Posted on 12/08/2019 6:35:35 PM PST by ConservativeStatement
Longtime Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons and MLB Players Association executive director Marvin Miller were elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame, as announced tonight on MLB Network. Simmons and Miller were inducted via the “Modern Era” veterans committee, a 16-person panel focusing on people whose largest contributions to the sport fell between 1970 and 1987.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlbtraderumors.com ...
Detroit isn’t going to be happy with this . . . They were looking for Jack Whitaker to be elected.
LOL!!!
Ted Simmons was a good catcher, but HOF. This isn’t supposed to be the “Hall of Good Statistics”.
Lou Whitaker was the Tigers' second baseman. Jack Whitaker was a sportscaster for many years (and wasn't on the ballot.)
I would have preferred Whitaker and Dwight Evans over Simmons. I was never a big Marvin Miller supporter, but MLB owners certainly deserved the opposition.
He was an adequate catcher who was a very good hitter. At least he wasn't a historically bad choice like Harold Baines was last year.
I know . . . I have no clue why I posted Jack instead of Lou. I am not a native Detroitian, so maybe that is why . . . just spent my last five years there before moving.
They did have another marginally qualified HoF candidate from that era - Jack Morris. (He got in a few years ago.) Maybe you conflated the names.
I thought a better case could be made for Sweet Lou, but I sure won’t say Simmons doesn’t deserve it.
Marvin Miller deserves to be in the HOF.
I’m surprised. Ted Simmons was a fine player, but Hall of Fame material?
I read that only about 1% of all players who ever played major league baseball are in the Hall of Fame. It’s a very exclusive club.
I guess it begs the question, should many more of the very good players who were never superstars, be elected?
If I recall correctly, the Baseball Writers ballot for the Hall of Fame limits them to choosing 10 players on each annual ballot. Are that many Hall of Fame caliber players really omitted because of the limits on how many they can vote for?
“Are that many Hall of Fame caliber players really omitted because of the limits on how many they can vote for?”
I think so. And, who says baseball writers are the best qualified to vote? I sure don’t think so. Baseball writers can be real a-holes, and when they get a grudge against a player they become prejudiced.
Also, analytics are available today that allow players’ records to be analyzed more thoroughly than they were in the past, and provide more objective data upon which good choices can be made.
Other positions typically require 60-65+ WAR for HOF entry, but catchers don't accumulate enough at-bats for comparable careers.
Interesting info. Thanks.
“Simmons has benefited from modern metrics such as a Baseball Reference WAR of 50.3.”
Lout Whitaker had a career WAR of 75.1.
Marvin Miller: nope. Ted Simmons: nope.
MLB needs to be more careful about the HofF. Hopefully Bonds and Clemens will remain excluded.
MLB baseball tickets increased 40% in ten years. I blame Marvin Miller.
Albert Pujols has earned $285,040,436 by playing baseball. I blame Marvin Miller.
Marvin Miller is famous for helping Curt Flood in 1969. The problem was owner control like in Hollywood. Marvin’s solution was free agency. As a result, MLB is tax exempt like a religion. Unethical.
Ted Simmons, according to Baseball Reference, has a Hall of Fame score of 44 where average is 50. Thus, Simmons was excellent but below the average of others in the Hall of Fame.
Concur.
Does Major League Baseball really need 48 members to determine who's deserving of election to Cooperstown? No they don't, and sports writers and so-called journalists shouldn't be included among them. Having living elected players, MLB executives and retired umpires would be sufficient. Furthermore the nomination and election process of voting then revoting shouldn't carry on for eligible players year after year after year, first ballot election should be common place and not the exception.
Whitaker - Yes
Garvey - Yes
Parker - Yes
Simmons - No
Given the voting ground rules for the committee I would say there’s a lot of potential for vote-swapping — I’ll vote for your guy this year if you’ll vote for mine next year.
By the sportswriters, it wouldn’t surprise me. By the Modern Era Committee, probably not. I think the voters change for each session, and they don’t meet annually. Next time the Modern convenes is 2022, after that 2024. And I’m not sure that committee will go on into perpetuity.
Is he the first labor representative to be there? I’m thinking so...there are quite a few owners.
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