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The 2010 Hall of Fame Ballots have been released. I am admittedly more lenient than most in terms of who I think is worthy of enshrinement. That said here is how I break down this year’s crop.

Slam Dunk
Roberto Alomar

Let them In Already
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Jack Morris
Mark McGwire
Lee Smith

In a Couple Years
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Dale Murphy
Dave Parker
Tim Raines
Don Mattingly
Alan Trammell

Never
Kevin Appier
Harold Baines
Ellis Burks
Andres Galarraga
Pat Hentgen
Mike Jackson
Erik Karros
Ray Lankford
Fred McGriff
Shane Reynolds
David Segui
Robin Ventura
Todd Zeile

Image courtesy of Icon SMI

The Atlanta Braves will have one more year with skipper Bobby Cox after he announced that he will retire following the 2010 season.  Cox made the postseason 14 consecutive seasons and won the World Series in 1995.  He earned four Manager of the Year Awards (’85, ’91, ’04, ’05) and is 4th in MLB history in Wins trailing Tony LaRussa, John McGraw, and Connie Mack.  His playoff appearances are a record, which will likely be tied by Joe Torre as the season wraps up.  Currently he has a 2409-1924 (.556) lifetime record.  He’s 2054-1632 (.557) with the Braves.

He will easily be inducted into the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.

To honor Hall of Famer George Kell’s passing I will re-post his Cooperstown Chronicles entry. 

I decided to profile Hall of Famer George Kell, who was enshrined by the Veteran’s Committee in 1983.

 
George Kell with Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, and Lou Boudreau
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI

The Numbers
Played 1943-1957 (15 Seasons)
1795 Games
6702 At Bats
.306 Batting Average 
881 Runs
2054 Hits
2773 Total Bases
385 Doubles
50 Triples
78 HRs
870 RBI
621 Walks 
51 SBs

Nine .300 Seasons
One 100 Run Season
One 200 Hit Season
Five 30 Double Seasons
One 10 Triple Season
One 100 RBI Season

Awards
10 All-Star Game Appearances
MVP Votes in 8 Seasons

Top Ten Finishes
Batting Average - 8 Times (Led league in 1949)
On-base % - 4 Times
Slugging % – Twice
OPS – Three Times
Games - 4 Times (Led league in 1950)
At Bats – 4 Times (Led league in 1950)
Runs - 3 Times
Hits - 6 Times (Led league in 1950 & 1951)
Total Bases - 3 Times
Extra-base Hits - 3 Times
Doubles - 6 Times (Led league in 1950 & 1951)
Triples -  Twice
RBI – Once
Stolen Bases – Once
Hit by Pitch – 4 Times

Hall of Fame Yardsticks:
Black Ink: Batting – 16 (139) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting – 93 (248) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting – 28.7 (306) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting – 90.0 (174) (Likely HOFer > 100)

There has to be something beyond the numbers because I have no idea how someone with fewer than 900 Runs & RBI and barely over 2000 Hits makes it to ten All-Star Games, let alone the Hall of Fame.  He did have a brilliant 1950 season when he hit .340 with 114 Runs, 218 Hits, 56 Doubles, and 101 RBI.  Besides that breakout season, he only had oneof other Hall of Fame worthy seasons (1949).  He was a standout with the glove leading the league in fielding seven times, assists four times, and total chances/game four times.  He did manage to keep Ted Williams from winning the Triple Crown by a few decimal points.  While he was a solid player, I don’t see him as a HOF player.  However, when you factor in his long broadcasting career it’s easy to see why this baseball lifer was enshrined. 

References
Baseball-reference.com
Baseball Library

For a look past the numbers at the man, check out of this USA Today article.

 
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI

Curt Schilling announced his retirement on  his 38 Pitches blog saying  “Turn out the lights the party’s over”.

One of the first thoughts that arises is whether or not he’s Hall of Fame material.  I’ve weighed in on this before, so let me restate my position.

The Numbers
Played 1988-2007  (20 Years)
569 Games
436 Starts (83rd All-time)
3261 Innings (94th All-time)
216 Wins (79th All-time) - 146 Losses
.597 Winning Percentage
3.46 ERA (4.41 League ERA)
1.137 WHIP (44th All-time)
3116 Ks (14th All-time)
83 Complete Games
20 Shutouts
22 Saves
4.38 Strikeout to Walk Ratio (2nd All-time)
127 Adjusted ERA (42nd All-time)

Three 20 Win Seasons
Five 200 K Seasons
Three 300 K Seasons
Four sub-3.00 ERA Seasons
Two sub-1.00 WHIP Seasons

Playoffs:  3 World Series Rings, 19 Starts, 133.3 Innings, 10-2 (.833 Winning %), 2.23 ERA, 0.968 WHIP, 120 Ks, 4 Complete Games

Awards
1993 NLCS MVP
1995 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
2001 Babe Ruth Award
2001 Branch Rickey Award
2001 Hutch Award
2001 Roberto Clemente Award
2001 TSN Pitcher of the Year
2001 World Series MVP
2002 TSN Pitcher of the Year
6 All-Star Game Appearances
Cy Young Votes in 4 Seasons (three-time runner-up)
MVP Votes in 4 seasons

Top Ten Finishes
Wins – Five Times (Led league in 2001 & 2004)
Winning % – 6 Times (Led league in 2004)
ERA – 9 Times
WHIP – 11 Times (Led league in 1992 & 2002)
Strikeouts – 9 Times (Led league in 1997 & 1998)
Innings – 7 Times (Led league in 1998 & 2001)
Starts – 5 Times (Led league in 1997, 1998 & 2001)
Complete Games – 11 Times (Led league in 1996, 1998, 2000 & 2001)
Shutouts – 11 Times

