MLB Hall of Fame: Players Who Should be in Cooperstown

[Will E Worm]

MLB Hall of Fame: Pete Rose and 8 Players Who Should Be in Cooperstown

While its sole purpose is to showcase stoicism and top-shelf talent, Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame faces one of its most controversial classes of all time.

Baseball Writers' Association of America voters Hal Bodley, Ken Gurnick and Lyle Spencer have all claimed that anyone "linked" to steroids will not be voted into Cooperstown.

As famed comedian Daniel Tosh claims, "For every 'superstar' that took steroids, a billion Double-A boys have juiced up...so the playing field is plenty even."

Tosh's free speech-fueled opinion on the steroid era holds no merit in the baseball world, however, when the actual voters on the panel use their personal beliefs instead of facts to elect Hall of Fame members, baseball fans nationwide are subject to collusion.

Instead of celebrating the fact that fans are treated to one of the greatest Hall of Fame ballots of all time come 2013, we are subject to a toss-up of voter's personal beliefs.

Including 2013 ballot candidates, here are nine players who should be in Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame...

Article

Worst of Cooperstown

Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and current Fox Baseball color man Tim McCarver will be part of the election ceremony at Cooperstown this July—much to Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane's dismay.

While Cooperstown gets set to elect the next class into baseball's Hall of Fame, the first sports journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize Red Smith still sits at home in infamy as one who previously suggested that we should simply "blow up Cooperstown and start over."

With Smith's thoughts in mind, here are the 10 worst statistics ever recorded during a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame career.

Hitters

Lowest Home Run Total: Ray Schalk, Chicago White Sox (11)

Least Amount of Steals: Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati Reds (8)

Most Strikeouts: Reggie Jackson, New York Yankees (2,597)

Worst Career Batting Average: Ray Schalk, Chicago White Sox (.253)

Lowest On-Base Percentage: Bill Mazeroski, Pittsburgh Pirates (.299)


Pitching

Least Amount of Wins Recorded: Bruce Sutter, St. Louis Cardinals (68)

Most Losses Recorded: Cy Young, Philadelphia Athletics (316)

Lowest Winning Percentage: Bruce Sutter, St. Louis Cardinals (.489)

Highest Career ERA: Red Ruffing, New York Yankees (3.80)

Lowest K/9 Career: Ted Lyons, Chicago White Sox (2.32)


While these eight men still rank among baseball's elite in some facet of the game, the stats above indicate the type of ammo that Red Smith has in his arsenal to turn Cooperstown around. Here are some facts that shaped Smith's original opinion:

Babe Ruth is the Yankee legend with a well-documented career involving playing a game drunk, fathering a love child and excessive gambling.

Remember that iconic New York Yankee donning No. 16? Yes, Whitey Ford even admitted to cheating. The only man to ever pitch a perfect game in the playoffs has admitted to cheating during his career. What's hilarious about Ford's admittance is that he's stated that he "didn't cheat" during his Cy Young Award seasons in 1961 and 1963, yet decided to cheat during the 1962 All-Star Game in San Francisco. Major League Baseball executives have yet to investigate Ford's actions throughout his Hall of Fame career and simply take his word for it.

The worst hypocrite of all is St. Louis Cardinals legend Rogers Hornsby. Hornsby, the National League's only player to ever win two Triple Crown Awards, was an active member in the Ku Klux Klan. Somehow, this goes unnoticed when fans tour Cooperstown.
While Ruth, Ford, Hornsby and numerous other cheaters are still allowed to be titled as "Hall of Famers," here are nine players who should also be given a fair chance of entering Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame...

Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens posted one of the most controversial careers in professional sports.

Through 24 seasons, four different teams and nearly 5,000 innings pitched, Clemens' prolific career was violently overshadowed by his alleged steroid use.

In reality, he was acquitted of all six charges of obstruction of justice—meaning he was found not guilty of lying to Congress about steroid use and is still sticking to his story that he never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens' former teammate Andy Pettitte and personal trainer Brian McNamee both admitted to witnessing Clemens use steroids (though Pettitte has since altered his story).

Whether he used steroids or not, the majority of the hitters he faced during the steroid era were on performance-enhancing drugs—many of which Clemens dominated.

His trophy case, highlighted by seven Cy Young awards, two World Series trophies, one league MVP honor and 11 All-Star appearances—earned through true talent and love for baseball.

He achieved both the 300-win and 4,000-strikeout milestones in the same game in 2003 and finally retired in 2004.

He's currently third all time in career strikeouts and ninth all time in career wins—one behind Greg Maddux's 355.


Oakland's Bash Brothers

During the late 1980s, there was a growing phenomenon in the greater Northern California area...


From 1986 to 1997, Mark McGwire was one of the most dominant hitters in the American League. Throughout the 11-year stretch as an Oakland Athletic, McGwire averaged over 30 homers a year over 11 consecutive seasons, including one 52-homer campaign.

