Claim to fame: From 1998 to 2007, playing for the Expos and Angels, Vladimir Guerrero posted a .327/.394/.586 slash line with a 149 OPS+ while averaging 151 games per season, making eight all-star games, winning seven silver slugger awards and receiving at least one MVP vote in all 10 seasons. Never during that stretch did Guerrero’s [...]
Archive for the ‘Does he belong in the Hall of Fame?’ Category
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Vlad Guerrero
Posted: 26th June 2012 by Alex Putterman in Vlad Guerrero10
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Johan Santana
Posted: 12th June 2012 by Alex Putterman in Johan SantanaClaim to fame: Fresh off the first no-hitter in the 8,000+ game history of the New York Mets, Johan Santana appears fully recovered from the shoulder surgery that cost him the 2011 season. Santana’s historic performance and his strong output through 11 starts this season suggest that the lefty’s career is far from finished and [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Billy Pierce
Posted: 22nd May 2012 by Alex Putterman in Billy PierceClaim to fame: About a month ago I visited Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field for a White Sox game and throughout the game studied their ten retired numbers and corresponding faces decorating the left-centerfield wall. Six of the players honored on that fence are in the Hall of Fame (including Jackie Robinson, whose number is retired [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? J.R. Richard
Posted: 1st May 2012 by Graham Womack in J.R. RichardClaim to fame: Richard may rank as another of baseball’s great What Ifs?, an ace pitcher for the Houston Astros whose career ended at 30 due to a stroke. He went 107-71 with a 3.15 ERA, winning at least 18 games four times, and it’s conceivable he might have gotten to 300 wins if not for [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Sean Forman
Posted: 17th April 2012 by Graham Womack in Sean FormanClaim to fame: I’ll preface this by saying I was planning to write a column on Sean Forman before he bailed me out of a jam this morning. I signed up about a month ago for a free 30-day trial of the Play Index, a nifty tool on Forman’s website Baseball-Reference.com that allows for the [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Jeff Kent
Posted: 10th April 2012 by Alex Putterman in Jeff KentClaim to Fame: Kent played for six teams over 17 seasons in the Major Leagues, bringing a big bat and a bad attitude with him on every stop. With the Mets, Kent was criticized for his refusal of hazing rituals and short-temper. In San Francisco he repeatedly butted heads with Barry Bonds (although Barry would almost [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Andy Pettitte
Posted: 27th March 2012 by Alex Putterman in Andy PettitteClaim to Fame: Andy Pettitte was an anchor of the Yankees 1990s dynasty, rarely their best pitcher but always a reliable arm. He pitched much of the next decade with the Bombers, a three-year stint with his hometown Houston breaking up 13 seasons in New York. Pettitte has won 240 regular season games, made three all-star [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Johnny Murphy
Posted: 20th March 2012 by Graham Womack in Johnny MurphyClaim to fame: I’ll start by thanking broadcaster Len Berman for including a link to the BPP All-Time Dream Project in a recent mass email. The link led to votes from about 50 people, including the son of former New York Yankees pitcher Johnny Murphy who emailed and suggested I add a relief pitcher category. [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Jose Canseco
Posted: 16th March 2012 by Alex Putterman in Jose CansecoClaim to Fame: Not long ago, Jose Canseco, a Major League outfielder for 17 seasons, was suspended from the independent AAA Mexican League for refusing a drug test, the latest in a sequence of wacky exploits of a controversial ex-superstar whom no one respects but by whom everyone is intrigued. Since his last at-bat in Major [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Sammy Sosa
Posted: 21st February 2012 by Graham Womack in Sammy SosaClaim to fame: I seem to be repeating variations of the following phrase ad nauseam, but here goes again. In about nine months, the Baseball Writers Association of America will begin voting on the most controversial Hall of Fame ballot in recent memory. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will inspire volumes of copy as writers publicly rationalize [...]