Did someone say "anole"?
Posted on 12/10/2018 1:13:45 PM PST by C19fan
The 1960s, while not quite as extreme as the deadball era (1920 and earlier) had the homeruns but not the average. I think Pete Rose won a batting title during that decade with a partly .301. Pee Wee Reese, along with Maury Willis were the offensive spark plugs of those great Dodger teams which won most of their games with three runds or less. Maury would get a walk or scratch single, steal second and score on cheap blooper from Reese more than a few time.
Slaughter played very much the same role on some of those great Cardinal teams in his era. So comparisons to other players in the same era is important.
I don’t even put Raines and Baines in the same category. Raines at least stole bases and played defense.
The one player I saw who towered above all others in his ability to single-handedly, physically, and psychologically dominate games - before, during, and after The Controversy - was Barry Bonds.
As long as the HoF selection criteria remains "guys sportswriters think were OK", it will never be truly reflective of greatness on the field. The way things are going, in the near future writers will be disqualifying half of today's players based on old homophobic Tweets, anyway. :)
I agree with this. Barry Bonds should be in the Hall and so should Roger Clemens. Possibly the best hitter and pitcher in history. Throw in Curt Schilling and Mark McGwire while you are at it. What about Gary Sheffield? Even Edgar Martinez should have went in before Baines. I know they are on different ballots, but good grief. The HoF selection process is a disaster. Go ahead and throw Rose in if you wish, but baseball is currently without its best all-time players in the HoF.
Ripken was also a good fielder which Baines was not.
Bonds already had an HOF career before he ever took a steroid.
I don’t think Pee Wee and Maury Wills played at the same time.
Pee Wee Reese .269 Ave 126 HR 885 RBI
Sometimes it is just the right player, playing for the right team, at the right time.
Did someone say "anole"?
Could be.
Baines was a very solid player. I never thought of him as a Hall of Famer. But I don’t vote on the selections...
I always thought of Harold Baines and Mike Mussina as two guys who were close but not quite HOF material.
Before someone comes in with the standard 'his numbers are just as good as this guy who is in the HOF' argument, please stop and think what you are doing. Just because voters made a mistake in the past and put someone in who didn't belong, doesn't condemn everyone after that to repeat the same mistake.
I don’t like the idea that personalities effect the way “reporters” vote.
Barry Bonds is one that is hurt by this, but just how impossible would it be that Albert Belle would be considered.
All because of their relationships towards reporters.
And that’s part of the debate about steroids. Barry Bonds would have been a shoo in without steroids. He may not have broken all time home run records , but he would have been among the all time greats without steroids.
Right. Wills basically replaced Reese as Dodgers SS. Didn’t play together at all.
I wasn’t there, but from what I’ve read, I think Shoeless Joe got robbed by being banned along with Gandil and the other Black Sox. Jackson led all hitters in the 1919 World Series with a .375 batting average.
I think he got lumped in with the other conspirators.
But maybe I just don’t want to believe one of the greatest hitters who ever lived agreed to accept money to throw the Series.
Comiskey was a cheap bastard, and gamblers were all over the game in those days. I don’t know.
Just a bummer.
Rose, I don’t know how much if any gambling he did while playing.
Nowadays, of course, with gambling legalized everywhere, and celebrated all over the media, it all seems so quaint...
If you look at his statistics for the 1919 World Series its hard to argue that Jackson tried to throw the game!
If he’s guilty of anything I guess its not reporting it. If he had any foreknowledge.
The is still a sign in every major league locker room that gambling is prohibited. Rule 21 is known by everyone in the majors and minors.
Reese & Wills did not play together.
I think the better question regarding the disgrace named Rose, is any player bigger than the game. The game that brought them the privileged life. That young hearts idolize. What then happens when there are no rules. Where do you draw the line between right & wrong? What consequences when all is ignored for a man who happened to hit a baseball well. And why is that important. What other sacrifices should we bow to, to what end. How far should we stretch the fabric for paper heroes.
The question with respect to the Baseball HoF is what does it mean to be a Hall of Famer?
If it means something substantially other than “you were one of the best to play the game in your time”, then it’s a political farce. Next thing you know, they’ll be kicking out Babe Ruth because he uttered gay slurs in the clubhouse.
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