It’s been a few months since this “month-long” series began back in January.
Thanks to everyone for their patience and an even bigger thanks to everyone for their passion. The response to the HOF 100 exceeded my expectations and I’m glad that y’all have had as much fun reading this as I’ve had in putting it together.
Look for the first ever “Big Ol’ Bootleg Guy Mailbag” feature in the not-too-distant future, where the best Hall of Fame questions get answered and you readers take me to task on a few of my “verdicts”.
Meanwhile, why not revisit the past eight parts of this series? That’s 80 of my calls on some of the best ballplayers in history as I determine who is and who isn’t Hall worthy. Below, you’ll find some of the highlighted names from each segment:
Part I: Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio & Barry Bonds
Part II: Jose Canseco, Andre Dawson & Dwight Evans
Part III: Jason Giambi, Shoeless Joe Jackson & Rickey Henderson
Part IV: Ken Griffey, Jr., Tony Gwynn & Derek Jeter
Part V: Roger Maris, Don Mattingly & Mark McGwire
Part VI: Mike Piazza, Alex Rodriguez & Pete Rose
Part VII: Frank Thomas, Gary Sheffield & Sammy Sosa
Part VIII: Bernie Williams, Kevin Brown & Roger Clemens
Now, the list continues with Part Nine and we begin with …
Unquestionably one of the five or six greatest starting pitchers in the Yankees’ storied history. It’s that history that has often inflated the accomplishments of otherwise unexceptional players, too. Give Guidry this much: his “Louisiana Lightning” nickname is one of the greatest ever…so, how was the player?
Ron Guidry was a four-time All Star and former Cy Young Award winner with a pair of ERA titles and three 20-win seasons to his credit. His .651 career winning percentage is heightened by his phenomenal 25-3 season in 1978 and a 22-6 campaign in 1985. He averaged an impressive 16 wins per season and finished with a career ERA of 3.29.
Ah, but what the above doesn’t tell you is that Gator only pitched for 14 seasons. In fact, he didn’t stick as a full-time Yankee until he was 26. Prior to that he spent a pair of seasons with a handful of appearances, while shuttling between AAA and the majors in 1975-76. He would collect 154 wins by the time he turned 34, but in his next three (and final) seasons, he’d win only 16 more games, combined.
Guidry spent all or parts of his first six professional seasons in the minors. They say “timing is everything” and he was seemingly shorted on the front end and screwed out on the back end. Verdict: Out
A few years ago, Sports Illustrated ran a cover story on Hoffman, with the splashy headline calling him the best closer ever. Yankee fans, shockingly, were indignant over this “slight”, while the rest of the eastern time zone only knows of Hoffman when the Pads make a swing through their town.
Well, know this…if Hoffman isn’t the best closer ever (and he isn’t), he’s certainly in the team picture. Health permitting, Hoffman will notch his 400th save this season. In his twelve big league campaigns, he’s averaged 38 saves per year with a 2.74 ERA. He’s a four-time All Star and has received some Cy Young consideration with three top ten finishes. In fact, a case could’ve been made for his winning it in 1998 (53 saves, 1.48 ERA).
What more do you want from your closer? Hoffman averages about 75 innings per year, walks a tick over 20 and fans around 84 per season.
He’ll be 37 in 2005, but seems to be full recovered from the injuries that took away essentially his entire 2003 season. With two full seasons and change, he’ll become the all time leader in saves. But, even if he doesn’t reach it, he’ll only have to wait a few years for bigger and better accomplishments to come his way. Verdict: In
Like Curt Flood before him, Tommy John’s impact on the game was immeasurable. And, like Flood, John’s impact came away from the diamond, while ultimately doing more good for the players on the field. Oh, and John could pitch a little, too.
“Tommy John surgery” uses a tendon from the non-throwing arm to replace a torn ligament in a player’s pitching arm. Dr. Frank Jobe first performed this procedure on John in 1974 and the right-hander would go on to win an additional 170 games in his career. He’d finished with 288 wins and 2,245 strikeouts. However, in 26 seasons, he’d make just four All Star teams and never took home the Cy Young Award.
