Eli Cash - contributing reporter
And finally some names get bounced from the voting ballot. Let's see who remains. We've also started backfilling a few names from team records in order to give a little more comp of the players eligible. And.... VOTE HERE.
For the new voters out there, be sure to skim past articles; particularly the primer for a detailed explanation of the three scoring system we use. As a quick reminder, a sure thing for a hitter is 60/130/500, for a starter its 60/130/420 and for a reliever (who doesn't use the Test Score) is 130/250.
We are sticking with the format from the previous year as I liked how it compared similar position players rather than lumping them all together.
Players grouped by position. If you have a good retired player that I can include, please let me know.
C
C
Elston Lloyd - unfortunately he is no longer eligible but I wanted to point him out as he was recently added to the tracker. His 307 Monitor Score comes in as the highest of any retired player. Because he only lasted 14 seasons he wasn't able to reach some of the milestones but as a catcher he won 3 World Series rings, made 9 All-star appearances and was elected league MVP once. He recorded 40+ HRs in half the seasons he played and hit above .300 twice. He averaged 37 HRs, 86 runs, and 99 RBI a season. While those aren't huge numbers overall, it should be considered that he played the majority of his career as a catcher.
Fritz Butcher
A Butcher who doesn't cut it? Though for those players listed in the spreadsheet, he ties for second most All-Star appearances, in only 11 seasons. Had he played another 4, we would most likely be talking about him in a different light. He averaged nearly 150 hits a season with 22 hr, and pulled down 75 runs/rbi combo.
1B
Birdie Kydd
Yes he hit over 500 home runs, and managed 8 seasons of 40+ HRs which helped he cross the 100 RBI a season 9 times; but he falls short of the RBI milestone. Compared to other Hall of Fame First Baseman or past eligible ones, does he stack up? One of the lowest OBPs and BB/K rate for any of them. Yes he won 2 Rings but it had a lot to do with the team around him. He was good, don't get me wrong; but does he belong in the Hall? That's for you to decide. And not that I'd hold it against him, but he was 8-48 in stolen base attempts. Maybe his 500 Cash Points and his 40 HR, 93 Run, 113 RBI career average convince you to get him in.
Benny Romano
Nearly the same amount of home runs as Birdie but in one less season. He was able to cross the 1,500 RBI mark in his final season. His OBP ranks in higher than Kydd but still not at the level of other Hall of Fame 1Bs. Romano had an even worse eye did Birdie but still managed 7 seasons of hitting over .300, had two less seasons of 40 HRs and didn't quite have the team behind him to help carry him to a Ring. Last season he had 3 votes, well short of the 17 required. His career averages are 176 Hits, 37 HR, 94 Runs, and 109 RBI. I'd be more inclined to include Benny than Birdie.
Lee Schlitter
Not your prototypical First Baseman, Schlitter relied more on his speed and ability to get on base than a power bat. A combo that hasn't done well in HoF voting. Schlitter well surpassed the 2500 Hit milestone as well as the milestones for Runs and Stolen Bases. Ending his career with a .380 OBP and nearly a walk per strikeout. In his 16 seasons he made the All-Star game an amazing 10 times. For 4 seasons he had more than 200 hits, and for an additional 3 he still hit above .300. 13 seasons of scoring more than 100 Runs, 9 seasons with 35+ Doubles and 1 Gold Glove. I love a good 1-2 lead off hitter and that's exactly what you had with him, he averaged 176 Hits, 24 HR, 39 SBs, 114 Runs, and 84 RBI. While I might not be throwing my vote to him this year, he's definitely top of the list for next year.
2B
Benny Romano
Nearly the same amount of home runs as Birdie but in one less season. He was able to cross the 1,500 RBI mark in his final season. His OBP ranks in higher than Kydd but still not at the level of other Hall of Fame 1Bs. Romano had an even worse eye did Birdie but still managed 7 seasons of hitting over .300, had two less seasons of 40 HRs and didn't quite have the team behind him to help carry him to a Ring. Last season he had 3 votes, well short of the 17 required. His career averages are 176 Hits, 37 HR, 94 Runs, and 109 RBI. I'd be more inclined to include Benny than Birdie.
Lee Schlitter
Not your prototypical First Baseman, Schlitter relied more on his speed and ability to get on base than a power bat. A combo that hasn't done well in HoF voting. Schlitter well surpassed the 2500 Hit milestone as well as the milestones for Runs and Stolen Bases. Ending his career with a .380 OBP and nearly a walk per strikeout. In his 16 seasons he made the All-Star game an amazing 10 times. For 4 seasons he had more than 200 hits, and for an additional 3 he still hit above .300. 13 seasons of scoring more than 100 Runs, 9 seasons with 35+ Doubles and 1 Gold Glove. I love a good 1-2 lead off hitter and that's exactly what you had with him, he averaged 176 Hits, 24 HR, 39 SBs, 114 Runs, and 84 RBI. While I might not be throwing my vote to him this year, he's definitely top of the list for next year.
2B
Let's address Vic Crowe first, since he seems to come up every year. 70 Test Score, 117 Monitor Score, 443 Cash Points, averaged 32 HR, 91 Runs, and 93 RBI a season for 17 seasons. He reached the milestone markers for HR, R, and RBI within the final season or two of his career. His OBP is higher than the other two Second basemen in the Hall, even though he struck out a bit more than he probably had liked to. In his prime 3 seasons he secured 40+ HR, 100+ R, and 100+ RBI and likely his MVP and only 3 All-Star appearances those years. When compared to other 2Bs, does he belong in the Hall; most likely. Eli Cash seems to think he's a top 5 2B of All-time in Cobbfather. HoFers Trey Padgett and Dennis Gulan, along with Wandy Guillen and Ernie McEnerney.