However, McGwire became a fan favorite worldwide with his record-setting season in 1998—right when baseball needed a jolt.

Following the 1994 MLB players' strike, baseball was having a very tough time going mainstream. When the '94 season ended, both Matt Williams and Ken Griffey Jr. were on pace to break Roger Maris' 61 single-season home run record, but due to the strike, neither ever got the chance to finish the run.

Along with NL Central division rival Sammy Sosa, the two led one of the most exciting seasons in MLB history. In 1998, both McGwire and Sosa broke the single-season home run record in a historic year that overshadowed Cal Ripken's "Iron Man" games-played streak and Kerry Wood's legendary 20-strikeout game.

McGwire finished the incredible run with 70 homers—a new major league record that stood for 37 years.

Before breaking the record, steroids in baseball were unheard of to the fans and media. We were all just along for the magical ride of monster home runs.


Jose Canseco called Oakland home from 1985-1992 where he tallied Rookie of the Year honors, a league MVP Award, five All-Star appearances, three Silver Slugger Awards and one iconic World Series sweep.

His MVP honors came in 1988 when Canseco batted .307 with 42 home runs, 124 RBI and 40 stolen bases.

He and McGwire were the best dual-threat power hitters in the American League since Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961.

In all likeliness, the Baseball Writers' Association of America will not let the "Bash Brothers" into Cooperstown in wake of admitting to the use of performance enhancing drugs.



Ron Santo

Santo was actually elected into Cooperstown by the Veterans Committee in 2011, however, this does not overshadow the fact that the committee waited until Santo died to do it.

Santo was one of the classiest Cubs of all time and continued his generous lifestyle after his days by frequently helping fuel the fight against juvenile diabetes. As of today, Santo's name plays host to many charity activities including golf tournaments and walk-a-thon fundraisers throughout Illinois.

Major League Baseball should be ashamed they didn't vote the happy, heel-clicking Ron Santo into the Hall before his passing.


All-Alou Outfield

On September 10, 1963, Giants manager Al Dark batted the three Alou brothers in consecutive order for the first time in MLB history.

Felipe, Jesus and Matty Alou regularly played in the San Francisco Giants outfield for the '63 season, and all played in the league for over 15 seasons.

While Matt and Jesus failed to bring a Hall of Fame-esque game to San Francisco, Felipe played and managed at the major league level for over 50 years—longevity that does not simply happen without Hall of Fame talent.

To this day, Felipe has yet to be voted into Cooperstown despite reaching the 1,000-win milestone.


Barry Bonds

Whether you believe Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs or not, his impact on baseball was undeniably staggering.

The home run king finished his historic career with 756 big flys among 20 other MLB records. Unfortunately, the allegations surrouding Bonds and his alleged use of steroids continually overshadow his incredible MLB career.

From those outside of San Francisco that hate Barry Bonds to the purely ignorant Marc Ecko who branded Bonds' 756 home run ball with an asterisk before donating it to Cooperstown. Money hasn't been spent that stupidly since Deadspin.com was started.

As Bonds will openly claim: "I went through the system. And that's what it is. I'm in an appeal process right now. I was never convicted of steroids."

According to the facts, Bonds is the greatest overall baseball player in MLB history.

As we must do with Roger Clemens, those with the power in Cooperstown must not keep the baseball behemoths out of the Hall because of something that's literally false.



Charlie Hustle

Pete Rose is baseball's most true Shakespearean character. From triumph to tragedy, Rose simply seeks a second chance.

His career began in 1963 with the Cincinnati Reds where he was named the National League Rookie of the Year. Rose's blue-collar style of play is headlined by three World Series Championships and an "unbreakable" MLB-record 4,256 hits.

During his aggressive MLB career, Rose was selected to 17 All-Star Games at a record five different positions (1B, 2B, 3B, LF, RF). Pete participated in 1,972 victorious games, making him literally the winningest athlete in professional sports history (.559 winning percentage).

In case you're curious as to how hard Pete played the game of baseball, ask Ray Fosse. The prominent catcher for the Cleveland Indians was steamrolled and injured immediately—an injury that crippled Fosse's career both literally and figuratively.

However, in Pete's mind, it's Fosse that should bury the hatchet, and perhaps, utilize the story for marketing.

While the stats and unique style of play prove his Hall of Fame talent, it was his actions following his playing career that landed him on MLB's "blacklist" forever.

After serving five years in a federal prison for tax evasion, Rose was "blacklisted" from all Major League Baseball activities after the Dowd Report was released—detailing all of Rose's betting activities including betting on Reds games while he was the team's manager.

The most hilarious part of baseball's Hall of Fame hypocrisy is the irony that Rose passed the previous "Hit King" Ty Cobb who was once banned from baseball following his part in fixing the 1919 World Series.

