Five Guys Who Should Be in the Baseball Hall of Fame

On July 25, 2007 Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr. were enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. There is no doubt that Gwynn and Ripken deserved first ballot admission. Gwynn won eight batting titles, finished his career with a .339 average, and ended up with well over 3,000 hits.

Ripken is one of only eight players in history to hit 400 Home Runs and collects 3,000 hits. He was also a two-time MVP who re-defined what it means to be a shortstop, and oh yeah, and he once played in 2,632 consecutive games. He also had a flair for the dramatic, hitting homers in game 2,130 (which tied Lou Gehrig's previous consecutive games mark), game 2,131 (which set the new mark) and also homered in 2001 All-Star Game (his final one).

Both men have earned their upcoming induction - no doubt about it.

But while they are enshrined, the following five players are still waiting for that call from the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. Each was a superstar when he played. Each had at least a decade of dominant work in the Major Leagues. Each has the raw statistics to make it. Each was a player that you would have paid money to watch in his heyday. Each was a good, and some were great, post-season performers. Among them, they appeared in 38 All-Star Games and won 13 Gold Gloves. There were three MVPs and Three Rookies of the year. They played in 13 World Series.

Most importantly, during each of their careers, they were feared hitters and pitchers that no player in his right mind would have wanted to face in a tight situation.

Finally, it has long been a rule of thumb that in order to qualify for the Hall, a player must at least have a decade of dominance in his career. Every one of these players had their own decade (or more) and for that, and for the reasons set forth below, each of these ballplayers should be a Hall of Famer.

310 Saves; 3.01 Career ERA, 1978 Relief Pitcher of the Year; Led League in Saves three times. Top 5 in Saves ten times; ERA of 2.78 and 9 Saves in 8 Postseason Series. 9 Time All-Star.

Gossage has been kept out of the Hall for two reasons: (1) a general prejudice against relief pitchers; and (2) the advent of the one inning "Closer" has de-valued the impressive accomplishments of the Goose.

The former issue seems to be disappearing: both Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Sutter have been inducted in the last five years alone. The latter issue is more complex, however. You see, the Goose's greatness cannot be fully understood through the prism of today's relievers, who routinely collect more saves than did Gossage during his career.

The Goose pitched the majority of his career before the age of the "Closer", which Dennis Eckersley ushered in (along with others) in or about 1987. Since Eckersley, the best relief pitchers have become one-inning specialists, who usually come into the game with the bases empty in their team's half of the ninth inning. The Closer's job? Get three outs for the team and one save for his personal record. There is no doubt that the ultra-specialization of relief pitching has forever changed the game of baseball. For one thing, since the Closer is only throwing one inning at a time, he can get a lot more appearances and hence, a lot more saves.

In the Gossage era, 30 saves was a rare accomplishment. Today, 40 is commonplace and 50 is not unheard of. Accordingly, when voters come to the ballot with their pens dripping, I believe most of them look at only one statistic when it comes to Gossage, and that is Saves.

If you only look at his Saves, without taking into account how times have changed, he doesn't seem all that great. Goosed only registered 30 or more saves twice in a career that spanned more than 20 years. Doesn't seem all that impressive based on today's standards, right?

But what every voter must understand, and must accept as his duty, is that every player must be judged according to the norms of his era. And even more than that, each player must be judged based on his own merits, not just measured up against some artificial statistical benchmarks. When Rich Gossage pitched, he was a Reliever, not a Closer. The Goose's job was to come into a game in the 6th or 7th inning to relieve the starting pitcher, who had gotten himself into some kind of mess, and finish the game. The great majority of his outings were two or three (or more) inning affairs. Over his 20-plus year career, Gossage's average outing was 1.9 innings. During the heart of his greatness, from 1975 through 1985, it was almost always closer to three innings.

During that eleven year span, Gossage compiled the following impressive statistics:

E.R.A.: 1.84, 2.94, 1.62, 2.01, 2.62, 2.27, 0.77, 2.23, 2.27, 2.90, 1.62.

All-Star: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985

WHIP: 1.193, 0.955, 1.087, 1.149, 1.121, 0.771, 0.998, 1.085, 1.025

Pretty impressive. Pretty much like a certain current Yankee reliever who is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, and who many believe will be the first unanimous selection.

But let's move beyond the statistics. Three pseudo-facts really make Gossage a Hall of Famer. First, he was the most feared pitcher of his era. No one wanted to face him. Secondly, as a lifelong Yankee fan, I can tell you that I felt just as certain of victory whether it was Gossage or Rivera coming to the mound. (Okay, slight edge to Rivera). Thirdly, in 1977, the Yankees best relief pitcher, Sparky Lyle, won the Cy Young Award. Yet the Yankees went out and got the Goose anyway. Unthinkable? No, Gossage was better than Lyle and everyone knew it. For my money, he was the third best of all time coming out of the bullpen, with only Eck and the Sandman ahead of him. The third best relief pitcher in history should be in the Hall of Fame. This year, he earned over 70% of the vote. Next year he will be enshrined. It's about time.

Ten time All-Star; 1974 NL MVP; .294 Career Average; Five-Time Gold Glove Winner; 272 Home Runs, 2,600 Hits, 1,401 RBI, .338 Average and 11 Home Runs in 8 Post-Season Series; Best All Around Player on 5 World Series Teams.

