Announcement

**Chadwick** · 03-26-2006, 05:34 AM

BBFHoF Rules & Guidelines

Introduction
The Baseball Fever Hall of Fame (BBFHoF) was established in 2003 to honor the greatest players and contributors in baseball history. This is achieved through the induction of any eligible candidates receiving at least three-fourths support in any of a series of annual elections; one for players and one for contributors each held concurrently.

We encourage any member of Baseball Fever in good standing to participate at whatever level you are comfortable, contributing to our dialogue or casting a ballot in either, or both, elections.

Eligibility and Elections
The Players Election is held to determine the most deserving candidates solely on the basis of their on-field performance as a player. Ballots must list at least 15, and no more than 25 players. Voters must select those they deem most deserving of election.

Eligible players for the 2014 election must have died, declared their retirement, or sat out the entire 2013 regular season and either be at least 40 years of age or failed to appear on a 40-man roster in the prior season.

The Contributors Election is held to determine the most deserving candidates primarily on the basis of their off-field contributions (though playing career may be considered). Ballots must list at least 10, and no more than 15, contributors. Voters must select those they deem most deserving of election.

Eligible contributors for the 2014 election must be at least 60 years of age or effectively retired from the position for which they are considered (i.e. “special advisor to the GM” type jobs do not count against eligibility).

All candidates remain perpetually eligible until elected on either ballot and those with multiple areas of achievement (both playing and non-playing records) may be appear on both ballots simultaneously, though we encourage voters to prioritize the election of deserving players as player candidates.

Candidates from the Major Leagues, minor leagues and various Negro and international leagues (i.e. Nippon Professional Baseball) are eligible. Participation constitutes a de facto agreement to consider the relative merits of non-MLB candidates receiving significant support, irrespective of a blanket prohibition against such candidates on a personal level.

Ballots
Players must be ordered alphabetically. Once posted, ballots may be edited until the submission deadline, but to ensure any such changes are recorded it is advised to contact the Project Manager by private message.

The casting of a ballot constitutes an agreement to abide by all rules herein and the Project Manager retains the right to invalidate ballots which fail to meet the guidelines, are deemed counterproductive to the project (e.g. overt vote manipulation or demonstrating an unsupportable bias or lack of general knowledge), or multiple ballots determined to have been cast by the same voter. Discrepancies or errors may be caught by the Project Manager and brought to the voter’s attention for correction prior to the final tally of ballots, but ultimately each voter is responsible for submitting a ballot in conformity with both the letter and spirit of the rules of the project.

Any questions should be directed to the Project Manager promptly and will be responded to in turn.

The 2014 election will begin after completion of the 2013 MLB regular season.

**Chadwick** · 03-26-2006, 05:45 AM

BBFHoF Membership Directory

ALL INDUCTEES, ALPHABETICALLY - 339

Code:

