Month: December 2024

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What ballot he was on: 2025 Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot

How he did: Elected to the Hall of Fame on Dec. 8, 2024, with 14 of 16 votes

Previous known times he’d been a Veterans Committee or Era Committee candidate: 3

Previous highest showing as a veteran candidate: Parker received seven votes from the then-Modern Baseball Era Committee in its 2020 election.

Number of times he appeared on a Baseball Writers Association of America ballot for the Hall of Fame: 15

Thoughts on his candidacy this year: Dave Parker’s election to the Hall of Fame is progress. I don’t mean this in the sense that I consider his election the righting of some long injustice related to his individual candidacy. While Parker was one of the most celebrated players in baseball in his prime, winning the 1978 National League Most Valuable Player Award, he wasn’t one of the two candidates I cared most about this year, namely Dick Allen and Vic Harris. By traditional statistical measures, Parker is a middle-of-the-pack Hall of Fame outfielder. By sabermetrics, he’s more than likely near the bottom of the pack.

All the same, I’m happy to see Parker will be standing on the dais in Cooperstown next summer, in part because the Hall of Fame went 16 years without enshrining any living players as veteran candidates after Bill Mazeroski in 2001. And even after that trend began to reverse in recent years, starting with Alan Trammell and Jack Morris’s enshrinements in 2018, there’ve still been players who’ve died before they could go in since, notably Allen, who finally got in posthumously today. The veteran voting process remains restricted at the moment, with the same eras of players generally not being considered in consecutive years.

I feel about Parker’s pending enshrinement a bit like I felt about Harold Baines getting inducted in 2019. Neither has a good case sabermetrically. In fact, one could even argue that Baines and Parker each have lackluster cases by advanced stats. There are many candidates I care more about and increasingly, this is skewing toward Negro Leagues candidates. It’s where I see the greatest underrepresentation in Cooperstown. I will also say there are deep problems with how Negro Leagues player are currently considered, lumping them in with all other players who made their greatest mark before 1980 and restricting ballots to no more than eight men. It’s a recipe for ensuring a continued backlog of Negro Leagues greats for years to come.

Still, if the choice is between men like Parker and Baines being inducted versus no living players going in at all through the veterans’ process for Cooperstown, count me as happy they’re Hall of Famers. The 73-year-old Parker’s had some health issues in recent years and it’s great to know he and his family will get to enjoy this honor together. 

Do I think he belonged on this ballot? Relative to the other men who were on the ballot, Parker didn’t look out of place. And he nails the fame part of Hall of Famer. So that’s probably enough. In terms of sabermetrics, there were other players from Parker’s era who were superior and didn’t make this ballot. And I can think of several better Negro Leagues candidates. 

But overall, Parker’s presence on this ballot and his pending enshrinement is no great injustice. Honestly, I’ll be smiling when induction day rolls around next summer.

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What ballot he’s on: 2025 Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, to be considered Dec. 8 at the winter meetings

Previous known times he’s been a Veterans Committee or Era Committee candidate: 6 

Highest showing as a veteran candidate: Allen has twice missed enshrinement by one vote as a veteran candidate, receiving 11 of 16 votes from the then-Golden Era Committee in its 2015 election and receiving the same total from the then-Golden Days Era Committee in its 2022 election.

Number of times he appeared on a Baseball Writers Association of America ballot for the Hall of Fame: 14

Thoughts on his candidacy this year: News of Bill Melton’s death has prompted me to write about Allen’s candidacy. Almost nine years ago, Melton was one of several former teammates of Allen’s who I interviewed for Sporting News. Melton told me something that seemed to reflect what, to me, is a common misunderstanding about Allen, who is perhaps the most misunderstood player in baseball history.

“For the Hall of Fame, you need numbers,” Melton told me then. “Dick was not around long enough to have those numbers.” 

On one hand, I can see where Melton was coming from. By traditional stats, Allen’s numbers are good but seem underwhelming for Cooperstown: 351 homers, .292 batting average and 1,848 hits in 15 seasons. More than this, Allen was effectively washed-up by his early 30s and out of baseball at 35.

And that doesn’t even get into Allen’s reputation for being difficult, which was my impetus for seeking out his former teammates. Interestingly, most had positive things to say about him, which might have just been politeness with the media, though I sensed genuine appreciation for the man. I came away from that article with the impression that it was more the perception of Allen’s stats that was keeping him out of Cooperstown than anything to do with his personality, which is unfortunate because Allen’s numbers really shouldn’t be the dividing line.

By even basic sabermetrics, which account for the difficulty of Allen’s era for hitters, he is among the best offensive players not enshrined. For players with at least 5,000 known plate appearances, Allen’s 156 OPS+ is fifth-best among non-enshrined, inactive players, trailing only: Pete Browning and Mark McGwire, who each have a 163 OPS+; Joe Jackson, who has a 170 OPS+; and Barry Bonds, who has a 182 OPS+.

Of the men in front of Allen, it’s easy enough to know why they aren’t enshrined. Browning played in the 19th century and had a lousy reputation as a fielder. Jackson participated in throwing the 1919 World Series. McGwire has admitted publicly to steroid use and even if Bonds hasn’t, it seems pretty obvious that he was on something that took his numbers to stratospheric heights in the early 2000s. My wife and I had tickets to the Reggie Jackson Softball Classic at the Oakland Coliseum in October where Bonds, who is Jackson’s cousin, made a brief speaking appearance. Bonds has slimmed down considerably in retirement, looking nothing like the hulking slugger of old.

Personally, I have nothing against Bonds eventually going into Cooperstown, as I think he was one of the greatest all-around players ever before he likely juiced. And Bonds also did whatever he did largely before the players’ union agreed to steroid testing around 2005. I can’t really fault a player for breaking a rule that wasn’t being enforced. But, all that said, I still think it’s going to be awhile before a critical mass of veteran voters come around on Bonds.

The same holds true for Allen, I’d venture. OPS+ is not a hard metric to learn, but without having polled this year’s Classic Baseball Era Committee members, my guess is there aren’t a dozen with strong enough thoughts on it to go to the mat for Allen.

I think Allen is a Hall of Famer. And my research on veteran candidates over the years has taught me that those who fall just short tend to later get in, such as Leo Durocher, Leon Day and Bill Mazeroski, who all missed by a vote before they got their plaques. I think the same thing will happen for Allen eventually. I just don’t know if that will happen on Sunday when the committee reconvenes or at some point in the future.

Do I think Allen belongs on this ballot? Absolutely, though I will add that it’s frustrating that Allen might commandeer a space on a small ballot for however many election cycles to come until he gets into Cooperstown. 

To expound a little, I think Allen’s good enough that it’d be unjust to keep him off these ballots until he gets in, but I’d almost rather see his spot go to less-popular candidates who need time to build momentum. Statistical research is helping unearth many, maybe even dozens of Negro Leagues candidates and I’d rather the committee take time to learn about these men than rehashing the same conversations year in, year out.

But then, that’s kind of a Cooperstown tradition.

Do I think Allen gets into the Hall of Fame this year? I don’t know, though I suspect it will be close either way.