Do any of these guys have Hall of Fame arguments? Part III

[Cowtipper]

In order to shave some names off my list of possible Hall of Fame threads, I decided to up my minimum WAR requirement to 20. It used to be 10.

Contrary to popular belief, not just anybody makes my exclusive and illustrious list of potential Hall of Fame poll subjects. The following 10 players, because they have less than 20 career WAR, will not have polls made for them. So, I thought I'd make one super-thread, where you can discuss the Hall of Fame worthiness or lack thereof of these players.

I've included various bits of information, including notable achievements, black ink/grey ink, similar players, statistics, Hall of Fame performance and various Baseball Fever project performances for each.

Bob Bescher - 19.8 WAR

Playing career: 1908-1918
Position: Left field
Notable statistics: .258 BA, 28 HR, 345 RBI, 428 SB, 749 R
League leader: PA in 1911; R in 1912; BB in 1913; SB four times
Black ink/grey ink: 13/54
Similar players: Jack Graney, Omar Moreno, Curt Welch, Topsy Harsel, Ned Hanlon, Blondie Purcell, Burt Shotton, Joe Hornung, Charlie Hemphill, Dave Collins
Fan EloRater rank: 957
BBF Retrospective All-Star: 3 times

John Burkett - 18.8 WAR

Playing career: 1987, 1990-2003
Position: Starting pitcher
Notable statistics: 166-136 W-L, 4.31 ERA, 1766 K
League leader: Wins in 1993; BB/9 IP in 1997; P fielding percentage three times
Black ink/grey ink: 6/52
Similar players: Kevin Millwood, Bill Gullickson, Scott Sanderson, Javier Vazquez, Rick Sutcliffe, Doug Drabek, Kevin Appier, Bob Forsch, Jim Lonborg, Bartolo Colon
Awards: 2 All-Star selections
Notable playoff performances: 1-0, 1 CG, 2.00 ERA in 1996 ALDS; 1-0, 2.84 ERA in 2001 NLDS
Fan EloRater rank: 475

Dick Donovan - 18.9

Playing career: 1950-1952, 1954-1965
Position: Starting pitcher
Notable statistics: 122-99 W-L, 3.67 ERA, 101 CG, 104 ERA+
League leader: ERA in 1961; WL% in 1957; WHIP in 1956 & 1961; BB/9 IP three times; CG in 1957; SHO in 1962; ERA+ in 1961; Pitcher F% in 1955 and 1957
Black ink/grey ink: 16/84
Similar players: Ross Grimsley, Doc Medich, Larry Jansen, Bill Monbouquette, Bob Purkey, John Smiley, Larry Gura, Matt Morris, Ralph Terry, Tom Browning
Awards: 1962 AL TSN Pitcher of the Year, 5 All-Star selections
Fan EloRater ranking: 431

Dan Driessen - 17.8 WAR

Playing career: 1973-1987
Position: First base
Notable statistics: .267 BA, 153 HR, 763 RBI, 1464 H, 154 SB
League leader: 1B F%, three times; HBP, 1980
Black ink/grey ink: 2/8
Similar players: Pete O'Brien, Von Hayes, J.T. Snow, Willie Montanez, Earl Torgeson, Joe Rudi, George McQuinn, Tito Francona, Al Smith, Matt Lawton
Notable playoff performances: .357 BA, 2 2B, 4 R in 1976 WS, won two World Series with the Cincinnati Reds (1975 & 1976)
Fan EloRater rank: 829

Walter Holke - -1.8 WAR

Playing career: 1914, 1916-1925
Position: First base
Notable statistics: .287 BA, 24 HR, 487 RBI, 1,278 H
League leader: 1B F%, 1921 and 1925; G at 1B, 1921; Putouts, 1917
Black ink/grey ink: 0/8
Similar players: Chick Gandil, Eddie Waitkus, Dick Siebert, Dick Hoblitzell, Jack McCarthy, Buddy Hassett, Jesus Alou, Doc Johnston, Joe Start, Kitty Bransfield
Notable playoff performances: .286 BA, 2 2B in 1917 WS
Fan EloRater rank: 1,758

Darryl Kile - 18.3 WAR

Playing career: 1991-2002
Position: Pitcher
Notable statistics: 133-119 W-L, 4.12 ERA, 1,668 K
League leader: GS in 1998, Batters Faced in 1997
Black ink/grey ink: 1/82
Similar players: Todd Stottlemyre, Ron Darling, Woody Williams, Hideo Nomo, AJ Burnett, Barry Zito, Randy Wolf, Pat Hentgen, Mike Krukow, Jon Garland
Hall of Fame voting performance: 1.4% in 2003
Notable playoff performances: 2.57 ERA in 1997 NLDS, 1-0, 2.57 ERA in 2000 NLDS
Awards: 3 All-Star selections
Fan EloRater rank: 438