Hank Aaron
Doc Adams
Pete Alexander
Dick Allen
Mel Allen
Roberto Alomar
Walter Alston
Sparky Anderson
Cap Anson
Luis Aparicio
Luke Appling
Richie Ashburn
Earl Averill
Jeff Bagwell
Frank Baker
Ernie Banks
Red Barber
Sy Barger
Ross Barnes
Ed Barrow
Jake Beckley
John Beckwith
Cool Papa Bell
Albert Belle
Johnny Bench
Charlie Bennett
Yogi Berra
Akira Bessho
Craig Biggio
Bert Blyleven
Wade Boggs
Ed Bolden
Barry Bonds
Lou Boudreau
Ken Boyer
Roger Bresnahan
George Brett
Lou Brock
Dan Brouthers
Mordecai Brown
Ray Brown
Willard Brown
Jim Bunning
Jesse Burkett
Roy Campanella
Rod Carew
Max Carey
Steve Carlton
Gary Carter
Alexander Cartwright
Bob Caruthers
Orlando Cepeda
Perucho Cepeda
Henry Chadwick
Frank Chance
Oscar Charleston
Cupid Childs
Will Clark
Fred Clarke
John Clarkson
Roger Clemens
Roberto Clemente
Ty Cobb
Mickey Cochrane
Eddie Collins
Jimmy Collins
Charlie Comiskey
Charles Conlon
Tom Connolly
Roger Connor
Wilbur Cooper
Stan Coveleski
Bobby Cox
Sam Crawford
Jim Creighton
Joe Cronin
Bill Dahlen
Ray Dandridge
George Davis
Andre Dawson
Dizzy Dean
Ed Delahanty
Bill Dickey
Martin Dihigo
Joe DiMaggio
Larry Doby
Bobby Doerr
Larry Doyle
Don Drysdale
Hugh Duffy
Jack Dunn
Leo Durocher
Dennis Eckersley
Darrell Evans
Buck Ewing
Red Faber
Bob Feller
Wes Ferrell
Rollie Fingers
Carlton Fisk
Elmer Flick
Whitey Ford
Bill Foster
Rube Foster
Nellie Fox
Jimmie Foxx
Bill Freehan
Frankie Frisch
Pud Galvin
Lou Gehrig
Charlie Gehringer
Bob Gibson
Josh Gibson
Pat Gillick
Jack Glasscock
Tom Glavine
Joe Gordon
George Gore
Goose Goslin
Goose Gossage
Frank Grant
Hank Greenberg
Bobby Grich
Ken Griffey Jr.
Clark Griffith
Burleigh Grimes
Heinie Groh
Lefty Grove
Vladimir Guerrero
Tony Gwynn
Stan Hack
Billy Hamilton
Ned Hanlon
Isao Harimoto
Gabby Hartnett
Ernie Harwell
Harry Heilmann
Rickey Henderson
Billy Herman
Keith Hernandez
Whitey Herzog
Pete Hill
Paul Hines
Rogers Hornsby
Carl Hubbell
Miller Huggins
William Hulbert
Kazuhisa Inao
Monte Irvin
Joe Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Bill James
Fergie Jenkins
Hughie Jennings
Ban Johnson
Grant Johnson
Randy Johnson
Walter Johnson
Al Kaline
Masaichi Kaneda
Tetsuharu Kawakami
Tim Keefe
Willie Keeler
Joe Kelley
King Kelly
Jeff Kent
Harmon Killebrew
Ralph Kiner
Bill Klem
Sandy Koufax
Nap Lajoie
Kenesaw Landis
Barry Larkin
Tony LaRussa
Tommy Lasorda
Bob Lemon
Buck Leonard
Pop Lloyd
Al Lopez
Ted Lyons
Connie Mack
Biz Mackey
Larry MacPhail
Greg Maddux
Sherry Magee
Mickey Mantle
Rabbit Maranville
Juan Marichal
Edgar Martinez
Pedro Martinez
Eddie Mathews
Christy Mathewson
Carl Mays
Willie Mays
Joe McCarthy
Willie McCovey
Joe McGinnity
John McGraw
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Bill McKechnie
Bid McPhee
Cal McVey
Joe Medwick
Jose Mendez
Marvin Miller
Minnie Minoso
Johnny Mize
Paul Molitor
Dobie Moore
Joe Morgan
Tony Mullane
Dale Murphy
Eddie Murray
Stan Musial
Mike Mussina
Shigeo Nagashima
Graig Nettles
Hal Newhouser
Kid Nichols
Phil Niekro
Katsuya Nomura
Lefty O'Doul
Sadaharu Oh
Walter O'Malley
Alejandro Oms
Buck O'Neil
Jim O'Rourke
Mel Ott
Satchel Paige
Jim Palmer
Dave Parker
Dickey Pearce
Tony Perez
Gaylord Perry
Mike Piazza
Eddie Plank
Cum Posey
Kirby Puckett
Dan Quisenberry
Charley Radbourn
Tim Raines
Manny Ramirez
Al Reach
Dick Redding
Pee Wee Reese
Hardy Richardson
Francis Richter
Branch Rickey
Cal Ripken
Eppa Rixey
Robin Roberts
Brooks Robinson
Frank Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Ivan Rodriguez
Bullet Rogan
Pete Rose
Edd Roush
Red Ruffing
Jacob Ruppert
Amos Rusie
Babe Ruth
Nolan Ryan
Ryne Sandberg
Ron Santo
Louis Santop
Curt Schilling
Mike Schmidt
Vin Scully
Tom Seaver
Frank Selee
Joe Sewell
Matsutaro Shoriki
Al Simmons
Ted Simmons
George Sisler
Enos Slaughter
Hilton Smith
Ozzie Smith
John Smoltz
Duke Snider
Billy Southworth
Warren Spahn
Al Spalding
Tris Speaker
J.G. Taylor Spink
Victor Starffin
Willie Stargell
Joe Start
Turkey Stearnes
Casey Stengel
Harry Stovey
Bruce Sutter
Mule Suttles
Don Sutton
Ezra Sutton
C.I. Taylor
Bill Terry
Frank Thomas
Sam Thompson
Joe Torre
Cristobal Torriente
Alan Trammell
Pie Traynor
Kazuto Tsuruoka
George Van Haltren
Dazzy Vance
Arky Vaughan
Bill Veeck
Rube Waddell
Honus Wagner
Larry Walker
Bobby Wallace
Ed Walsh
Paul Waner
John M. Ward
Earl Weaver
George Weiss
Willie Wells
Zach Wheat
Lou Whitaker
Deacon White
Hoyt Wilhelm
J.L. Wilkinson
Billy Williams
Dick Williams
Joe Williams
Ted Williams
Vic Willis
Hack Wilson
Jud Wilson
Dave Winfield
George Wright
Harry Wright
Early Wynn
Carl Yastrzemski
Cy Young
Robin Yount