Jose Pizzaro
Pizzaro must know some people to get him on the ballot. Averaged 158 Hits, 29 HR, 19 SBs, 84 Runs, and 96 RBI over his 15 seasons. Low Monitor Score with only a .332 OBP. 3 Seasons of .300 hitting with 3 All-Star appearances, an MVP, and 2 Gold Gloves. If Wandy Guillen, Vic Crowe, and Ernie 'I Miss Bert' McEnerney didn't make the Hall, Pizzaro doesn't deserve it either. Simple as that.
SS
Terrance Ricarrdi
There are no Shortstops in the Cobbfather Hall of Fame, but surely a few are deserving, but is Ricarrdi the right one to start with? 2 Gold Gloves, a .307 OBP, though he did have 2 of his 13 seasons with 40+ HR. He averaged 120 hits, 34 home runs, with 80 runs and 85 rbi a season, and 9 All-Star appearances. Still digging through the archives, but I have not seen another Shortstop with more appearances than Ricarrdi. With only two +/- more seasons he would have gotten to 500 home runs. On the downside, his .317 OBP is quite low for a HoF hopeful; even for a SS.
3B
Cookie Rodriguez
Cookie has the highest monitor score of all eligible 3Bs this season, and he rounded all four bases 544 times in his 15 year career, but to the tune of a .335 OBP and a .43 B/K rate. For 3Bs his numbers feel soft in comparison to those already in the Hall; but he did receive a single vote last season.
Cap Rivera
If you had to pick one of the three eligible Third basemen, Cap would be the one...no cap. 10 seasons scoring over 100 runs, but very limited ability to get on base; though still above HoF Sean Gosling just no power to match SG. One of his previous owners continue to vote for him in hopes to see his bust in the Hall, and I'd expect that owner to continue voting for him until he's no longer on the ballot. He averaged 16 HR, 34 SB, 95 Runs, and 74 RBI over his 16 seasons. It's been proved that you need more than Steals, Doubles, and Runs to get you in the Hall.
RF
Wiki Unamuno
I must admit, Eli likes Wiki "Leaks" Unamuno when he first appeared on the ballot and I still do, but if Edinson Hernandez falls short, then so will Wiki. He has a solid .376 OBP, scored more than 100 runs in 11 of his 13 seasons, 7 with 100+ RBI, 9 with 35+ Doubles, and 8 with an average north of .300. He turned in 1 MVP and 6 All-Star appearances. His season average was 26 HR, 36 SBs, 118 Runs, and 99 RBI. If Cash has an extra vote left over, expect Wiki to receive it.
LF
LF
Ubaldo Alvarez - received Eli Cash's vote
Omar Berroa - received Eli Cash's vote
Larry Brown
Brown definitely had his uses, winning 3 World Series rings and making 8 All-Star appearances, but not the best glove or bat. Are the Rings enough to get him in? The voters have proved that stolen bases alone won't help. He averaged 12 HR, 28 SBs, 81 Runs and only 52 RBIs. J.T. Constanza ranks lower by every ranking system but he has 5 Gold Gloves to show for himself as well.
DH
None
No prime DHs this year on the ballot.
Looking for a guy who has more than 2,500 hits, 500 home runs, 1,500 runs, 1,500 rbis, and over 1,000 extra base hits? He's your man. The only other player to do so and not be in the Hall of Fame is Kendry Lunar (editors note: I'm not familiar wit this guy, he was before my time). Produced 11 seasons of .300+ ball, where he helped leads his team to 4 World Series Rings, and 7 All-Star appearances. S51 he was but a vote short of his election to the Hall; but seemed to have dropped a vote last season. Let's see if S53 will be his year for the Hall.
Omar Berroa - received Eli Cash's vote
Yet another typical power hitter, 12 seasons of 40+ HR with 13 seasons of 100+ RBI. he ranks up there at the top of Left Fielders, but how does he fair with so many other deserving names, I don't know. he also crossed the 1500 RBI career mark by 9 RBI. 12 of his 13 seasons saw him hit more than 40 HR and surprisingly he was able to score 100+ RBI in every full season he played with 6 seasons above .300. In a tough year to vote, he still managed 6 votes; and Eli Cash will be throwing his vote his way this year.
Yohan Mairena
Gregory Treinen
Yohan Mairena
Yohan falls below HoF Andres Candelaria on the Monitor Score and failed to cross any of the major barriers over the course of his 15 seasons; though he owns a .382 OBP; above both of the current LF HoF members and below players like Swann and Taylor who were not elected to the Hall. But he is also one of few years with 2+ MVPs - that's 4% of Cobbfather history. But does his Hall of Chance depend on those two great years he had when he was the league MVP, perhaps so.
Gregory Treinen
I sometimes feel like a broken record, yet another typical power hitter. This one failing to cross any other milestones and struggled to get on base, and while I think he deserves a look, there are plenty of names who fall in the season averages of 154 Hits, 44 HR, 87 Runs, and 106 RBI a season with a .261 average. He dropped from 3 votes to 2 votes last season, we'll see if he's able to keep those two or improve upon them.
Bryan Foster
Gregory Treinen-lite. Make use of your vote elsewhere.
CF
Bryan Foster
Gregory Treinen-lite. Make use of your vote elsewhere.
CF
Larry Brown
Brown definitely had his uses, winning 3 World Series rings and making 8 All-Star appearances, but not the best glove or bat. Are the Rings enough to get him in? The voters have proved that stolen bases alone won't help. He averaged 12 HR, 28 SBs, 81 Runs and only 52 RBIs. J.T. Constanza ranks lower by every ranking system but he has 5 Gold Gloves to show for himself as well.
DH
None
No prime DHs this year on the ballot.