5 Baseball Players That Weren’t Deserving of the MLB Hall of Fame

The Cheat Sheet ^ | January 8, 2017 | Ryan Davis

[EveningStar]

The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame was created all the way back in 1936 and has 312 members that have been enshrined over the years. The process, which involves sports writers and even former players voting and requires a player to receive 75% to be inducted, is far from perfect. Sure, you have plenty of players that are deserving that make it into the Hall of Fame without problem. But sometimes, deserving players are left out for long periods—such as third baseman Ron Santo, who finally was selected following his death in 2011—and other times undeserving players are chosen.

Here are five players that were selected but simply don’t belong in the Hall of Fame.

5. Ozzie Smith ...

4. Phil Rizzuto ...

3. Jim Rice ...

2. Bill Mazeroski ...

1. Bruce Sutter ...

[Hostage]

Luis Aparicio ... now there was a Shortstop!

[Dilbert San Diego]

I remember talking baseball and the hall of fame in years past. And I used to tell people, some players being elected were clearly deserving, such as Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron. And I thought that if you have to get into some big discussions and argue and parse statistics and such with some players, then such players don’t really deserve being in the hall of fame.

Is the hall of fame for the all time greats,or should we also honor a lot of very good players who aren’t all time greats?

I figure the 75% vote threshold is a good limit. If we don’t see an overwhelming vote of support for a player as shown in a 75% + vote, then you have to question if he really belongs.

[CaptainMorgantown]

The writer is simply wrong about Ozzie Smith. He was the greatest defensive shortstop ever to play the game. By a lot. And Shortstop is the most important defensive position.

The number of hits that he turned into ground outs because of his remarkable range far exceeded the number of at-bats wasted because of his relatively poor hitting skills.

[ifinnegan]

Yes.

And his offense improved a lot.

[Alberta's Child]

I agree with all of them except Ozzie Smith. Rice would have been more deserving if he had a longer career and hit some key milestones like 500 home runs and/or 3,000 hits. A .300 career average would have helped make a stronger case for him, too.

In baseball, I consider a player to be a legitimate Hall of Fame contender if he meets one or both of the following descriptions:

1. He was one of the best at his position over a decade or more.

2. He was a dominant player for a shorter period but was at the top of his game for so long that he put up impressive career totals.

Ozzie Smith doesn't fit the latter description but he definitely fits the first. The case against Smith is more of a case against the nature of the shortstop position over much of baseball history than anything else. Personally, I find it hard to overlook a guy who was clearly one of the best shortstops in the game for 12-15 years, with 13 consecutive Gold Gloves and 15 All-Star Game appearances to show for it.

[Palio di Siena]

And Babe Ruth was a pitcher ...,oh wait.

[dancusa]

Holy cow! Gotta leave in the 7th inning to go see Cora!

[Alberta's Child]

I'm going to give the Hall of Fame voters a pass on Sutter, too. He probably seemed deserving at the time because he was the best closer in the game -- on some very good teams -- for most of his career. But in retrospect he looks very ordinary because the nature of that role has changed a lot.

If I was a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee I would hold off on voting for any candidate who played a role that has unfolded over time and doesn't have a long list of players that serve as good points of comparison. You're seeing this now with the designated hitter, and you'll see it even more with pitchers as relievers who are NOT closers become more and more important in the game.

The NFL went through a period like this with tight ends. It was a long time before the first one was inducted, and there are only eight of them in the Pro Football Hall of Fame today.

[Alberta's Child]

LMAO. Is Bruce Sutter from Alberta, too?

[Chode]

Munson, 100%

[NTHockey]

Rizzuto - a first baseman? Not! He was a shortstop.

Makes the whole article suspect.

[Stosh]

Little Louie - he put the “Go” in the “Go-Go-Sox”

In comparison to Rizutto:

Rizutto (13 year career) - .273 / .351 / .355
Aparicio (18 year career) - .262 / .311 / .343

Both had outstanding gloves; Aparicio was a terror on the base-paths to an extent Rizutto could only dream of. Sorry the Whitel Sox ever traded him.

[georgiarat]

I believe Smith and Sutter belong. Ozzie simply the best defensive player at his position I ever saw. Sutter won a Cy Young and led his league in saves 5 times.

[dainbramaged]

Rabbit Maranville.
I used to have his card....

[stylin19a]

I like your criteria...

longevity is not supposed to be HOF criteria.
However, it got Ripken 3000 hits and how do you keep 3000 hits out of the HOF.

Used to be 400 homers were a lock for HOF...not so much anymore cause there a spit load of 500+ homer guys, of which a fistful of them wont be in the HOF.

[relee]

Well, Phil did spend a lot of time at first base with over 2200 combined hits and walks so the author’s confusion is easily understood.

[Churchillspirit]

"The Wizard of Oz" does belong.

Nice to have a baseball thread again.

Spring training starts next month!

[Cicero]

I was a Yankee fan when I was a kid, and collected baseball cards. Phil Rizzuto was a great player.

[Alberta's Child]

Thurman Munson is really a sentimental choice more than anything else. His career (and life) ended tragically, but he simply doesn’t stand up to any objective scrutiny for Hall of Fame consideration over a short ten-year career.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

Barry Bonds will get there just to prove the sportswriters are not raciss.