PLAYERS - 272

Code:

[b]PITCHERS - 78[/b]
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Akira Bessho
Bert Blyleven
Three Finger Brown
Ray Brown
Jim Bunning
Steve Carlton
Bob Caruthers
John Clarkson
Roger Clemens
Wilbur Cooper
Stan Coveleski
Dizzy Dean
Don Drysdale
Dennis Eckersley
Red Faber
Bob Feller
Wes Ferrell
Rollie Fingers
Whitey Ford
Bill Foster
Pud Galvin
Bob Gibson
Tom Glavine
Goose Gossage
Burleigh Grimes
Lefty Grove
Carl Hubbell
Kazuhisa Inao
Fergie Jenkins
Randy Johnson
Walter Johnson
Masaichi Kaneda
Tim Keefe
Sandy Koufax
Bob Lemon
Ted Lyons
Greg Maddux
Juan Marichal
Pedro Martinez
Christy Mathewson
Carl Mays
Joe McGinnity
Jose Mendez
Tony Mullane
Mike Mussina
Hal Newhouser
Kid Nichols
Phil Niekro
Satchel Paige
Jim Palmer
Gaylord Perry
Eddie Plank
Dan Quisenberry
Old Hoss Radbourn
Cannonball Dick Redding
Eppa Rixey
Robin Roberts
Bullet Rogan
Red Ruffing
Amos Rusie
Nolan Ryan
Curt Schilling
Tom Seaver
Hilton Smith
John Smoltz
Warren Spahn
Victor Starffin
Bruce Sutter
Don Sutton
Dazzy Vance
Rube Waddell
Ed Walsh
Hoyt Wilhelm
Smokey Joe Williams
Vic Willis
Early Wynn
Cy Young

