For the Hall of Fame
© Greg Spira
Gary Carter - The dominant catcher in the majors for a decade. There have been few catchers in history who combined such high levels of both defense and offense so consistently. His greatest exposure came after he was traded to the Mets, but the years that should earn him a ticket to Cooperstown took place as an Expo.
Bert Blyleven - He spent his career with bad teams in hitters' parks, and he never exhibited the dominance of a Seaver or Carlton, but Blyleven was a better pitcher over his career than recent inductees Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton, and deserves entry into the Hall.
Keith Hernandez - His defensive play at first was revolutionary, and that along with his solid offensive career makes him a good candidate for the Hall in my book.
Rich Gossage - One of the few truely dominant relief pitchers who combined a great peak with a career full of accomplishments.
Bruce Sutter - A marginal choice, and not the player Gossage was, but Sutter does rank as one of the truly great closers of the past quarter century.
And here's who wouldn't be on my ballot:
Tony Perez - His RBIs are his case, and those are more the result of his fellow Reds than Tony's performance.
Jack Morris - Perhaps the pitcher of the 80s, but his peers' weaknesses are no reason to elect a pitcher with a higher ERA than any pitcher presently in the Hall.
Steve Garvey - Wasn't even a good player, frankly. Again, a player whose RBI totals mask his mediocrity, but Perez was a good player, while Garvey was not.
Dale Murphy - A great peak, but his career faded too quickly
Jim Rice - A fearsome hitter at his peak, but not quite great enough to overlook his lack of career accomplishments
Luis Tiant - A fine pitcher, but the fact that worse pitchers are in the Hall doesn't justify supporting him.
Tommy John and Jim Kaat - They both had long careers, but neither was a true great.
Ron Guidry - The opposite. A great peak, but his career accomplishments keep him off my ballot.
Go To Page: 1 2