Rose was banned for betting on his team, yet Ty Cobb has a bust in Cooperstown after betting against his team.

Pete Rose is the unfortunate, yet perfect, example of hypocrisy in Major League Baseball.

 

[GibbsGrad2002]

Pete Rose should be in the hall of fame

 

[StanScratch]

Listing a guy who is in the hall is rather redundant. Sure, Santo should have gone in earlier...but so should have a lot of guys (Blyleven). But, they are in.
No way should Canseco go in. It is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Good for a Few Years. Canseco was rather good for a few years, and terrible for a lot more. 1877 career hits and 200 stolen bases for a guy who is supposed to be known for his hitting and speed are not great numbers. They are good numbers. If he deserves to go in, then I guess Jack Clark also does. Pass.
Felipe was another good player, but not a great one. No where near Hall numbers. As a manger, he was OK, but not great. Despite the 1000 wins, he only has 12 more wins than losses, lifetime. And, none of his teams ever won a ring. Pretty sure no manager has made it to the Hall without that.
Bonds and Clemens were great players - but they used drugs outlawed in the United States to enhance their performances. If they had left their bodies alone, they would have easily made it...but, they were greedy. They should not be rewarded for their greed.
I wish Rose would make it in...but I have a feeling he will not live to see that day.

In all, a pretty terrible list. What of Jim Kaat, Danny Murtaugh, Davey Concepcion, Ted Simmons, Tommy John, Shoeless Joe, or Gil Hodges? I get the impression that the writer was not a baseball fan, just some guy who listed some big, shiny names.

 

[barebeaverlover]

I can't figure out why Jack Morris isn't in Cooperstown. What did he have 284 wins? He's got 4 rings. Was there a better pitcher in the 80's? :2 cents:

 

[STDiva]

Rose was banned for betting on his team, yet Ty Cobb has a bust in Cooperstown after betting against his team.

This is hilarious. What is their justification for keeping him out but allowing Cobb?

 

[bodie54]

Rose was banned for betting on his team, yet Ty Cobb has a bust in Cooperstown after betting against his team.

Yeah that's insane. If there was evidence Rose bet against his team I'd be all for the ban. But as far as I know there's not.

Before breaking the record, steroids in baseball were unheard of to the fans and media. We were all just along for the magical ride of monster home runs.

:1orglaugh No, "we" weren't all just along for the "magical ride". The mere fact TWO different players not only broke but demolished the record made it glaringly obvious something was rotten. Furthermore "we" had heard about the use of steroids in other sports, and could see that both McGwire and Sosa's bodies (and performances) had visibly morphed in a fashion consistent with that use. Same with Bonds - actually even moreso.

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

I don't agree with Sosa and McGwire making it into the Hall, but I'm much more open to seeing Clemens get inducted since he was found not guilty. However, I realize that's never going to happen.

 

[Sam Fisher]

Major League Baseball went to shit after the Players Union took over. Same with the NFL, NHL, NBA, and every other business/profession where the unions took over.

 

[StanScratch]

FYI, Ty Cobb did not only bet against his team winning, but he helped make sure his team did not win. However, Judge Landis swept the thing under the rug

BTW, along with the guys I listed above, I think the Hall also needs to recognize others who have helped shape the game.
Charlie Finley. Along with being the owner of a team which went back to back to back, he did help revolutionize the game. The uniforms became more colorful. Facial hair became acceptable. Longer hair became more acceptable.
Marvin Miller. Love him or hate him, he was one of the most influential men in the game. Before him, players were chained to their team, barring trade or release. Only the greats could make a living playing baseball, and even with that, they were on their own. Under him, free agency, arbitration, retirement funds, expansion, the DH, expanded playoffs, more organized drafts and other perks were added.
Curt Flood. Flood was a pretty good player, but would not make the Hall under his playing talents. However, his refusal to report to the Phillies after being traded by the Cardinals lead directly to free agency. Without him, it would have probably happened eventually...but it may have taken a lot longer.
Charlie Lau. Lau was a terrible hitter, but he knew a lot about the science of hitting. I don't know. Maybe he found this science after his retirement. He helped change the way hitters approached their at bats, among his students being Rod Carew and George Brett.
Leo Mazzone. Mazzone was for pitching coaches that Lau was for hitting. Starting with those two guys, it would be nice to see the Hall recognize great coaching.
Bill James. Stats have always been a part of the game. However, with James' help, they have been going to much higher levels.