[b]CATCHERS - 21[/b]
Johnny Bench
Charlie Bennett
Yogi Berra
Roger Bresnahan
Roy Campanella
Gary Carter
Mickey Cochrane
Bill Dickey
Buck Ewing
Carlton Fisk
Bill Freehan
Josh Gibson
Gabby Hartnett
Biz Mackey
Cal McVey
Katsuya Nomura
Mike Piazza
Ivan Rodriguez
Louis Santop
Ted Simmons
Deacon White

[b]FIRST BASEMEN - 25[/b]
Cap Anson
Jeff Bagwell
Jake Beckley
Dan Brouthers
Orlando Cepeda
Will Clark
Roger Connor
Jimmie Foxx
Lou Gehrig
Hank Greenberg
Keith Hernandez
Harmon Killebrew
Buck Leonard
Willie McCovey
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Johnny Mize
Eddie Murray
Sadaharu Oh
Tony Perez
George Sisler
Joe Start
Mule Suttles
Bill Tery
Frank Thomas

[b]SECOND BASEMEN -24[/b]
Roberto Alomar
Ross Barnes
Craig Biggio
Rod Carew
Cupid Childs
Eddie Collins
Bobby Doerr
Larry Doyle
Nellie Fox
Frankie Frisch
Charlie Gehringer
Joe Gordon
Frank Grant
Bobby Grich
Billy Herman
Rogers Hornsby
Jeff Kent
Nap Lajoie
Bid McPhee
Joe Morgan
Hardy Richardson
Jackie Robinson
Ryne Sandberg
Lou Whitaker

[b]THIRD BASEMEN - 22[/b]
Dick Allen
Frank Baker
John Beckwith
Wade Boggs
Ken Boyer
George Brett
Jimmy Collins
Ray Dandridge
Darrell Evans
Heinie Groh
Stan Hack
Edgar Martinez
Eddie Mathews
Paul Molitor
Shigeo Nagashima
Graig Nettles
Brooks Robinson
Ron Santo
Mike Schmidt
Ezra Sutton
Pie Traynor
Jud Wilson

[b]SHORTSTOPS - 25[/b]
Luis Aparicio
Luke Appling
Ernie Banks
Lou Boudreau
Perucho Cepeda
Joe Cronin
Bill Dahlen
George Davis
Jack Glasscock
Home Run Johnson
Barry Larkin
Pop Lloyd
Rabbit Maranville
Dobie Moore
Pee Wee Reese
Cal Ripken
Joe Sewell
Ozzie Smith
Alan Trammell
Arky Vaughan
Honus Wagner
Bobby Wallace
Willie Wells
George Wright
Robin Yount

[b]LEFT FIELDERS - 27[/b]
Albert Belle
Barry Bonds
Lou Brock
Jesse Burkett
Fred Clarke
Ed Delahanty
Goose Goslin
Isao Harimoto
Rickey Henderson
Monte Irvin
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joe Kelley
Ralph Kiner
Sherry Magee
Ducky Medwick
Minnie Minoso
Stan Musial
Jim O'Rourke
Tim Raines
Manny Ramirez
Al Simmons
Willie Stargell
Harry Stovey
Zach Wheat
Billy Williams
Ted Williams
Carl Yastrzemski

[b]CENTER FIELDERS - 26[/b]
Richie Ashburn
Earl Averill
Cool Papa Bell
Willard Brown
Max Carey
Oscar Charleston
Ty Cobb
Joe DiMaggio
Larry Doby
Hugh Duffy
George Gore
Ken Griffey Jr.
Billy Hamilton
Pete Hill
Paul Hines
Mickey Mantle
Willie Mays
Dale Murphy
Alejandro Oms
Kirby Puckett
Edd Roush
Duke Snider
Tris Speaker
Turkey Stearnes
George Van Haltren
Hack Wilson

[b]RIGHT FIELDERS - 24[/b]
Hank Aaron
Roberto Clemente
Sam Crawford
Andre Dawson
Martin Dihigo
Elmer Flick
Vladimir Guerrero
Tony Gwynn
Harry Heilmann
Reggie Jackson
Al Kaline
Willie Keeler
King Kelly
Mel Ott
Dave Parker
Frank Robinson
Pete Rose
Babe Ruth
Enos Slaughter
Sam Thompson
Cristobal Torriente
Larry Walker
Paul Waner
Dave Winfield

