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I don't usually engage much in HOF talk. My philosophy is simple. If a player was great, and not merely very good, he may just belong in the Hall. Far too many very good players have not only become enshrined, IMO, but have become the standard bearer for others to follow - "Well, if Bill Mazeroski is in the HOF, then (pick your good/very good player) belongs." I have moved beyond the Hall being for 'immortals', as it was originally intended. Over time, standards of any kind tend to become relaxed, and exceptions are made. In the case of the Baseball Hall of Fame, standards have become not only relaxed, but practically ignored, in many cases. Just my opinion, of course.
Now, I give you Floyd Caves Herman. With a middle name like that, he almost HAD to have a nickname, and with a zany character such as him, it had to be colorful. Why not Babe?
Babe Herman was a marvel at the plate. For twelve full seasons, he was among the National League's better hitters. His lifetime marks include a .324 BA. His .532 slugging average ranked him fourth among all-time National Leaguer hitters with at least 5,000 ABs at the time of his retirement. His most productive year netted him a whopping .393 BA, 35 HRs, 130 RBIs, a .678 SA, 241 hits and 416 total bases. The fact that he accomplished all this in 1930, however, necessarily diminishes those achievements. In fact, 1930 was such an amazing year for hitters that Herman's huge year didn't even merit a whisper of MVP talk!
If hitting alone were the criteria for HOF induction, I would think Herman would probably be enshrined by now. There are also many colorful characters in the HOF, so if that were a criterion as well, Babe CERTAINLY belongs. Some of his quotes are at least on a par with the best of Berra and Stengel (what is attributed to them, anyway!). He was the main reason the Dodgers of the ‘30s were known as the ‘Daffiness Boys.’
Unfortunately, Babe Herman was an atrocious fielder. An absolute butcher. He made Hack Wilson look like Tris Speaker in the outfield. Had he played first base, he may possibly have been the 1930's version of Dick Stuart. Generally, one of the first things that springs to mind when the name Babe Herman is uttered, is the image of him being hit on the head by fly balls. That, unfortunately, is a well-earned perception. From what I have read, that happened at least two or three times in his career. One of his most famous quotes was in response to a reporter’s question about his fielding. Tired of the seemingly endless references to his horrific glove work, he began a campaign to convince reporters that he really wasn’t THAT bad a fielder. Surrounded by reporters before a game one day, he was quoted as saying, “Fellows, if another fly ball ever hits me on the head, I’ll quit the game of baseball forever.” Allegedly, one of the reporters then asked, “What if one hits you on the shoulder?” Babe’s now-famous reply was, “The shoulder? That doesn’t count.”
While he was in his prime, Herman was a very well-known and easily recognizable celebrity around the Brooklyn area. For a short time, an imposter began making the rounds of the local nightclubs and restaurants claiming to be Babe Herman. Herman reportedly went to the press, saying, “That guy doesn’t even look like me! In fact, no one looks like me. Sometimes, even I don’t look like me!” After Herman had finished his tirade and walked away, one reporter allegedly said to another, “It would be easy to show up the fake Babe Herman. Just take the guy out and hit him a fly ball. If the bum catches it, he’s a fake.”
One story told by an ex-teammate goes as follows: Dodger manager Max Carey loved Babe Herman. Treated him like a son and thought he could do no wrong. This blatant favoritism irked many players on the team, including pitcher Hollis ‘Sloppy’ Thurston and backup catcher Paul Richards. One afternoon, the Dodgers were playing the Cubs when Kiki Cuyler stepped to the plate. Thurston and Richards watched the action from the bullpen as Cuyler lifted a high, lazy fly ball down the right field line. It should have been an easy out – except for the fact that Babe Herman was the right fielder. Herman never saw the ball. In fact, he never even moved until the ball hit the ground in fair territory. By the time Herman retrieved the ball and fired it back to the infield, the speedy Cuyler was standing on third base with one of the luckiest triples ever hit. When the inning was over, Thurston and Richards decided to go over to the dugout to hear what Carey had to say to his pet player, Herman. They were sure Max was going to finally jump on Babe’s case. As soon as they set foot in the dugout however, Carey yelled to them, “Hey, you two! What were you doing in the bullpen, sleeping? Why didn’t you yell to Babe that it was going to be a fair ball?”
