By: Mike Carter
If I had a Hall of Fame ballot, which I do not, and know I never will, here are the players I would vote for in 2020. And no, I am not overly bloated or in a food coma from Thanksgiving the other day. Let the arguments begin!
Todd Helton
Let’s talk about Walker’s old teammate Todd Helton. Here are the numbers: 2519 hits, 369 home runs, .316 batting average (if you still pay attention to that stat), 1406 RBI and a .414 OBP. 61 WAR. Average WAR for first basemen in the HOF is about 67. Interestingly, going by WAR, Helton is the 15th best first baseman in the history of baseball. Let that sink in. After doing this research, I would cast a vote for him.
Derek Jeter
3465 hits, 260 home runs, .310 batting average, 1311 RBI and 1923 runs scored, 356 stolen bases, .377 OBP, 72 WAR. Average WAR for a HOF shortstop is 67. Interesting to me was that his WAR was not higher; the same as Rolen, slightly ahead of Helton. What Derek Jeter was in his career was a winner, above all, and the captain of the vaunted Yankees, with five World Series rings.
Jeff Kent
Jeff Kent was a power-hitting second baseman for the Blue Jays, Mets, Indians, Astros, Giants and Dodgers over seventeen major league seasons. He changed teams frequently likely due to being an abrasive teammate. His scuffles with teammates, especially Barry Bonds, were legendary. A five-time All Star, Kent was also the NL MVP in 2000. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times.
Kent could flat-out hit. And he hit for every team that he played for: .290 career batting average, 2,461 hits, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBI and 1,320 runs scored in his career. Those are impressive numbers for any position on the field, much less second base. Kent, despite his defensive and personal shortcomings, hit for a long time. Career statistics show him to be in the top 100 in many areas, such as doubles, extra base hits, and home runs. I know there is not a statistic that matches this thought, but I always remember him being clutch in the playoffs as well; a quick look at Baseball Reference shows he hit .276 with nine home runs in postseason play. He didn’t shrink from the spotlight. Looking a little deeper into the stats, you can see that Jeff Kent is in the top 150 all time in WAR (Wins Above Replacement). His WAR sits around 55 for his career.
Granted, Kent did play in a time when offensive outbursts became the norm each season. I think it’s odd that he only garnered 16.6% of the possible votes for the Hall of Fame in 2016. Looking at him objectively, which few of the voters seem to do, he merits much stronger consideration. I am surprised that he doesn’t seem to get the respect his career deserves by the voting body. Defense seems to count very much in their eyes, and obviously, Kent pales in comparison to other Gold Glove Hall of Famers like Ryne Sandberg and Joe Morgan. He’ll probably see a small increase in the number of votes moving forward but will probably never be on the hallowed wall at Cooperstown despite an offensive career that merits consideration.
Scott Rolen
Scott Rolen had 2077 hits, 316 home runs, .281 batting average, 1287 RBIS, 118 stolen bases, a .364 OBP, eight Gold Gloves, and a 70 WAR. He’s rated tenth all-time at third base according to WAR. I hadn’t strongly considered his case until a friend of mine, who hails from the same area as Rolen, implored me to give him another look. I was surprised that his statistics show me that he was better in real life than in my memory. Nice one, Bradley. Looking back, I recall him being among the best third basemen of his generation, maybe the best.
Larry Walker
I always thought he was one of the five best players of his time. 383 home runs, 1311 RBIs, 230 stolen bases, and a lifetime on-base percentage of .410. That’s ridiculous. You want to talk about Coors Field inflation? Ok, there is some difference there. But looking at road splits devalues a player’s overall career performance. Most players hit better at home than on the road. Nobody brings this up in guys who play in other hitter friendly parks, like Jeff Bagwell in Houston. Simply put, for me, Walker was one of the best players (when healthy) over the course of his 17-year career. He gets my vote. Larry Walker is the tenth rated right fielder in the history of the game according to WAR with a career value of 72.9
A quick word on WAR. Wins Above Replacement is a tool used by sabrmatricians to gauge a robust value of a player. I know WAR is not a perfect statistic, but it allows us to compare the value that player has as opposed to the “replacement” player at that position. A player with a WAR of 0 is essentially a replacement-level player. A player with a WAR of 6, for example, will likely be an MVP candidate. It helps us see the value of a particular player compared to others at the same position, as well as his value compared to the player who would replace him in the lineup. I have become a proponent of WAR as we struggle to get away from simple “eye tests” of players or our own sometimes faulty memories. What statistics do you measure players by? I am curious as to how many fans use batting average, home runs, wins and earned run average to determine the value of a player. Please share in the comments!
Who didn’t I vote for?
Curt Schilling
He won 216 games in the big leagues, with a 3.46 ERA. He had some terrific peak years late in his career, but looking at his averages over 20 years, he was a 15-10 and 3.46 ERA player on a 162-game average. That does not leap out at me as HOF worthy.
Gary Sheffield
Yes, I know he hit 509 home runs over his career with 1676 RBI. Those numbers lend credibility to his case, yet he only garnered 13.6% of the needed votes last year. It’s hard to forget that his legacy is tinged with PED allegations. He was named in the oft-cited Mitchell Report. It took several years for Sheffield’s career to take off, and when he did, many felt this was suspicious. I can’t say it one way or the other. I also remember how bad he was in the field; he has a 60 lifetime WAR that is below the standard for HOF outfielders, and some of that is due to his poor defense.
Omar Vizquel
While everyone recalls him as a defensive whiz with the softest hands in the game, his statistics were largely compiled due to the longevity of his 24-year career. If there was a Hall of the Very Good, I would vote for him.
What do you think? Who would you vote in if you had a ballot? Leave your comments. As always, thanks for reading.