CONTRIBUTORS - 67

Code:

[b]MANAGERS - 26[/b]
Walter Alston
Sparky Anderson
Frank Chance
Bobby Cox
Leo Durocher
Ned Hanlon
Whitey Herzog
Miller Huggins
Hughie Jennings
Tetsuharu Kawakami
Tony LaRussa
Tommy Lasorda
Al Lopez
Connie Mack
Joe McCarthy
John McGraw
Bill McKechnie
Frank Selee
Billy Southworth
Casey Stengel
C.I. Taylor
Joe Torre
Kazuto Tsuruoka
Earl Weaver
Dick Williams
Harry Wright

[b]GENERAL MANAGERS - 5[/b]
Ed Barrow
Pat Gillick
Larry MacPhail
Branch Rickey
George Weiss

[b]OWNERS - 10[/b]
Ed Bolden
Charlie Comiskey
Jack Dunn
Clark Griffith
Walter O'Malley
Cum Posey
Jacob Ruppert
Albert Goodwill Spalding
Bill Veeck
J.L. Wilkinson

[b]LEAGUE EXECUTIVES - 3[/b]
William Hulbert
Ban Johnson
Kenesaw Mountain Landis

[b]PIONEERS - 14[/b]
Doc Adams
Sy Barger
Alexander Cartwright
Henry Chadwick
Charles Conlon
Jim Creighton
Rube Foster
Marvin Miller
Lefty O'Doul
Buck O'Neil
Dickey Pearce
Al Reach
Matsutaro Shoriki
John Montgomery Ward

[b]BROADCASTERS - 4[/b]
Mel Allen
Red Barber
Ernie Harwell
Vin Scully

[b]WRITERS - 3[/b]
Bill James
Francis Richter
J.G. Taylor Spink

[b]UMPIRES - 2[/b]
Tom Connolly
Bill Klem

**Chadwick** · 03-26-2006, 06:14 AM

BBFHoF Previous Election Results

2013 Election Results
2012 Election Results
2011 Election Results
2010 Election Results
2009 Election Results
Earlier Years - Coming Soon!

**leecemark** · 03-26-2006, 06:42 AM

--I thought Tom Selleck was Mr Baseball

.

**catcher24** · 03-26-2006, 07:28 AM

So that explains the "Not Valid Link" error I kept getting.

I was wondering what on earth was going on! Well, OK then, a new discussion thread, and all the bitter comments and posts from the old one are banished to computer oblivion! A fresh start. Wish I could do that with my life sometimes!:o

Anyway, congrats to the five new members! And four out of five from my ballot isn't bad. And two of four contributors. So I guess it was a good month.

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 09:02 AM

Well, I'll start by seconding the Chancellor's push for Foster, Nagashima and Wilson. In the past five elections, we've elected precisely one Negro League player, Ray Brown. I know there's a gap from the bunch we put in in May through October last year, but Foster and Wilson are now within a vote and are quite deserving at this point. I'll post individual arguments for these guys to bolster the point.

Jim Albright

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 09:06 AM

Jud Wilson

He has a solid array of accolades to point to:
1) He's been selected to the Baseball Think Factory "Hall of Merit";
2) He finished 26th in the SABR poll which attempted to rank Negro League luminaries;
3) he was named as both the third team first baseman and the third-team third baseman in the Pittsburgh Courier poll;
4) he was named as a Hall of Fame caliber player by 80% ot the Negro League historians polled for Cool Papas and Double Duties; and
5) Elected to Cooperstown in 2006.

The data we have on Wilson against major leaguers in exhibitons shows 31 hits in 86 at bats with 3 homers, a .360 average.

