Kpilgrim66 wrote:

 

....do you really think that Orlando Cepeda, Tony Perez, and Bill Mazeroski belong in the Hall? If Maz had NOT hit the world series winning HR in '60, do you think he would be in the Hall today? And if Maz is in the Hall, maybe Greg Nettles and his 390 HR go into the Hall as well?

 

 

Keith:  As you may have noticed, none of those players appear in the Baseball Evolution Hall of Fame, although they did each garner enough votes to remain on next year's ballot.

 

Perez' reputation as a clutch hitter is not entirely undeserved, but he may have killed nearly as many rallies as he started with his GIDP (he's got the 17th most all time).  His saving grace is that he did play 760 games at third base, so comparing his numbers just to other first basemen is a little unfair.

 

I'm starting to soften my negative stance on Cepeda.  I think that he suffers from being just shy of a couple of arbitrary milestones.  He's three points away from being a .300 hitter, one from making .500 SLG, and 21 homers from 400.  His numbers are pretty good for having played in such an extreme defensive era, particularly his numbers before his 1965 knee injury.  His postseason numbers are awful, though. 

 

Mazeroski is pretty clearly the most valuable defensive second baseman ever, and a lot of people think that this fact alone makes him Hallworthy.  But he was just SO bad on offense.  I mean, he couldn't even bunt or steal bases.  I think you're right; that one home run probably put him over the top in a lot of people's minds.  He beat a team, in dramatic fashion, that had won the World Series in 8 out of the past 13 years.  I can see how that might bias some voters.

 

Basically these guys are all borderline Hall of Famers at best, but certainly not among the worst players enshrined in Cooperstown.  And yes, Nettles is probably on a similar level as those three.

 

Check back with us at he All Star break, when we reveal our Top 200 Players of all time.

 

~Keith