Eli Cash - contributing reporter
Since the topic has come up again, did Dizzy Leonard get the shaft by voters and does he belong in the Hall? While it's not apples to apples comparing MLB players to Cobbfather players, the game was still designed with the MLB in mind; at least the old MLB - thanks devs for all the game updates.
With discussions of Jorge Johnson and Dizzy Leonard, one has to ask if there is a single stat that once you pass its threshold guarantees you a spot in the Hall of Fame? Is it 300 Wins, 3000 K or Hits, 600 HRs? Obviously no amount of Saves will assure you a spot in the Hall judging by recent voting. What about 1500 Rs / RBIs? Or maybe it's All-Star appearances, MVPs or even Cy Youngs. That is up to the voting community to decide what truly makes a Cobbfather Hall of Famer.
Sorted by Strikeouts.
No doubt quite a few of those players are Hall of Famers, but are all them? All but one MLB player (A, B, G, J, K, & M) is a Hall of Famer. Player K is not, we'll tell you more about him later. Of the Cobbfather players listed only one is a Hall of Famer, player C - Gregor Lopez who was recently inducted.
If it's Game 7 of the World Series, which guy do you want on the mound FOR you? Who do you want pitching AGAINST you?
Hall of Fame MLB Players
Player A - Nolan Ryan
Player B - Steve Carlton
Player G - Phil Niekro
Player J - Bob Feller
Player M - Early Wynn
Before we reveal who Player K is, let's identify which player is Dizzy Leonard. He is Player F, the one tied for most Losses, has the highest ERA & WHIP, given up the most HRs and walked the most batters even though he barely has more innings than a few other names (Players C & D). Let's ignore C because we know that was Lopez and he's clearly head and shoulders ahead of the other Cobbfather players on the list. Player D was an even better strikeout pitcher, but he was passed over for the Hall as well, he is Ryan Fisher. He received a single vote back in S46 voting and hasn't been heard from since. Player E wasn't nearly as close in innings pitched but struck out a few more batters with better ratios and he's not getting much love in his current Hall voting. He's none other than S56 6 vote getter, Juan Galvis. The other three players who had less K than Leonard but have been passed up or currently being passed on for the Hall are H - Sherman Berkman. I - Braeden Abercrombie. L - Randall Washington.
I think the debate is not just about that single player but the precedence set by the voting of others players. Unfortunately for Dizzy's time on the HoF ballot it was also about how many other good names were on the ballot that deserved votes. With only so many votes per owner, sometimes you have to make the tough decision on who gets in and who doesn't.
But back to the question, is there an accomplishment like 3000 K that should assure someone a spot in the Hall? If Player K was more of a K artist with the same ratios would you think he deserves a spot? Likely only a Mets fan would say yes, but there's no bad answer. Some people value one stat over another. Player K is Bartolo Colon.
Let the debate continue!
Editor note - the blog is biased towards no players or owners. We look at players as individuals and contribution to the league, regardless of the team(s) they played for. Vic Crowe was before the time of the current editor. Our editor has even gone on record saying he would have voted for Crowe if he was an owner at that time. Sure he ha a low Monitor score but his Test Score is legit and a Top 5 All-time 2B. Could easily argue if he's top 2 or 3. Not everything is by the stat.