Hall of Fame Yardsticks:
Black Ink: Pitching – 42 (33) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching – 205 (34) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching – 46.0 (48) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching – 171.0 (33) (Likely HOFer > 100)

I don’t even know why there is a debate.  Seriously.  His postseason heroics alone are enough to put him on the brink of the HOF.  His career numbers do the rest.  He wasn’t just a compiler either.  He put together some fabulous seasons, as evidenced by his Top Ten finishes.  His control for a power pitcher is unrivaled.  His 4.38 Strikeout to Walk Ratio is second only to Tommy Bond (who only had 879 Ks), and ahead of the likes of Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, and the list goes on.  He won over 200 Games at nearly a 60% clip.  He has over 3100 Strikeouts.  His ERA is almost a full Run lower than the league average.  He never won the Cy Young, but was the bridesmaid three times.  He may have won 20 games just three times, but Wins aren’t always the best indicator.  By my standards he had outstanding years in 1992, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2004.  Not to mention his postseason dominance.  That is what makes his legacy legendary.  Even before the bloody sock, Curt was known as a big game pitcher.  He was brilliant in the 1993 ALCS helping the Phillies earn a trip to the World Series.  He was even more spectacular in the 2001 Diamondback’s improbable run to the World Series.  He went 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 18 Ks in the NLDS as Arizona beat St. Louis.  He was 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 12 Ks as they beat Atlanta.  In the World Series against the heavily favored Yankees, he went 1-0 in 3 Starts with a 1.69 ERA and 26 Ks.  He pitched well in the 2002 NLDS, but was cut down by St. Louis.  Then came the historic 2004 season.  He pitched well in defeating the Angels, but injured his ankle.  He got bombed by the Yankees in his first start before gutting out Game 6 and helping keep the comeback alive.  Then he pitched 6 scoreless Innings as the Red Sox steamrolled the Cardinals to a curse-reversing World Series win.  He won three of his four starts (including another World Series win against Colorado) in the 2007 Red Sox World Series run.  The Hall of Fame looks kindly on postseason heroics.  When you couple it with an outstanding regular season career, I don’t get the debate.  Curt Schiling is a Hall of Famer in my book. 
 
References
Baseball-reference.com
Baseball Library

Eric Stashin the Rotoprofessor and I are back to debate Dale Murphy’s Hall of Fame worthiness.

The Numbers
2180 Games
7960 At Bats
.265 Batting Average
.346 On-base %
.469 Slugging %
1197 Runs
2111 Hits
350 Doubles
39 Triples
398 HRs
1266 RBI
986 Walks
161 SBs

The Awards
1982 MVP
1983 MVP
1985 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1988 Roberto Clemente Award
Five Gold Gloves (1982-86)
Four Silver Sluggers (1982-1985)
Seven All-Star Appearances
Received MVP votes in seven seasons

Top Ten Finishes
Batting Average – Twice
On-base % – Five times
Slugging % – Six times (Led league in 1983 & 1984)
OPS – Six times (Led league in 1983)
Games – Seven times (Led league in ’82, ’83, ’84 & ’85)
At Bats – Four times
Runs – Six times (Led league in 1985)
Hits – Three times
Total Bases – Seven times
Doubles – Four times
Triples – Once
HRs – Nine times (Led league in 1984 & 1985)
RBI – Six times (Led league in 1982 & 1983)
Walks – Seven Times (Led league in 1985)
Extra Base Hits – Eight times (Led league in 1984)
Hit by Pitch – Once
Intentional Walks – Five times (Led league in 1987)

Hall of Fame Yardsticks
Black Ink: Batting – 31 (55) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting – 147 (91) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting – 34.4 (200) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting – 116.0 (123) (Likely HOFer > 100)

References
Baseball-Reference.com

Lester’s Take
Right out of the gate I’m going to use the yardsticks to support my claim.  Three of the four yardsticks support the inclusion of Dale Murphy into the Hall of Fame.  He’s a two-time MVP that was excellent in the field.  He was easily one of the best players in the league for a six-year stretch (1982-1987) where he averaged 36.3 HRs, 110 Runs, 104.8 RBIs, and 17.5 SBs while winning two MVP, six Gold Gloves, and four Silver Sluggers.  The rest of his career wasn’t brilliant, but was good enough with his long stretch of greatness to be a Hall of Famer.  The knock on him is his Batting Average and his Strikeouts.  Those numbers are less than desirable, but he got the job done.  He had the misfortune of playing on some pretty bad Brave teams.  In the end I think Murph did just enough to get in.

Rotoprofessor’s Take
From 1982-1987 he was one of the best sluggers in the game, hitting 218 HR and 629 RBI en route to winning a pair of MVP awards. Those are spectacular numbers but at just 31 years old, when he should have still been capable of putting up big seasons, he all but disappeared. In 1988 he hit 24 HR with a .226 average. In 1989 he hit 20 HR with a .228 average. After that he stuck around for parts of 5 more seasons, hitting a total of just 44 HR.

Those were 6 years were fantastic, but not enough to convince me that we should honor his entire career. He was good prior to the outburst, and terrible after it. For me to consider him for the Hall, he would have to really have had a blow away stretch. He just didn’t provide that, being overshadowed by superstars like Mike Schmidt, Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield. He was a very good hitter, but not the preeminent slugger of the period. Given the mediocrity of the rest of his career, that causes him to fall short in my eyes.

Previous Debates
Mark McGwire (Hall of Fame)
Tim Raines (Hall of Fame)
Bernie Williams (Hall of Fame)
Ryan Dempster (2009 Season)
Jack Morris (Hall of Fame)