The Baseball Think Factory guys project Wilson as a career 336/431/447 hitter with 2845 career hits. That projection puts him behind only one man who has become eligible for Cooperstown who is not in: Harold Baines, with 2866 career hits. Baines was good, but not a comparable quality hitter 289/359/465 for his career, especially in terms of on-base ability. Another way of looking at it is there's only one eligible man with 2700 or more hits and a career average over .300 who isn't in Cooperstown. That one man is Al Oliver, a career 303/348/451 hitter with 2743 career hits. Oliver also loses out to the Wilson projection due to inferior OBP.

The BTF guys peg Wilson at 378 career win shares, a best five of 140, and top three of 34, 31 and 28. As a guy who favors career value, I'd put him above the excellent Ron Santo (322; 162; and 37, 36, and 32). If you are one who values peak over career, I'd say you should put him over Brooks Robinson (355; 130; 33, 27 and 25).

From pages 120-121 of William McNeil's Cool Papas and Double Duties:

Wilson . . . packed a solid 185 pounds on a squat 5' 8" body. He had massive shoulders and a huge chest that tapered down to a small waist, and short, bowed legs . . .

He led the . . . . Eastern Colored League in batting in his sophomore year, crushing the ball to the tune of .464. He followed with seasons averages of .394, .397, .358, .412, .375, .346 and .371 . . . [H]e [then] played two years with the Grays, hitting .362 and .370, before jumping to the Philadelphia Stars where he played for six years. All he hit in Philly was .354, .412, .309, .380 and .319. He added three more batting championships [in the two years he hit .412 and the one he hit .380}. . . . He also led the league in doubles, triples and home runs, once each.

When he retired from the Negro Leagues, he left behind a .354 lifetime batting average, the highest average for any player with more than 2000 at bats . . . .

Jud Wilson was primarily a hitter, but he could also handle himself in the field and on the bases. He had good speed and was an aggressive baserunner . . . . On defense, he played first base and third base, both acceptably. He was not flashy, and he was not graceful, but somehow he got the job done. At third base, he was noted for knocking balls down with his chest, then picking them up and throwing the runner out.

Jud Wilson made the annual trek south in the winter to play in the Cuban Winter League. He spent six . . . winters there and almost destroyed the pitching staffs [in that league]. He raked opposing pitchers for averages of .430, .333, .424, .397 and .363 . . . . In all, Wilson won two batting championships in Cuba (the two seasons over .400] . . . . He also led the league in runs scored twice, triples once, home runs once, and stolen bases once. His career batting average in Cuba was .372, which is the highest batting average in Cuban baseball history . . . .

He also played in the California Winter League against major league players during the winter of 1930-31 and he hit .469 in fifteen games. And he played one year in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he hit .404 as a 45-year-old graybeard.

Overall, Jud Wilson hit .354 in the Negro Leagues with 30 doubles, 6 triples and 13 home runs [per 550 AB]. . . In Cuba, he averaged .372 with 27 doubles, 19 triples and 13 home runs [per 550 AB].

Jim Albright

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 09:08 AM

Willie Foster

His list of accolades is rather impressive:
1) enshrined in Cooperstown;
2) selected to the Baseball Think Factory "Hall of Merit";
3) on the first team in the Pittsburgh Courier poll; and
4) finished 18th in the SABR poll ranking luminaries of the Negro Leagues.

Bill James in his latest Historical Abstract indicates Foster was the best pitcher in the Negro Leagues in three different seasons, 1927, 1931, and 1932. The Baseball Think Factory guys calculate that he earned 49 Black Ink points in the Negro Leagues and 97 Gray Ink points.

The Baseball Think Factory guys project him as deserving of a 212-136 record, worth 205 Fibonacci win points. They also project him at 254 career win shares, 131 in his best 5 consecutive, and top three of 33, 28 and 27. In my opinion, those marks are deserving of a slot between Ted Lyons (311 career, 110 best 5 consecutive, top three of 30, 26 and 23 and 168 Fibonacci) and Jim Bunning (252 career, 100 best 5 consecutive, top three of 30, 27 and 26 with a Fibonacci of 163).

