Baseball's Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame (40 page)

Furthermore, Larkin’s numbers are vastly superior to those compiled by Dave Bancroft, Hughie Jennings, Phil Rizzuto, and Joe Tinker. In addition, Larkin was an excellent defensive player, an outstanding baserunner, and the leader of a Cincinnati team that won the world championship in 1990. Thus, it could be said, without too much hesitation, that Larkin was clearly better than at least one-third of the shortstops currently in the Hall of Fame, including Dave Bancroft, Travis Jackson, Luis Aparicio, Hughie Jennings, Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Wallace, and Joe Tinker. Therefore, while Larkin should be viewed very much as a borderline candidate when his name is added to the eligible list, his induction would certainly not lower the Hall’s standards.

Tim Raines

For many years, Tim Raines was the National League’s version of Rickey Henderson. In 12 seasons with the Montreal Expos, 10 of which were as a full-time player, he led the league in stolen bases four times, runs scored twice, and doubles, batting average, and on-base percentage once each. He stole more than 70 bases six times, swiping as many as 90 bags in 1983, and stealing 71 in only 88 games during the strike-shortened 1981 season. Raines was actually a better hitter than Henderson, topping the .320 mark three times, and leading the N.L. with a .334 batting average in 1986. Raines was selected to the All-Star Team each year, from 1981 to 1987, and finished in the top ten in the league MVP voting three times during that period. In fact, from 1983 to 1987, it could be argued that he was one of the four or five best players in the National League, and one of the ten best in baseball. Over that five-year period, he batted well over .300, scored well over 100 runs, and stole more than 70 bases four times each.

Raines first established himself as one of the best players in the game in 1983. That year, he hit 11 homers, knocked in 71 runs, scored a league-leading 133 runs, stole 90 bases, and batted .298. In 1987, he hit 18 homers, knocked in 68 runs, scored 123 others, stole 50 bases, and batted .330. In all, Raines batted over .300 seven times, scored more than 100 runs six times, and stole more than 40 bases eleven times. He ended his career with 170 home runs, 980 runs batted in, 1,571 runs scored, 2,605 base hits, 808 stolen bases, a .294 lifetime average, and an excellent .385 on-base percentage. His 808 stolen bases place him fifth on the all-time list.

Raines was a fine player in his day, but was he a Hall of Famer? From 1981 to 1987 he certainly was. However, while he remained a productive player for several more seasons, those were the only dominant years he ever had. He scored 102 runs for the White Sox in both 1991 and 1992, while stealing 51 and 45 bases, respectively, but he failed to bat over .300 in either season. He was a part-time player in eight of his last ten seasons, finishing with as many as 400 at-bats only twice during that period. His career numbers would seem to make him a borderline candidate, but they are clearly superior to those of many other outfielders currently in the Hall of Fame. In fact, they are actually quite comparable to those compiled by Lou Brock, certainly a legitimate Hall of Famer:

Brock reached the magic number of 3,000 hits, something Raines failed to do, but the former also had almost 1,500 more at-bats. Raines drove in more runs, scored almost as many times, hit more home runs, and finished well ahead of Brock in both on-base and slugging percentage. Considering that, like Brock, he was a tremendous offensive catalyst for much of his career, Raines’ contributions to his teams cannot be judged merely by looking at his numbers. Viewing Raines in that light gives him a great deal of credibility as a potential Hall of Famer.

However, the fact that Raines had only seven truly exceptional years apparently weighed quite heavily on the minds of the baseball writers, who named him on only 24.3 percent of their ballots the first time his name appeared on the list of eligible candidates in 2008. They followed that up by entering his name on only 22.6 percent of their ballots in 2009. Perhaps support for Raines will grow in the upcoming years because he is certainly more worthy of induction than several players currently in the Hall of Fame. He also is more deserving than men such as Bert Blyleven, Lee Smith, and Jack Morris, each of whom has historically received far more support from the members of the BBWAA in the balloting.

Albert Belle

Considering that his major league career lasted only 12 seasons, and that he was a full-time player in only 10 of those, Albert Belle put up some pretty impressive numbers. He finished his career with 381 home runs, 1,239 runs batted in, 974 runs scored, 389 doubles, and a .295 batting average. He hit more than 30 home runs in eight straight seasons, from 1992 to 1999, hitting as many as 50 four-baggers once, and also totaling 49 and 48 in other seasons. Belle also knocked in more than 100 runs in nine straight years, batted over .300 four times, scored more than 100 runs four times, and collected more than 30 doubles nine times. He led the American League in home runs once, runs batted in three times, runs scored once, doubles once, and slugging percentage twice. Even in a day when big offensive numbers were the norm, Belle was one of the most prolific hitters in the game, and one of its most potent offensive weapons.

While Belle had several productive seasons, he had five true Hall of Fame type years. Here are his numbers from those five seasons:

   
1993:
38 HR, 129 RBIs, .290 average, 93 runs scored, 36 doubles

   
1994:
36 HR, 101 RBIs, .357 average, 90 runs scored, 35 doubles

   
1995:
50 HR, 126 RBIs, .317 average, 121 runs scored, 52 doubles

   
1996:
48 HR, 148 RBIs, .311 average, 124 runs scored, 48 doubles

   
1998:
49 HR, 152 RBIs, .328 average, 113 runs scored, 48 doubles, 200 hits

Those numbers are certainly very impressive, and it could be argued that Belle was among the top five players in the game in each of those five seasons. In each of those years he finished in the top ten in the league MVP voting, making it into the top five on three separate occasions. He was also selected to the American League All-Star team five times.

