you believe should be in the Hall of Fame? Here are some notable achievements, records held, black ink, grey ink and similar Hall of Famers for each:

McGuire:

Record: Assists, catcher, career, 1859
Grey ink: 11
Similar Hall of Famers: Rick Ferrell

Gantner:

Grey ink: 5
Similar Hall of Famers: Phil Rizzuto

Ritchey:

Black ink: 1
Grey ink: 21
Similar Hall of Famers: Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Evers

Cuccinello:

3-time All-Star (1933, 1938 & 1945)
Black ink: 1
Grey ink: 33
Similar Hall of Famers: Lou Boudreau, Travis Jackson, Rick Ferrell

Jurges:

3-time NL All-Star (1937, 1939 & 1940)
Grey ink: 2
Similar Hall of Famers: Al Lopez

Schang:

Won four World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics (1913 & 1930; he did not play in the 1930 World Series), the Boston Red Sox (1918) and the New York Yankees (1923)
Grey ink: 22
Similar Hall of Famers: Rick Ferrell

Kamm:

AL Bases on Balls Leader (1925)
Black ink: 3
Grey ink: 23
Similar Hall of Famers: Rick Ferrell

Fletcher:
Grey ink: 34
Similar Hall of Famers: Wilbert Robinson

Groat:

5-time NL All-Star (1959, 1960 & 1962-1964)
NL MVP (1960)
NL Batting Average Leader (1960)
NL Singles Leader (1960)
NL Doubles Leader (1963)
Won two World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1964)
Black ink: 6
Grey ink: 53
Similar Hall of Famers: Dave Bancroft, Rick Ferrell

Pena:

1981 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
5-time NL All-Star (1982, 1984-1986 & 1989)
4-time Gold Glove Winner (1983-1985/NL & 1991/AL)
AL Manager of the Year Award (2003)
Grey ink: 8

[leecemark]

--Schang is more deserving than Ferrell and a borderliner for me. The rest aren't even in the Suburbs of Cooperstown.

[Erik Bedard]

MAYBE Schang. I was feeling lenient today, so I voted for him. After that, Groat is the only one whose name even deserves to come up in HoF discussions.

[Chadwick]

Ferrell was an egregiously horrid selection and his induction should not be used as the basis of future selections.

That said, Schang is probably deserving.

[jjpm74]

Schang sits in the grey zone for me. Deacon McGuire is also someone I could see, though more as a contributor as his playing career was one based on longevity rather than stardom. The rest aren't even a blip on the radar for me. That said, while Rick Ferrell isn't exactly a solid HOFer, his presence in Cooperstown doesn't bother me.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I personally view Ray Schalk as superior to Wally Schang. As Schalk was probably a mistake, I can't really sign off on Schang. Schang was an improved Ron Hassey, maybe a Manny Sanguillen with plate discipline, but not the full-timer Schalk was.

[Colorado Express]

Absolutely none of the above!!!

[AG2004]

Ferrell was an egregiously horrid selection and his induction should not be used as the basis of future selections.

That said, Schang is probably deserving.

Ferrell was a good choice, but they failed to remember that the pitcher's first name was Wes, not Rick. Once they made that mistake, it was too late to correct it, and they were stuck with the catcher instead.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Ferrell was an egregiously horrid selection and his induction should not be used as the basis of future selections.

That said, Schang is probably deserving.

I disagree. I view Ferrell as a borderline candidate, and more deserving than Schang.

Ferrell was a far superior defensive player than Schang. I don't agree with the sentiment around here that rates Schang ahead of Ferrell and Ray Schalk. Schang was Ron Hassey's good years, and Hassey was an effective offensive player in his best years, but he was very much a platoon player and not the full timer that Schalk and Ferrell were.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Here's Ferrell's obituary.

Connie Mack had Ferrell catch all 9 innings of the first All-Star game, even though Bill Dickey and Mickey Cochrane were on the team; this was due to Ferrell's defensive excellence. He played in eight (8) All-Star games, including the first six (6) games in history. Had there been an All-Star game in 1931 and 1932, Ferrell would probably have been on the AL team as the Browns' representative for both of those years.

There was no Hall of Fame at the beginning of Ferrell's career, so for much of his career, the question of whether or not he was "on a HOF path" in the eyes of his contemporaries was non-existant. His excellence, even in comparision to Cochrane and Dickey, was, very much, a perception of his contemporaries. Ferrell was, IMO, to catchers of his era what Richie Ashburn was to center fielders of his era.

[Chadwick]

Ferrell was, IMO, to catchers of his era what Richie Ashburn was to center fielders of his era.

Except, of course, that Ashburn's excellent performance shows up in the full measure of his statistical record while Ferrell's somehow remains considerably less tangible to those who didn't see him play.