The 2012 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot was announced this week and it is terrible. By my estimation, there is exactly 1 player who deserves to get in (Barry Larkin) and only 1 other who even deserves consideration (Jeff Bagwell). Everyone else has no business in Cooperstown.
This year’s class is headlined by Bernie Williams, of whom I am a huge fan. I love Bernie and as a die hard Yankee fan for most of the past 2 decades, (after my dad stopped sticking Red Sox hats on my head against my will when I was 2) he’s been one of my favorite players forever. That said, he is not a HOFer. Bernie was an excellent player, multiple Gold Glove Winner, batting champion. He has great overall numbers, but he doesn’t deserve to be enshrined with the best players in history. Neither does Tim Salmon, Edgar Martinez, Bill Mueller or Javy Lopez.
Not to be too mean (like Keith Law often is) but Rueben Sierra does not deserve to be on a Hall of Fame Ballot. If he gets a single solitary vote, the guy who voted for him should disbarred from all future voting and castrated. Sierra played 20 Major League seasons and made 4 All Star teams. He was a .263 career hitter with 306 HRs and 1322 RBIs. His career WAR was 13.6 but he had a negative WAR (meaning that he was below replacement level and therefore cost his team games) in 12 of his 20 years. In his best season he played all 162 games and led the league in triples (14), RBIs (119), slugging percentage (.543), and total bases (344) and finished second in the MVP voting. The thing is, that was 1989. He played 16 years after that where he didn’t lead the league in anything. For me, the definition of a Hall of Fame hitter is that he was the most feared hitter in the league for a period of time. A guy who no pitcher wanted anything to do with. Ruben Sierra was never that hitter. Ever.
Like Sierra, Terry Mulholland has no business being on a HOF ballot. Also like Sierra, Mulholland played 20 pro seasons. He played 685 games but started only 322. He made exactly one All-Star appearance. The biggest, most glaring statistic that pertains to Mulholland’s HOF credentials is his career 4.41 ERA. Terry was a good, serviceable major leaguer. I’m sure he’s a very nice guy. But he is not anything close to a Hall of Famer.
Tim Salmon played 14 seasons. He didn’t make a single All Star team. He did win Rookie of the Year though. Not a HOFer, not even close.
Bill Mueller won a batting title in 2003 but other than his rookie year when he played in only 55 games, he never hit above .300 again. In his 11 seasons, he was never a elite player.
Edgar Martinez is definitely the guy closest to hall consideration. Edgar played 18 years, won 2 batting titles and had a career .312 average. He was definitely one of the most feared hitters in the game for a time. Thing is, he was a full time DH, out of 2055 career games, he played a total of 592 in the field. A lot of voters will have a tough time voting for a guy who only played half the game (pitchers excluded).
Bottom line is, this year’s new HOF class has no deserving candidates. But that’s ok. The Hall is a special honor designated for only the greats. It’s ok if every year doesn’t include a new inductee. The people who make it aren’t supposed to be the best of a given year or a few years, they are the best ever. Guys like Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Cal Ripken are Hall of Famers. Bill Mueller is not.
-Max Frankel
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