William McNeil on page 203 of Cool Papas and Double Duties says Willie Foster "is generally considered to be the greatest left-handed pitcher in Negro league history."

Fom Riley's Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Leagues, page 292:

Willie Foster was a pitching star for the Chicago American Giants for over a decade. With near-perfect control and a wide assortment of pitches, [many] delivered with the same motion, the tall left-hander was at his best when the stakes were the highest. With a crucial game to win, Willie was the kind of pitcher a manager wanted on the mound. He was a smart pitcher who knew how to get the most out of his vast repertory of pitches, which included a blazing fastball, a fast-breaking drop, a sidearm curve, and a masterful change of pace.

Jim Albright

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 09:09 AM

Shigeo Nagashima

Japanese Record

He is the most popular player ever in Japan, lauded for his clutch play and superb defense. He was named the best third baseman in the Central League in each of his seventeen seasons, and won the only two Gold Gloves awarded in his career (in the final two years of his career). He won 5 MVPs, 6 batting titles, 5 RBI titles, batted over .300 in 11 seasons, and had 25 or more homers 12 seasons. He also was named the MVP of the Japan Series four times.

In Baseball's Other Stars, Daniel Johnson, William McNeil and Fumihiro Fujisawara all name him the best third baseman in Japanese baseball history. McNeil names him as the starting third baseman on his all-world non major league team and as the reserve third baseman on his all-time all world team. I concur that he was the best third baseman ever in Japan, and have named him the third best player there ever. I also consider him the second best player in Japan in the 1960's, behind Oh.

In 1961, the Yomiuri Giants trained with the Dodgers in Vero Beach. Walter O'Malley was so impressed with Nagashima he tried to buy Nagashima's contract, only to be turned down flat by Giant ownership. (pp. 72-73. The Meaning of Ichiro by Robert Whiting)

Wally Yonamine on Nagashima on pp 28-29 of Remembering Japanese Baseball by Robert Fitts:

Nagashima was such a natural athlete. Nagashima. . . could field [and] could hit. . . He was a showman. . . When you really needed one, he came through for you.

Glenn Mickens, also from the Fitts book:

Shigeo Nagashima was the best all-around playerI saw over there. Oh was undoubtedly one of the greatest hitters they ever had, but for running, throwing and hustling, Nagashima was the best.

The late Don Blasingame, who also managed in Japan, from the Fitts book: "Nagashima could do it all. He had defense, speed, and he could hit."

Japanese stats
AB 8094
R 1270
H 2471
2B 418
3B 74
HR 444
RBI 1522
BB 969
K 729
SB 190
avg .305
OBP .379
slg .540

Major League Projection
AB 9210
H 2569
2B 401
3B 187
HR 271
avg .279
OBP .368
slg .451

This projection meets 57 HOF standards, and the average HOFer "only" meets 50. I did a study comparing Nagashima to all the third basemen who had at least two thirds of their careers after 1920 and were either in the HOF or finished in the top ten in BBWAA voting. That study is here: http://baseballguru.com/jalbright/an...igeo_Nagashima The categories examined were runs created, runs created per 27 outs, OPS, runs scored and RBI, pitting Nagashima's projected figures versus the others. Each man scored based on his ranking in the group, and Nagashima came out fifth, behind Schmidt, Brett, Boggs and Mathews and ahead of Santo, Brooks Robinson and Pie Traynor, not to mention Freddy Lindstrom and George Kell.

In a study of projected individual seasons here http://baseballguru.com/jalbright/an...html#Nagashima , Nagashima had four MVP candidate/Hall of Famer type years, which combined with at least two other years which were clearly All-Star quality and a third year which might have been an All-Star effort plus excellent defense sounds like a Cooperstown resume, especially when he had nine other seasons, at least five of which would be the quality one would expect from a good regular. The seven years identified were worth approximately 200 win shares in the majors. He should have accumulated over 350 career win shares had he been in the majors, and over 80% of players with between 350 and 400 career win shares are in so long as they don't get into Pete Rose/Joe Jackson-type problems.