 

[John_8581]

The betting scandal that Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker were involved with:


1926 - Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker were permitted by Ban Johnson to resign from baseball near the end of the 1926 season after former pitcher Dutch Leonard charged that Cobb, Speaker and Smoky Joe Wood had joined him just before the 1919 World Series in betting on a game they all knew was fixed. Leonard presented letters and other documents to Johnson, and Johnson thought they would be so potentially damaging to baseball in the wake of the Black Sox scandal that he paid Leonard $20,000 to have them suppressed. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis exposed the cover-up and the eventual fallout forced Johnson out his job as president of the league he had created. Cobb and Speaker vehemently denied any wrongdoing, Cobb saying that "There has never been a baseball game in my life that I played in that I knew was fixed,? and that the only games he ever bet on were two series games in 1919, when he lost $150 on games thrown by the Sox. He claimed his letters to Leonard had been misunderstood, that he was merely speaking of business investments. Landis took the case under advisement and eventually let both players remain in baseball because they had not been found guilty of fixing any game themselves. It was after this case, though, that Landis instituted the rule mandating that any player found guilty of betting on baseball would be suspended for a year and that any player found to have bet on his own team would be barred for life. Cobb later claimed that the attorneys representing him and Speaker had brokered their reinstatement by threatening to expose further scandal in baseball if the two were not cleared.

The betting scandal that Pete Rose was involved in:

1989 - Commissioner A. Barlett Giamatti bans Pete Rose, baseball's all-time leader in hits and games-played, from baseball for life for betting on scores of baseball games, some of which his own teams had played in. Rose, just as Cobb and Speaker had years before, angrily denied that he had ever bet on baseball. But the evidence against Rose was damning. It included testimony that Rose had bet on his own players while managing, phone records to known bookies moments before ball games (while no other major sports were in season) and a betting slip filled out in Rose's handwriting and covered with his fingerprints. Giamatti weighed all of that against Rose's defense and banned him from baseball for "a variety of acts which have stained the game." Rose continues to lobby for his reinstatement to the game.

Source: ESPN http://espn.go.com/classic/s/2001/0730/1233060.html

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There's about 20 players on baseball's inelligible list. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was part of the 1919 BlackSox team and he happens to be on that list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeless_Joe_Jackson

If Bud Selig makes any of those banned players eligible. (It will never happen, but if it ever did) then the Veterans Committee would need to vote in Joe Jackson and Eddie Cicotte from that same 1919 BlackSox team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Cicotte

 

[barebeaverlover]

^^ Great post Stan!!! Not sure about Bill James though. I understand he changed how we look at stats, but not sure he's a hall of famer.

 

[Jagger69]

I'd have no problem with Rose getting in although his arrogant and unrepentant attitude about the whole issue has done nothing to aid his own cause so it is difficult for me to feel sorry for him. Personally, I don't think Pete gives a shit. I saw him once in the sports book at Mandalay Bay with a bevy of beauties and a posse of gophers running bets up to the windows while he scoured a racing form and signed baseballs for $50 a pop. Clearly he's not really worried about his image. He has a gambling problem and, just like guys like John Daly and (sometimes) Josh Hamilton, would rather do what he wants than what society expects him to do. I kinda like that attitude actually.

As for Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, Canseco, Bonds, etc I personally consider their accomplishments to be bogus and therefore not worthy of serious consideration for induction into the HOF.

 

[gmlcgond]

Pete Rose Jim Katt Tommy John Lee Smith Minny Manoso and Dale Murphy

 

[316sherm]

Pete Rose...nobody else! Put him in then we will discuss others.
:2 cents:

 

[gmlcgond]

Rusty Staub over 2700 hits.

 

[John_8581]

Pete Rose...nobody else! Put him in then we will discuss others.

Players when they first come up to the majors, they know the restrictions on any sort of gambling. Same holds true for all field representatives, which includes coaches, managers and even internally with executives of the teams. There was an Atlanta Braves baseball executive who was banned for life. His name is John Coppoletta. He was the Braves General Manager from 2015 to 2017.

Then of course, Pete Rose still denies that he has a gambling problem. Yet, to this day, he is a fixture in Las Vegas. He denied that he ever bet on professional baseball for fifteen years. As Jagger69 said he remains arrogant and still has an unrepentant attitude towards his dealings with MLB. Possibly, that is the real reason why Fox stopped using him as a post season analyst. They don't want controversy.

Pete Rose knew exactly what he was doing. He should stay on the ineligible list. As a manager, he bet on MLB baseball games including games involving his team. John Dowd says it all in his investigative report to Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.

The main issue is that his betting impacted the games he was managing. Win or lose.Those games could be called into question. For example, he purposely keeps a pitcher out there too long. He brings in the wrong relief pitcher because he knows he'll give up runs. But as long as he wins or loses the game by one run, he wins the bet. Same hold true for bringing in a pinch hitter. He knows the guy is prone to striking out or most likely, the hitter will ground out into a game ending double play. While another guy who is a gap hitter who could hit doubles or even a home run, he leaves on the bench.

Bottom line, he should stay out of the Hall.