John is often used to explain away the HOF chances of Bert Blyleven, but the comparison couldn’t be more misguided. John’s career ERA of 3.34 really wasn’t that much better than the league’s 3.69 during that time. And, John certainly didn’t distinguish himself with the strikeout. His single season career high was a paltry 138.
Even is he had reached the 300 win threshold, he wouldn’t have had much of a case for Cooperstown. He was a good, and occasionally, a very good hurler, but not for any length of time over those 26 years. Verdict: Out.
You just don’t find many future Hall of Famers who figure it all out at the age of 29 and in their sixth season in the bigs. But, in 1993, The Big Unit took some sage advice from pitching legend Nolan Ryan and would eventually become the greatest left-handed pitcher of this era.
Most of us first heard of Johnson when he threw a no-hitter against the Tigers in June of 1990. In what would be a sign of the times, Johnson would walk six hitters on the evening before stepping into the history books. He finished that year 14-11, but often struggled to consistently find the plate. And, while his strikeouts increase from 194 to 241 from 1990-92, Johnson averaged about 139 walks during that same stretch.
In his breakthrough year of ’93, Johnson fanned 308 batters while finally finishing below the 100 walk mark in a season. The 19-8 record wasn’t too shabby, either. From there, a new legend was born as Johnson would go on to win the Cy Young Award with an 18-2 in 1995. An individual year that featured 294 K’s and a memorable performance in the one-game playoff vs. the Angels that would spark Seattle to their first ever postseason run.
A 10-time All Star, Johnson picked up four more Cy Young trophies during his time with the Diamondbacks. He fanned (well) over 300 batters in every year from 1998 to 2002 and, in the most memorable moment of his career, he won games six and seven of the 2001 World Series, bringing the title to the desert. 246 career wins, a lifetime 3.07 ERA and 4,161 strikeouts…I probably could’ve saved four paragraphs if I started with that line. Verdict: In
Before he was an insufferable shill on the YES Network’s Yankee telecasts, “Kitty” racked up quite the impressive résumé. His 25-year career finished in 1983 with 283 wins and a reputation as the greatest fielding pitcher in history. 22 years later, he’s still waiting to get that call.
It’s a stat we’ve used a couple of times in this series, but it’s as good a place to start as any. Kaat’s career ERA of 3.45 was only 7% better than the league’s ERA (3.69) during the same era. So, how does a pitcher who was a few ticks above “average” win nearly 300 games? Longevity didn’t hurt…in fact, over the course of his career, Kaat average just 12 wins (and 10 losses) per season. Just a hunch, but I’m guessing an undistinguished legacy in the two most common means of judging a hurler (ERA & wins) can’t be going over too well with the voters.
The proverbial “strike three” is exactly that…or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Kaat finished with 2,461 K’s, which places him 30th all time. It’s a ranking that’s even less impressive when you look at his average strikeouts per season…109? There were several contemporaries of Kaat who racked up more than that in a year out of the bullpen.
Admittedly, Kaat enjoyed a brief peak with the Twins in the mid-60s, even finishing with 25 wins in 1966. However, for most of the rest of his run, Kaat was an innings-eating machine whose sole purpose was keeping it close enough for the offense or bullpen to bail him out. Verdict: Out
During his magical run of success in Atlanta, “Mad Dog” got a lot of umpire’s balls n’ strikes calls in his favor, because he was a great pitcher who had supposedly “earned” it. Or, was his greatness a result of getting all of those calls?
Hey, we’ve got a start with a little controversy…even if it’s just designed to fill space before the obvious “verdict” is rendered. In the case of Maddux, his certain candidacy is belied by some of the same stats that’ll get him in on the first ballot. Case in point: did you know that he’s only recorded one season with more than 200 strikeouts, yet is 13th on the all-time list with 2,916? Equally surprising, he’s only won 20 games in a season on two occasions. Although, he does have five 19-win campaigns to his credit.
More trivia: from 1992-97, Maddux surrendered, on average, about nine home runs per year. Last year, alone, the 38-year-old Maddux gave up 35 bombs. 2004 was also the year in which Maddux posted his first ERA over 4.00, since 1987…oh, and he won his 300th game.