On the surface, it would seem that Belle may have done enough to merit election to Cooperstown. However, numbers can be somewhat deceiving since they don’t give one a complete picture of the player. To begin with, Belle’s numbers at season’s end were usually outstanding, but he had a tendency to pad his statistics during the second half of the season, after his team was already eliminated from playoff contention. For the most part, his first-half statistics were rather mediocre. It was usually during the last two or three months of the season that Belle’s productivity tended to increase dramatically, thereby giving one the impression that his year was a successful one. This might help to explain why only one team he ever played for, the 1995 Cleveland Indians, made it to the postseason. In addition, Belle’s surly disposition made him a disruptive force in the clubhouse, and a cancer to every team he played on. This might provide an explanation as to why a player of his caliber ended up playing for three different teams in four years. It might also explain why Cleveland made it into the 1997 World Series, after ridding itself of Belle during the offseason.

In short, Albert Belle was an extremely talented player, far more talented than many players currently in the Hall of Fame. In fact, he probably deserves to be in the Hall as much as several players who are already in. However, the overall negative impact he had on the teams he played for prevented him from being the kind of player who truly deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown. As a result, it is impossible to endorse his election. The baseball writers, to whom he refused to speak throughout his career, apparently felt the same. When Belle’s name appeared on the ballot for the first time in 2006, they failed to give him the necessary five percent vote he needed to remain on the eligible list.

Juan Gonzalez

Juan Gonzalez was one of baseball’s top run-producers for more than a decade. After becoming a regular with the Texas Rangers in 1991, he drove in more than 100 runs eight times, topping 140 RBIs on three separate occasions. He also hit more than 40 homers five times, scored more than 100 runs three times, and batted over .300 five times. He led the American League in home runs twice, runs batted in once, doubles once, and slugging percentage once.

Gonzalez was named the league’s Most Valuable Player twice, winning the award at the conclusion of both the 1996 and 1998 seasons. In 1996, he hit 47 homers, knocked in 144 runs, and batted .314. He had an even better year in 1998, when he hit 45 home runs, drove in 157 runs, scored 110 others, batted .318, and collected 50 doubles. He was not only the best player in the American League in each of those years, but was also among the two or three best in all of baseball. He was also among the game’s top players in 1993, 1997, 1999, and 2001. In those four years, he averaged 41 homers and 129 RBIs, and batted over .300 three times. In addition to his two MVP trophies, Gonzalez finished in the top five in the voting two other times, and made it into the top ten a total of five times. He was also selected to the All-Star team three times.

It would seem that Gonzalez’s resume is quite an impressive one. At the top of his game, he was a dominant hitter—a veritable RBI machine. However, his career was ended prematurely at the end of the 2004 campaign by a bad back that greatly limited his offensive productivity over his final few seasons. With Detroit in 2000, Gonzalez hit only 22 home runs and knocked in only 67 runs in 461 at-bats. After making a comeback with the Indians in 2001 (35 HR, 140 RBIs, .325 AVG), he hit a combined 37 home runs, while driving in only 122 runs, playing sparingly in his final three years with Texas and Kansas City.

Gonzalez ended his career with 434 home runs, 1,404 runs batted in, 1,061 runs scored, 1,936 hits, and a .295 batting average. At his peak, he was a tremendous offensive player. But, considering that Gonzalez had only seven truly exceptional seasons, his numbers are probably not quite good enough to earn him admittance to Cooperstown. Gonzalez’s chances are further diminished by persistent rumors that he used steroids to help build his extremely muscular physique, and by his reputation for being a selfish player. He once refused to participate in the All-Star Game unless he was voted in as a starter; on another occasion, he demanded that the Detroit Tigers bring in the outfield fences of spacious Comerica Park if the team wished to re-sign him as a free agent at the end of the season.

Larry Walker

Larry Walker began his major league career with the Montreal Expos in 1989, becoming a regular with the team the following season. Walker was a very solid player in his five full years in Montreal, twice hitting more than 20 home runs and batting over .300. He appeared to be just coming into his own in his final year with the Expos before that 1994 season ended prematurely with the players’ strike. In only 395 at-bats over 103 games that year, Walker hit 19 home runs, drove in 86 runs, and batted .322.

After Walker joined the Colorado Rockies the following season, his career really took off. Over the next eight seasons, between 1995 and 2002, he developed into one of the best all-around players in baseball. During that eight-year period, Walker batted over .300 seven times, surpassing the .350 mark on four separate occasions. He also hit more than 35 homers four times, drove in more than 100 runs five times, scored more than 100 runs four times, and won seven Gold Glove Awards.

Walker had his finest season in 1997, when he led the National League with 49 home runs, 44 doubles, an on-base percentage of .452, and a slugging percentage of .720, while knocking in 130 runs, scoring 143 others, batting .366, and winning the league MVP Award. He also had magnificent seasons in both 1999 and 2001. In the first of those years, Walker hit 37 home runs, drove in 115 runs, and led the league with a .379 batting average. Two years later, he hit 38 homers, knocked in 123 runs, and, once again, won the batting title, this time with a mark of .350. In all, Walker led the league in batting three times, in home runs and doubles once each, and in on-base and slugging percentage two times each. He finished in the top ten in the league MVP voting a total of four times, and was named to the All-Star Team five times.

Larry Walker had some truly exceptional seasons. In at least four of those, it could be said that he was among the five best all-around players in baseball. When he retired at the conclusion of the 2005 season, his stat-line read thusly: