Baseball's Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame (37 page)

In all, Sutton won at least 17 games seven times, and at least 14 on six other occasions. That’s 13 seasons with at least 14 victories— a rather impressive number. He also finished with an ERA under 3.00 eight times. He ended his career with a won-lost record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26. However, at no point during his career was Sutton considered to be the best pitcher in baseball, or in the National League. In his peak years, he was consistently ranked well behind Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton, and in only a few seasons (’71, ’72, ’73, ’74 and ’76) could a legitimate case be made for him even being among the five best pitchers in the N.L. Sutton was among the top five pitchers in baseball in only 1972 and 1976, and, even in his best years with the Dodgers, he struggled to be recognized as the ace of his own team’s pitching staff, vying for that title with the likes of Tommy John and Burt Hooten.

Using our other Hall of Fame criteria, Sutton led the league in a major statistical category only twice; once in ERA and once in shutouts. He was selected to the All-Star Team four times, a relatively low number for a Hall of Famer. He finished in the top five in the Cy Young voting three times, and he never finished in the top ten in the league MVP balloting. However, Sutton did play on a total of six pennant-winning teams in Los Angeles and Milwaukee, and he was a major contributor on four of those teams. Overall, it would seem that Sutton has not fared too well using these criteria. Yet, there still are those 13 seasons with at least 14 victories and the fact that, if you look at his overall numbers for each season, he had four outstanding seasons and another nine good ones. Certainly that last fact, combined with his 324 victories, says something of his ability to sustain a quality level of play for an extended period of time.

Knuckleballer Phil Niekro played for four different teams during a 24-year career that began with the Braves in 1964, before they left Milwaukee. After spending most of his first four seasons working out of the Braves’ bullpen, Niekro was converted to a full-time starter in 1968, a role he held for the next 20 years, 16 of which were spent with the Braves.

From 1968 to 1985, Niekro was a 20-game winner three times, won at least 16 games seven other times, and won at least 14 games four other times. He finished with an ERA less than 3.00 six times, completed more than 20 games four times, and threw more than 300 innings four times. He had perhaps his finest season in 1969, when he won a career-high 23 games, while losing 13 and compiling a 2.56 ERA. He had another outstanding year for the Braves in 1974, when he finished 20-13 with a 2.38 ERA.

However, those were Niekro’s only two truly outstanding seasons, and the only two in which he could legitimately be ranked among the top five pitchers in the National League. He was certainly never the league’s best pitcher, nor was he ever among the five best pitchers in baseball. Although there were several other years in which he won a significant number of games, Niekro also lost too many contests to be considered among the game’s best pitchers in any of those seasons. For example, in his years with the Braves he posted records of 12-18, 15-14, 16-12, 13-10, 15-15, 16-20, 19-18, 21-20, and 15-18. That is just too much mediocrity for a Hall of Famer to demonstrate, even when one considers that the Braves teams he played on in many of those years were not very good. Aside from his two outstanding seasons, Niekro had only three other very good years. In 1976, he finished 17-11 with a 3.29 ERA, in 1982, he compiled a record of 17-4 and an ERA of 3.61, and, with the Yankees in 1984, he finished 16-8 with a 3.09 ERA. Other than that, Niekro was essentially a .500 pitcher for most of his career. Therefore, his 14 seasons with at least 14 victories do not carry as much weight as they would have otherwise. The same could be said for his 318 career victories (against 274 losses).

Using our other Hall of Fame criteria, Niekro did lead the National League in wins twice, in ERA once, in strikeouts once, and in innings pitched and complete games four times each. Thus, in that regard, he fares relatively well. He was selected to the All-Star Team five times, a moderate number for a Hall of Famer. He also finished in the top five in the Cy Young voting three times, and he made it into the top ten in the MVP voting once. He played on two division-winners, but none of his teams ever won a pennant. So, overall, when evaluating Niekro using our Hall of Fame criteria, you would have to say that the reviews are mixed.