Bill Killefer - 2.5 WAR

Playing career: 1909-1921
Position: Catcher
Notable statistics: .238 BA, 4 HR, 240 RBI, 751 H; 524 W as manager
League leader: G at catcher, four times; C putouts, three times; C assists, three times; Caught stealing, three times; CS%, 1913; F% four times
Black ink/grey ink: 0/0
Similar players: Otto Miller, Bill Rariden, Mike Tresh, Bob Swift, Bruce Benedict, Oscar Stanage, Kirt Manwaring, Jack Warner, Buck Rodgers, Lou Criger
Hall of Fame voting performance: 1946 Nominating Vote: 0.5%
Retrospective All-Star: Twice

Willard Marshall - 17.0 WAR

Playing career: 1942, 1946-1955
Position: Right field
Notable statistics: .274 BA, 130 HR, 604 RBI, 1,160 H
League leader: G at RF, 1947; Putouts at RF, 1949; OF assists, 1947 and 1948; RF assists, three times, OF F%, once
Black ink/grey ink: 0/39
Similar players: Gary Ward, Steve Kemp, Jay Payton, Sixto Lezcano, Dan Ford, Mel Hall, Troy O'Leary, Hoot Evers, Jim Northrup, Bernard Gilkey
Awards: 3 All-Star selections
Fan EloRater rank: 980

Homer Summa - 2.1 WAR

Playing career: 1920, 1922-1930
Position: Right field
Notable statistics: .302 BA, 18 HR, 361 RBI, 905 H
League leader: G at RF, 1926 and 1927; RF putouts, 1926; RF assists, 1926; RF F%, 1926
Black ink/grey ink: 0/6
Similar players: Eddie Brown, Emmet Heidrick, Buck Jordan, Debs Garms, George Stone, Adam Comorosky, Pat Duncan, Dick Porter, Lance Richbourg, Clyde Barnhart

Birdie Tebbetts - 2.5 WAR

Playing career: 1936-1942, 1946-1952
Position: Catcher
Notable statistics: .270 BA, 38 HR, 469 RBI, 1000 H; 748-705 W-L as manager
League leader: C assists three times; Caught stealing three times; C putouts in 1942
Black ink/grey ink: 0/0
Similar players: Brent Mayne, Cy Perkins, Phil Masi, Joe Gerardi, Milt May, Sammy White, Frank Snyder, Ivey Wingo, Mickey Owen, Gus Mancuso
Awards: 4 All-Star selections
Hall of Fame voting performance: Received votes twice, as much as 3.0% of vote, 1 vote in Progressive HOF Project
Fan EloRater rank: 1,527

[westsidegrounds]

I don't think any of them actually should be in the HOF, but

I went ahead and voted. Then I had a look at the stats. Huh, I thought Dan Driessen was better than that, maybe he was & the stats don't show it. I only know Birdie Tebbetts as a manager, and of course for his many duet hits with Loretta Lynn. "Reindeer Bill" is already in the Baseball Nicknames Hall of Fame, so why not.

[Freakshow]

Dick Donovan actually has 21.3 career WAR, adding in his above average bat (for a pitcher). Still, this total places him below the top 1000 highest WARs.

[Ben Grimm]

I can't believe it's 10 years already since Darryl Kile died.

[PVNICK]

Maybe Birdie Tebbets for his post-playing career. Wasn't he a scout or is that just an assumption based on his nickname. As for the others, Bescher had a run as a prolific leadoff hitter. Kile we all know. Willard Marshall had a monster 1947. Burkett won more games than I would have suspected. Dick Donovan is a stealth really good pitcher for a run of years. The others, even Driessen, are just regular MLB players, who I would compare to maybe the equivalent of the 9-10th men on a basketball team.

[dominik]

I have actually never heard either name.

[Cowtipper]

Birdie Tebbetts might be the best candidate, but if Steve O'Neill (another catcher who went on to be a great manager) can hardly get any Hall of Fame support, I don't think Tebbetts will have much luck himself. Donovan could have been a Hall of Famer if the chips fell differently.

[Cougar]

Tebbetts is a real candidate as a baseball lifer. If they ever started admitting scouts he'd be near the head of the line, and he had pretty fair careers as a catcher and manager.

He lost three years of his playing career to WWII (although he stayed stateside)...he'd have around 250-300 more career hits, and probably more All-Star appearances, had he played those seasons.

[Cougar]

Birdie Tebbetts might be the best candidate, but if Steve O'Neill (another catcher who went on to be a great manager) can hardly get any Hall of Fame support, I don't think Tebbetts will have much luck himself. Donovan could have been a Hall of Famer if the chips fell differently.

I agree completely on Steve O'Neill!