Herman did not like to report to spring training, and rarely signed his yearly contract until just before the season began. His teammates and the press accused Babe of holding out for more money, but Herman assured them that wasn’t the case. Quote: “I don’t do it for the money. The longer I stay out of camp, the less chance I have of getting injured by a fly ball.”
Yet, as legendary as Herman’s outfield misadventures are, he is best known by some fans for a monumental base running blunder which led to one of the more famous jokes in baseball history. In fact, the blunder wasn’t totally Herman’s fault. In a game in 1926, Babe was at bat with Chick Fewster on first base and slew-footed pitcher Dazzy Vance on second. Herman blasted a drive to right field for what was a sure double at least. Fewster, who did not get a good jump from first base, rounded second and headed for third when he saw Vance round the bag and head for home. Inexplicably, Vance, who was almost halfway down the line, put on the brakes and headed back for third base. Fewster, seeing Vance’s retreat, also applied the brakes and turned around to head back to second. Unfortunately for Fewster, Herman, who had rounded first and seen second base unoccupied, threw caution to the wind and decided to try for a triple. Babe blazed past Fewster before Chick could even get up a head of steam to head back to second base. Even passing Fewster did not slow down Herman. He slid into third base in a cloud of dust at about the same time Vance was sliding into third from the opposite direction. There is a version of this incident, which has been debunked by some, that Fewster was standing on third base when Herman and Vance made their comical slides into the bag, but that is likely a situation contrived by Vaudeville comedians so that they could use the old line, “Hey, Brooklyn has three men on base!” “Oh yeah? Which base?” In all likelihood, Herman was called out as a result of passing Fewster on the basepaths. The Vaudeville line also goes that Braves third baseman Ed Taylor tagged all three runners while they were on third base which, again, doesn't appear to have happened that way. This would be Taylor's only season in the bigs, but he does have that claim to infamy, bogus though it likely is.
So, does Herman belong in the HOF? His batting stats are great, although I have read that he wasn’t the greatest clutch hitter in the world, as possibly attributed to his relatively low number of RBIs. I choose to believe, however, that his low RBI total is directly associated with the horrible teams he played on. You can’t drive in many runs without runners on base.
Who thinks Herman belongs? Who thinks he doesn’t? I’m generally not wishy-washy with my opinions, but I’m on the fence. I suppose his ineptness with the glove has prevented him from being considered ‘great enough’ to be enshrined. In any event, Babe Herman was truly a baseball original!
Now, I give you Floyd Caves Herman. With a middle name like that, he almost HAD to have a nickname, and with a zany character such as him, it had to be colorful. Why not Babe?
Babe Herman was a marvel at the plate. For twelve full seasons, he was among the National League's better hitters. His lifetime marks include a .324 BA. His .532 slugging average ranked him fourth among all-time National Leaguer hitters with at least 5,000 ABs at the time of his retirement. His most productive year netted him a whopping .393 BA, 35 HRs, 130 RBIs, a .678 SA, 241 hits and 416 total bases. The fact that he accomplished all this in 1930, however, necessarily diminishes those achievements. In fact, 1930 was such an amazing year for hitters that Herman's huge year didn't even merit a whisper of MVP talk!
If hitting alone were the criteria for HOF induction, I would think Herman would probably be enshrined by now. There are also many colorful characters in the HOF, so if that were a criterion as well, Babe CERTAINLY belongs. Some of his quotes are at least on a par with the best of Berra and Stengel (what is attributed to them, anyway!). He was the main reason the Dodgers of the ‘30s were known as the ‘Daffiness Boys.’
Unfortunately, Babe Herman was an atrocious fielder. An absolute butcher. He made Hack Wilson look like Tris Speaker in the outfield. Had he played first base, he may possibly have been the 1930's version of Dick Stuart. Generally, one of the first things that springs to mind when the name Babe Herman is uttered, is the image of him being hit on the head by fly balls. That, unfortunately, is a well-earned perception. From what I have read, that happened at least two or three times in his career. One of his most famous quotes was in response to a reporter’s question about his fielding. Tired of the seemingly endless references to his horrific glove work, he began a campaign to convince reporters that he really wasn’t THAT bad a fielder. Surrounded by reporters before a game one day, he was quoted as saying, “Fellows, if another fly ball ever hits me on the head, I’ll quit the game of baseball forever.” Allegedly, one of the reporters then asked, “What if one hits you on the shoulder?” Babe’s now-famous reply was, “The shoulder? That doesn’t count.”
While he was in his prime, Herman was a very well-known and easily recognizable celebrity around the Brooklyn area. For a short time, an imposter began making the rounds of the local nightclubs and restaurants claiming to be Babe Herman. Herman reportedly went to the press, saying, “That guy doesn’t even look like me! In fact, no one looks like me. Sometimes, even I don’t look like me!” After Herman had finished his tirade and walked away, one reporter allegedly said to another, “It would be easy to show up the fake Babe Herman. Just take the guy out and hit him a fly ball. If the bum catches it, he’s a fake.”
One story told by an ex-teammate goes as follows: Dodger manager Max Carey loved Babe Herman. Treated him like a son and thought he could do no wrong. This blatant favoritism irked many players on the team, including pitcher Hollis ‘Sloppy’ Thurston and backup catcher Paul Richards. One afternoon, the Dodgers were playing the Cubs when Kiki Cuyler stepped to the plate. Thurston and Richards watched the action from the bullpen as Cuyler lifted a high, lazy fly ball down the right field line. It should have been an easy out – except for the fact that Babe Herman was the right fielder. Herman never saw the ball. In fact, he never even moved until the ball hit the ground in fair territory. By the time Herman retrieved the ball and fired it back to the infield, the speedy Cuyler was standing on third base with one of the luckiest triples ever hit. When the inning was over, Thurston and Richards decided to go over to the dugout to hear what Carey had to say to his pet player, Herman. They were sure Max was going to finally jump on Babe’s case. As soon as they set foot in the dugout however, Carey yelled to them, “Hey, you two! What were you doing in the bullpen, sleeping? Why didn’t you yell to Babe that it was going to be a fair ball?”
Herman did not like to report to spring training, and rarely signed his yearly contract until just before the season began. His teammates and the press accused Babe of holding out for more money, but Herman assured them that wasn’t the case. Quote: “I don’t do it for the money. The longer I stay out of camp, the less chance I have of getting injured by a fly ball.”
Yet, as legendary as Herman’s outfield misadventures are, he is best known by some fans for a monumental base running blunder which led to one of the more famous jokes in baseball history. In fact, the blunder wasn’t totally Herman’s fault. In a game in 1926, Babe was at bat with Chick Fewster on first base and slew-footed pitcher Dazzy Vance on second. Herman blasted a drive to right field for what was a sure double at least. Fewster, who did not get a good jump from first base, rounded second and headed for third when he saw Vance round the bag and head for home. Inexplicably, Vance, who was almost halfway down the line, put on the brakes and headed back for third base. Fewster, seeing Vance’s retreat, also applied the brakes and turned around to head back to second. Unfortunately for Fewster, Herman, who had rounded first and seen second base unoccupied, threw caution to the wind and decided to try for a triple. Babe blazed past Fewster before Chick could even get up a head of steam to head back to second base. Even passing Fewster did not slow down Herman. He slid into third base in a cloud of dust at about the same time Vance was sliding into third from the opposite direction. There is a version of this incident, which has been debunked by some, that Fewster was standing on third base when Herman and Vance made their comical slides into the bag, but that is likely a situation contrived by Vaudeville comedians so that they could use the old line, “Hey, Brooklyn has three men on base!” “Oh yeah? Which base?” In all likelihood, Herman was called out as a result of passing Fewster on the basepaths. The Vaudeville line also goes that Braves third baseman Ed Taylor tagged all three runners while they were on third base which, again, doesn't appear to have happened that way. This would be Taylor's only season in the bigs, but he does have that claim to infamy, bogus though it likely is.
So, does Herman belong in the HOF? His batting stats are great, although I have read that he wasn’t the greatest clutch hitter in the world, as possibly attributed to his relatively low number of RBIs. I choose to believe, however, that his low RBI total is directly associated with the horrible teams he played on. You can’t drive in many runs without runners on base.
Who thinks Herman belongs? Who thinks he doesn’t? I’m generally not wishy-washy with my opinions, but I’m on the fence. I suppose his ineptness with the glove has prevented him from being considered ‘great enough’ to be enshrined. In any event, Babe Herman was truly a baseball original!
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