Eli Cash - contributing reporter
Another Hall of Fame season is upon us, speaking of which....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.
Players grouped by position. If you have a good retired player that I can include, please let me know.
C
C
Marshall Van Ostrand
His voting support dropped off last year and rightfully so. We'll cover him quickly, His 9 All-Star appearances is 4th amongst all logged Catchers, falling just one behind Elston Lloyd, Al Samuel, and Lonnie Mills. On top of his 1 ring, he had 4 seasons of .300+ average, ending his career with a .393 OBP; which is still excellent for a catcher lead by his amazing BB/K rate of 1.30. His test says he's close to a shoe-in but his Monitor score is lacking. And the precedence set by not those who ranked ahead of him. Sadly, that might actually mean we never get a catcher in the Hall until Kyle Crain.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote worthy: NO
Lonnie Mills
This 9 time All-star proudly wears his single World Series ring and offered his teams a .300+ average for 9 of the 15 seasons he played. In his prime, he also offered 100+ RBI. His Test score says he's a no-brainer for the Hall but his Monitor is greatly lacking. If high average guys like Al Samuel, Jamie Summers, Julio Contreras, and Chris Foster weren't voted into the Hall; it's hard to support Mills. Those guys also had more All-Star appearances than Mills. Let him join the Hall of Dizzy.
Votes Last Season: 7
Cash vote worthy: BORDERLINE
Lonnie Mills
This 9 time All-star proudly wears his single World Series ring and offered his teams a .300+ average for 9 of the 15 seasons he played. In his prime, he also offered 100+ RBI. His Test score says he's a no-brainer for the Hall but his Monitor is greatly lacking. If high average guys like Al Samuel, Jamie Summers, Julio Contreras, and Chris Foster weren't voted into the Hall; it's hard to support Mills. Those guys also had more All-Star appearances than Mills. Let him join the Hall of Dizzy.
Votes Last Season: 7
Cash vote worthy: BORDERLINE
Fritz Butcher
A Butcher who doesn't cut it? I love that joke! Seven 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 but like Van Ostrand, no single season is outstanding considering he struck out more times than he had RBIs or Runs.
Votes Last Season: 1
Cash vote worthy: NO
1B
A Butcher who doesn't cut it? I love that joke! Seven 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 but like Van Ostrand, no single season is outstanding considering he struck out more times than he had RBIs or Runs.
Votes Last Season: 1
Cash vote worthy: NO
1B
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 may not have voted him last year due to other names, he gets the vote this year. He ranks Top 10 in Runs scored, #10 in stolen bases, and #16 in Hits. If that doesn't get you in the hall, then we need to rename it to the Homers Club in honor of only allowing power hitters in.
Votes Last Season: 4
Cash vote worthy: YES
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 may not have voted him last year due to other names, he gets the vote this year. He ranks Top 10 in Runs scored, #10 in stolen bases, and #16 in Hits. If that doesn't get you in the hall, then we need to rename it to the Homers Club in honor of only allowing power hitters in.
Votes Last Season: 4
Cash vote worthy: YES
Vern Lowe
Lowe didn't quite cross the major thresholds, but he did have 7 seasons with 40+ HR, 7 with 100+ R, and 9 with 100+ RBI, to go with 2 All-star appearances and 4 Gold Gloves. All-time he ranks in at #94 average in average, and #56 in HR. The 4 Gold Gloves just goes to show he wasn't all bat. One more solid season and he would have likely surpassed the HR, R, and RBI thresholds but retired after 13. He ranks top 60 in HR, top 80 in RBI and XBH, and top 120 in Runs and SBs. You could easily make a case for him, but he'd be jumping names like Kendry Lunar, Don Sparks, Vic Park, Dorssys Tatis we just don't think he deserves to be mentioned above those guys.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote worthy: BORDERLINE
Lowe didn't quite cross the major thresholds, but he did have 7 seasons with 40+ HR, 7 with 100+ R, and 9 with 100+ RBI, to go with 2 All-star appearances and 4 Gold Gloves. All-time he ranks in at #94 average in average, and #56 in HR. The 4 Gold Gloves just goes to show he wasn't all bat. One more solid season and he would have likely surpassed the HR, R, and RBI thresholds but retired after 13. He ranks top 60 in HR, top 80 in RBI and XBH, and top 120 in Runs and SBs. You could easily make a case for him, but he'd be jumping names like Kendry Lunar, Don Sparks, Vic Park, Dorssys Tatis we just don't think he deserves to be mentioned above those guys.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote worthy: BORDERLINE
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 that's all there was to his game; HRs. 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.
Votes Last Season: 1
Cash vote worthy: NO
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 that's all there was to his game; HRs. 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.
Votes Last Season: 1
Cash vote worthy: NO
Charlie Lyons
Lyons surpassed the 2500+ hits and ranks 38 on the all-time list. He failed to pass 1500 in runs or RBIs but he still ranks top 70 all time in both. With 8 seasons above a .300 average, he also knocked in 100+ RBI 9 times, winning 1 ring and 4 All-star appearances. Unlike most 1Bs in the Hall, he failed to reach 40 HR in any of his 16 seasons. He averaged 24 HR, 85 R, and 88 RBI over those 16 seasons as well. Great player, just not sure he's Hall worthy.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote worthy: NO
2B
Lyons surpassed the 2500+ hits and ranks 38 on the all-time list. He failed to pass 1500 in runs or RBIs but he still ranks top 70 all time in both. With 8 seasons above a .300 average, he also knocked in 100+ RBI 9 times, winning 1 ring and 4 All-star appearances. Unlike most 1Bs in the Hall, he failed to reach 40 HR in any of his 16 seasons. He averaged 24 HR, 85 R, and 88 RBI over those 16 seasons as well. Great player, just not sure he's Hall worthy.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote worthy: NO
2B
Jose Pizzaro
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. Though he is one of few players that ranks in the top 100 of all major stats (H, R, HR, RBI, and SB) which is saying something about his consistency and value to a team.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote: NO
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. He cracks the top 80 in HR but is outside the top 200 in hits and nearly outside the top 200 in runs scored.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote: NO
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.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote: NO
RF
Crash Meacham & Wilfredo Alberro
He should be honored to even be on the ballot...and we've used our limit of words on them already. Moving on.
Votes Last Season: First Ballot
Cash vote: NO
LF
Votes Last Season: First Ballot
Cash vote: NO
LF
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 all other 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.
Votes Last Season: 7
Cash vote: NO
Votes Last Season: 7
Cash vote: NO
Bryan Foster
Gregory Treinen-lite. Make use of your vote elsewhere.
Votes Last Season: 0
Cash vote: NO
Midre Mantalban
With recent talk of Jorge Johnson earning his 3k hit and thus being a shoe-in for the Hall, well M&M fell just 70 hits shy of his 3k; something only a select few have done. He's #5 on the all-time hit list, just within the top 100 in runs and just outside the top 100 in RBI and XBH. If you think Jorge Johnson belongs in the Hall, you better be voting for Midre as he'll set some precedence for guys who can hit but don't hit bombs.
Votes Last Season: 5
Cash vote: NO
CF
With recent talk of Jorge Johnson earning his 3k hit and thus being a shoe-in for the Hall, well M&M fell just 70 hits shy of his 3k; something only a select few have done. He's #5 on the all-time hit list, just within the top 100 in runs and just outside the top 100 in RBI and XBH. If you think Jorge Johnson belongs in the Hall, you better be voting for Midre as he'll set some precedence for guys who can hit but don't hit bombs.
Votes Last Season: 5
Cash vote: NO
CF
None
No worthy Right Fielders on the ballot this year.
DH
None
No Designated Hitters on the ballot this year.