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a house on Long Beach Island. The television set picked up Mets games and Phillies games. It did not pick up Yankee games. It was pure hell for an eleven year old Bomber fan. But I learned to adjust. I became a summertime Phillie fan and full-time Met hater (although the Mets were so bad back then, they were hard to hate.) Anyway, I watched a lot of National League games during those summers from 1974 through 1980. Which means I saw a lot of Steve Garvey. Between the Mets and the Phillies (and then the post-season against the Yankees), I probably watched him 40 times each season. He was a great player. Not a good player, a great player.

In addition to Garvey's demonstrated ability to hit for average and power, to drive in runs, and to field his position, Garvey was the leader on a team that had such excellent players as Dusty Baker, Reggie Smith, Ron Cey and Davey Lopes. Garvey led by example. When the team needed a hit, he got a hit. When it needed an RBI double, Garvey delivered. And if a clutch fielding play of long ball was needed, Garvey was the most likely to produce.

During his own twelve year "Decade of Dominance" from 1974 though 1985, Garvey was the starting First Baseman for National League All-Star Team 10 times. He was in the running for MVP in 9 of those seasons and took home the award in 1974. He won the All-Star Game MVP in 1974 and 1978. He was also ONE OF THE GREATEST POST-SEASON PLAYERS OF ALL TIME. Garvey won the MVP of the NLCS in 1978 (as a Dodger; .389 avg., 4 HR, 7 RBI) and 1984 (as a Padre; .400 avg., 7 RBI). In 11 postseason series, he hit over .300 nine times. In his 22 NLCS games, Garvey averaged .356 with 8 HR and 21 RBI. In other words, the man was clutch, during the season and in October.

Not yet convinced? Okay. How about this? Steve Garvey holds the National League Record for consecutive games played with 1,207. So he was durable. He was also versatile. Garvey had over 200 hits six times. He was in the Top Ten: in Home Runs 5 times; in RBI 7 times; in singles 10 times; in Total Bases 9 times; in Doubles 7 times; and in Batting Average 7 times. Garvey was a good citizen, too. He won both the Roberto Clemente and the Lou Gehrig Memorial Awards during his career for community service.

So, tell me, BBWAA, what the hell were you waiting for? This was Garvey's 15th and final year on the ballot, and he got just 21.1% of the vote. Must be a different Steve Garvey than the one I saw.

Hall of Fame Credentials: .298 Career Average; 382 HR; 8 Seasons with 100 RBI; 1978 AL MVP; Six times in Top 5 MVP Voting; 9 Time All-Star.

This one is a personal insult to me, and to every Red Sox and Yankee fan from 1975 through 1986. During that period, there was no better hitter. He was the Manny Ramirez of his era: great all-around hitter, left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, surly with the local media, and a Yankee Killer to the end. Every time Jim Rice stepped up to the plate, my heart froze. Only George Brett was in his league as a hitter during Rice's best years. During that period, Rice hit for an average of .308, smacked 30 Home Runs a year and averaged 110 RBI for 12 seasons. He drove in over 100 runs eight times, and the four times he missed, he drove in 97, 94, 86 and 62 (the 105 game 1981 season.)

Perhaps Rice is a victim of his own cold attitude toward the press. By the way, could we please take the votes away from writers who vote based on their own personal perception of the player's attitude? Please? Since when the hell are sportswriters the ultimate arbiters of a player's "personal worth" to be eligible for the Hall of Fame?

Anyway, the tide has begun to turn in Rice's favor. This year, he picked up 63.5% of the vote. However, he only has two more years of eligibility, and may end up outside looking in. If a bunch of Max Mercys keep Rice out of Cooperstown, I will personally boycott the place for a decade. Rice was that good.

Hall of Fame Credentials

254 Career Wins; Winningest Pitcher of the 1980's; 1991 World Series MVP; 6-Time All Star; Ace Pitcher for Three World Series Champions; World Series Record of 4-2 and 2.86 ERA.

Jack Morris was the best pitcher of the 1980's. He won more games during that time and was the ace of the Tigers Staff during those years. He led Detroit to the 1984 World Series by pitching two gems in the World Series. Then, when everyone had pretty much given up on him, he won 18 games for the Minnesota Twins and led them to the 1991 World Series, where he pitched three of the greatest games in World Series history. Morris went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.17. He pitched 10 shutout innings in the Game 7 clincher.

Then, in 1992, he moved over to the Blue Jays, where he won 21 games and led the Blue Jays to the playoffs, and then to a World Series victory.

It is simply a mystery to me why Jack Morris has not been elected. What is more disturbing, is that unlike Gossage, he has not even really come close to obtaining the number of votes (75%) needed for election. In the 2007 vote, Morris received only 37% of the vote, less than half what he needs for enshrinement. Morris still has seven years of eligibility. I hope the voters take some good hard looks at his body of work and vote him in soon.

Hall of Fame Credentials: 438 Home Runs, 314 Stolen Bases; 9-Time All-Star; NL Rookie of the year 1977; NL MVP 1987; Four-Time Silver Slugger Award Winner; 8-Time Gold Glove Winner.

The Hawk is a Hall of Famer. He hit over 400 Home Runs and stole over 300 Bases. Only Willie Mays and Barry Bonds have done that. He won the Rookie of the Year. He won the MVP. He was runner-up twice. He was the best fielder at his position for a whole decade. He finished in the top 10 in batting 5 times; in Home Runs 8 times; in RBI 8 times; in Total Bases 10 times and in triples 4 times

The time is coming for the Hawk, just like the Goose. This year he picked up 56.7% of the vote. With five more years of eligibility, he is not a lock like Gossage, but he has a good shot. It is sad that he only has a "good shot."

It is even sadder that Rice, Morris and Garvey have so much less of a chance