If I had a ballot, here are the guys who would be on it:
- Randy Johnson: The dominant lefty of his generation.
- Pedro Martinez: His numbers are outstanding.
- John Smoltz: Of the big three pitchers for the Braves, I'd take him over Glavine.
- Craig Biggio: Bill James rates him as the number six all-time second baseman.
- Jeff Kent: The most home runs of any second baseman.
- Mike Mussina: He was an outstanding pitcher who pitched in the AL East all of his career.
- Tim Raines: Look at the numbers.
- Alan Trammell: He has better metrics than Barry Larkin.
- Mike Piazza: He might be the best power hitter of any catcher in MLB history.
- Edgar Martinez: One of the best professional hitters of his time.
Regarding Martinez, you have precedent working against you to a degree. Frank Thomas was mainly a DH, and Molitor was a DH for a great deal of his career. Jaffe's take on Martinez (punch the hyperlink) is interesting. I was surprised how Edgar owned the "best closer of all time."
ReplyDeleteI don't like the DH either, but he was one of the best hitters of his era, and he played on the west coast, which hampered prime time exposure.
Mussina is a borderline candidate, but I think his numbers get deflated by playing his career in the AL East and not really getting much of a shot at the playoffs. If Mussina would have played in the AL Central or anywhere in the NL, his metrics would be even better.
If I had to pull one dude off that ballot, it would probably be Kent.
77% of Martinez' PAs were as DH.
ReplyDelete57% of Thomas' PAs were as DH.
I am shocked at the pundits who continue to slobber all over Schilling.
Schilling's recent Twitter war of words about evolution certainly isn't helping his character issues.
ReplyDelete