Jim Albright

**DoubleX** · 03-26-2006, 09:41 AM

I haven't participated in these elections in several months, but I'm glad to see Stan Coveleski and Kirby Puckett finally make it.

How much did Puckett's induction have to do with his recent death? It's unfortunate that sometimes it takes tragic circumstances to really appreciate someone.

As for Coveleski, he just seems lost to history. Very good pitcher, but never gets any mention, good or bad.

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 09:49 AM

Originally posted by DoubleX

I haven't participated in these elections in several months, but I'm glad to see Stan Coveleski and Kirby Puckett finally make it.

How much did Puckett's induction have to do with his recent death? It's unfortunate that sometimes it takes tragic circumstances to really appreciate someone.

As for Coveleski, he just seems lost to history. Very good pitcher, but never gets any mention, good or bad.

Puckett was almost there last month, before anyone had any inkling of his premature demise. He probably would have made it this month in any event.

Jim Albright

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 09:57 AM

Before the old discussion thread went to cyberspace oblivion, I posted an idea to try and revive discussion here. Since it seems we're low on passion for candidates, maybe we still have it against them--or at least can provoke discussion that way. What I'm interested in is a list of several candidates you have yet to be convinced you will ever support. The twist is, I want them to be candidates receiving a good degree of support in the BBF HOF voting who have yet to get in--say at least 8 votes of the 23 cast this month. Since you're taking on candidates getting good support, I think it is incumbent upon those who actually want to provide a list to provide their reasons for their stances.

Jim Albright

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 10:04 AM

I'll start with my contributor list, which is not so much a matter of opposition as it is that I have yet to be convinced to give these guys my support.

1. Clark Griffith. I know he's one of the founding owners of the AL. but I don't get the sense he was one of the driving forces there. What did he do that merits the honor? I'm listening, but I haven't seen enough yet.

2. Jack Dunn. He found a lot of fine players and had some wonderful Baltimore Oriole teams in the International League. Show me how much individual credit he deserves for players like Lefty Grove and you might sway me. Right now, though, what I see is he fought a good fight against the majors and lost. That doesn't cut it for me.

3. Ernie Harwell. A good broadcaster with a long career. Fine--but lots of cities can boast that. I'm not going there. What influence did he have on a national level?

Jim Albright

**jalbright** · 03-26-2006, 10:13 AM

Now for my player list:

1. Albert Belle If I evaluated guys just on peak, he'd make it. But I put serious emphasis on career accomplishments. He's seriously short there, so much so that it sinks his candidacy for me. For more of my analysis of Belle, see this post: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=151

2. Chuck Klein The problem with him is he was a monster in the Baker Bowl, just another player elsewhere. Check out his splits in the post I'll refer you to. To me, a guy whose sole claim to fame is a unique abilty to exploit one park doesn't have a good enough case--and Klein epitomizes that idea for me. See post http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=155

3. Mickey Welch Yes, I'm big on career accomplishments, so I can't dismiss a 300 game winner lightly. The problem is, he only pitched 13 years, so that accomplishment isn't the result of being a very good pitcher for a very long time. If you look at his gray ink, you might think he was spectacular for the time he did play. Unfortunately, a large portion of that ink comes from 7th place and lower finishes in leagues where teams were using 3 or less pitchers as their "rotation". Those kind of finishes are good, but not great in my view. So what it boils down to for me is he won 300 games because he pitched for good teams and the circumstances allowed him to get a lot of innings for those teams. See this post for more: http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.p...&postcount=192

Jim Albright

Announcement

Baseball Fever Hall of Fame

Baseball Fever Hall of Fame

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Ad Widget