Now, where does that leave us? Were Sutton and Niekro legitimate Hall of Famers? While the general school of thought seems to be that 300 victories should guarantee a pitcher a place in Cooperstown, the feeling here is that, in these two instances, that is not the case. While Sutton was the more viable candidate of the two, he should be viewed as a borderline Hall of Famer, at best. Niekro, due to the mediocrity he displayed throughout much of his career, probably should never have been elected.

Don Drysdale

One of the most intimidating pitchers of the 1960s was Dodger righthander Don Drysdale. He was big and nasty, and he had a reputation for knocking down hitters that was second to none. The prevalent feeling about Drysdale that seems to have been carried down through the years is that he was not only one of the most intimidating pitchers of his era, but also one of the very best. However, there were many external factors that came into play with Drysdale that may have created an image of him that was not totally accurate.

Don Drysdale was tall, blond, and good-looking. He was from California, played in Los Angeles, and pursued a career in broadcasting after his baseball playing days were over. He also pitched for one of the most colorful and successful teams of his time. In his years as a full-time starter with the Dodgers, they won four pennants and three world championships. He combined with teammate Sandy Koufax to form the most imposing pitching duo of that era, and was widely acknowledged to be one of the game’s top pitchers. However, an in-depth look at Drysdale’s career indicates that his pitching prowess may have been somewhat exaggerated.

Drysdale spent his entire 14-year major league career with the Dodgers. He was a regular member of the starting rotation in 12 of those years. He had two exceptional seasons, and four other good ones. He won the Cy Young Award in 1962 by finishing with a record of 25-9 to lead the majors in wins, while compiling an ERA of 2.83 and a league-leading 232 strikeouts and 314 innings pitched. He was baseball’s best pitcher that year, and he was also among the sport’s top five hurlers in 1965 when he finished 23-12, with a 2.77 ERA, 7 shutouts, and 20 complete games. Drysdale was also very good in 1957 when he compiled a record of 17-9 and an ERA of 2.69. However, those were the only three years in which he could legitimately be referred to as one of the five best pitchers in baseball. He had several other seasons in which he pitched effectively, but in none of those was he able to post an exceptional won-lost record.

In 1959, pitching for a Dodger team that went on to win the world championship, Drysdale finished just 17-13 with a 3.46 ERA. In other seasons, he finished with records of 12-13, 15-14, 13-10, 19-17, 18-16, 13-16, and 13-16. Even in 1968, the year of the pitcher, when he compiled an ERA of 2.15 and established a record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched (later broken by Orel Hershiser), Drysdale’s record was only 14-12. There are those who would attempt to trivialize his rather mediocre won-lost records by stating that his 2.95 career ERA is an indication that he was a fine pitcher who was victimized by his team’s inability to score a lot of runs. However, that is not entirely true. Drysdale’s 2.95 earned run average was certainly good, but it must be remembered that he spent most of his career pitching during the 1960s, when ERAs were typically lower than they were in most other periods. There were some other good pitchers from that era who posted comparable ERAs who have received virtually no support for election to the Hall of Fame (Mel Stottlemyre’s career ERA was 2.97 and Bob Veale’s was 3.07, just to name two).

More importantly, there is a general misconception that most people seem to have about the Dodger teams that Drysdale played for. Those Dodger teams are usually thought to have been weakhitting, low-scoring teams that had little power. It is true that their lineup was not usually loaded with power hitters, and that they relied largely on speed to score their runs. It is also true that they depended heavily on their pitching to hold down the opposing team’s offense. But those Dodger teams also had some pretty good offensive players, and they were quite capable of scoring their fair share of runs.

At the top of the lineup was Maury Wills, who regularly led the league in stolen bases and finished among the leaders in runs scored. In fact, he scored as many as 105 runs in 1961, and 130 in 1962. Then, there were the Davis brothers, Tommy and Willie, who were both solid hitters and run-producers. Indeed, prior to breaking his ankle during the 1965 season, Tommy was actually one of the top hitters and run-producers in the game, winning two batting titles and leading the league with 153 runs batted in 1962. Other solid offensive performers on some of those teams included Frank Howard, Wes Parker, and Ron Fairly. Thus, the Dodgers actually could score runs: Drysdale just was not the dominant pitcher he was portrayed to be.

Nevertheless, he did have some fairly impressive credentials. He led the league in wins once, strikeouts three times, shutouts once, and innings pitched twice. He struck out more than 200 batters in a season six times, threw more than 300 innings four times, and compiled an ERA less than 3.00 nine times. Drysdale was selected to the All-Star Team eight times and finished in the top five in the league MVP voting twice. Although he was a 20-game winner only twice, he won at least 17 games four other times. However, he also lost at least 16 games four times.

At his best, Don Drysdale was very good. As his career won-lost record of 209-166 indicates, however, he wasn’t at his best nearly enough. While it is certainly understandable how the baseball writers allowed themselves to be taken in by the glitz and glamour that surrounded Drysdale throughout much of his career, it is difficult to embrace his 1984 election.

Herb Pennock/Waite Hoyt

The top two pitchers on the fabled “Murderers Row” Yankee teams of the 1920s were Pennock and Hoyt. Both men were good pitchers who were aided immeasurably by having one of the greatest lineups in baseball history supporting them.

Lefthander Herb Pennock pitched for three different teams during his 22-year major league career. With the Philadelphia Athletics from 1912 to 1915, he worked mostly in relief. After two more seasons as a reliever for the Red Sox, and one year in the military, Pennock became a full-time starter for Boston in 1919. He was quite effective in his new role that first season, winning 16 games while losing only 8, and finishing with a 2.71 ERA. Pennock, though, was nothing more than mediocre over the next three years for a Boston team that had been depleted by the sale of most of its best players to other teams, including Babe Ruth to the Yankees. From 1920 to 1922, his won-lost records were 16-13, 13-14, and 10-17, and his ERA was less than 4.00 only once (3.68 in 1920).

However, after being dealt to New York prior to the 1923 season, Pennock became one of the best pitchers in the American League. In fact, with the exception of 1925, he was one of the top five pitchers in baseball in every season, from 1923 to 1928. Here are his records from his five most outstanding seasons:

   
1923:
19 wins, 6 losses; 3.13 ERA; 21 complete games

   
1924:
21 wins, 9 losses; 2.83 ERA; 25 complete games

   
1926:
23 wins, 11 losses; 3.62 ERA; 19 complete games

   
1927:
19 wins, 8 losses; 3.00 ERA; 18 complete games

   
1928:
17 wins, 6 losses; 2.56 ERA; 18 complete games

That 1928 season, though, was Pennock’s last good one, since he never again won more than 11 games. Yet, even though he was a 20-game winner only twice, he compiled as many as 16 victories six other times. Also, pitching primarily during a hitter’s era, he finished with an ERA under 3.00 five times, and completed more than 20 games three times. He finished in the top five in the league MVP voting twice and was selected to
The Sporting News
All-Star Team once. He ended his career with a won-lost record of 241-162, and an ERA of 3.60.

However, Pennock never led the league in any major statistical category and, with the possible exception of the 1926 season, was never considered to be the best pitcher in the American League. He definitely contributed to his team’s success, but, no doubt, the Yankee teams he played for contributed more to
his
success. After all, in each of his five best seasons, with the exception of 1924, they won the pennant and were considered to be the best team in baseball. Pennock really had only seven good seasons, and five very good ones, but he never had any truly great years.

Pennock’s teammate for eight seasons in New York was righthander Waite Hoyt, who actually joined the Yankees two years earlier, after three rather uneventful years with the Giants and Red Sox. Hoyt was a mainstay of the Yankee staff from 1921 to 1928, winning more than 20 games twice, and posting at least 17 victories four other times. He was one of the top five pitchers in the American League from 1921 to 1924, winning 19 games twice, 18 once, and 17 once. After a sub-par season in 1925, Hoyt won 16 games in 1926, then had his two best years in 1927 and 1928. In the first of those years, he led the league with 22 victories, against only 7 defeats, finished with a 2.63 ERA, and completed 23 games. In 1928, he compiled a record of 23-7 with a 3.36 ERA and finished tenth in the league MVP voting. He was among the two or three best pitchers in the American League, and one of the five best in baseball, in each of those years.