Just for grins, let’s run it down: 305 wins, eight All Star appearances, four Cy Young Awards, 14 of the last 15 NL Gold Gloves at his position and a career ERA (2.95) that’s 41% better than the league during his career. There’ll be a quiz to follow. Verdict: In
The Cincinnati Reds of the late 1980s were exceedingly deep in bullpen pitching, so they parted with Montgomery prior to the 1988 season for failed phenom Van Snider. From 1989 through his retirement in 1999, he’d become the most prolific fireman in Royals’ history.
His 304 career saves currently places him at 16th on the all-time list…one spot behind should-be HOFer Goose Gossage and one ahead of no-chance HOFer Doug Jones. So, which way will the wind blow for Montgomery? He was a three-time All Star, who spent most of the ’90s amongst the top 10 in saves on the Junior Circuit.
Unfortunately, consistency can’t really be your calling card as a closer unless your dominance obvious. And, what does it say when his best season came in 1989…when he split closer duties with Steve Farr? The rest of Montgomery’s career was spent on some pretty bad Royals teams who didn’t take many leads into the ninth inning. When they did, Montgomery was generally effective without being flashy, but closers who are simply “solid” on subpar teams need more than 300 saves and a methodical, if milquetoast, approach.
While Montgomery is the Royals’ all-time saves leader, he is not even their greatest closer in team history. And, he’s in no danger of needing to make plans for upstate New York in mid-August anytime soon. Verdict: Out
“Jack Morris is the winningest pitcher of the 1980s!” Or so says the call of the myopic Morris followers who insists this, and this alone, makes him a candidate for Cooperstown. Oh, and don’t forget his historic Game 7, 10-inning performance against the Braves in the 1991 World Series! “Ya gotta put him in after that!”
First things first…that “best of the ’80s” argument means absolutely nothing. Morris won 162 games in the decade, but if you take all of his stats and move them back by five years, you’ve got a pitcher that won 162 games from 1975-84. Chronologically, it’s still 10 years, but without the calendar convenient word like “80s” behind it.
And, really, how great was Morris in the ’80s? Yes, he went to four All Star games and racked up the innings, but throughout the decade he finished in the top ten in ERA just four times, including one 9th and one 10th place finish. Speaking of ERA, Morris career mark is 3.90. By itself, it’s hardly a number that’s synonymous with greatness. It looks even worse when you consider that the league’s ERA during his career was 4.05, putting Morris a mere five percent above the average of his peers.
Morris’ entire case is built upon that Game 7 start in one of the most memorable World Series of all time. It was unquestionably a great performance, but it gave him an undeserved reputation as a “winner” to casual fans and writers. What’s never mentioned is that Morris got bombed in his only start against the inferior Twins in the ’87 ALCS and he was horrible in 1992 when the Jays won it all in spite of him.
Jack Morris simply wasn’t as good as his numbers (254 career wins) or reputation may indicate. He benefited from some great offensive teams, lots of run support and a lot of luck and timing. One legendary start on the national stage is not enough to fool us into thinking he was that good all the time. Verdict: Out
When the ’90s began, it was another “M” who was getting O’s fans to flock to old Memorial Stadium. But, the Ben McDonald era wouldn’t last and by 1992, Mike Mussina already ahead of Big Ben…and ahead of the American League.
In fourteen big league seasons, Mussina has averaged 17 wins per year. He’s never won 20, but he’s got a pair of 19-win and three 18-win campaigns on to his credit. Never really a pure power pitcher, he’s managed to fan about seven per nine innings for his career, while relying on an assortment of stuff (including his knee-buckling knuckle-curve) and a cerebral approach on the mound. Mussina has put it all together and crafted a career .639 winning percentage, putting him in the Top 40 all-time.
While he’s never taken home a Cy Young, he’s received more than his share of honors, including six Gold Gloves and five All Star Game appearances. His career ERA is 3.59, which nearly a full run lower than the league’s 4.55 ERA during his career. And, despite his rather pedestrian 7-6 postseason record, his lifetime ERA in October is an impressive 3.16.
Hey, has anyone else noticed that since Mussina joined the Yankees in 2001, the Bombers haven’t won a World Series? I’m just sayin’. Personally, I’d like to see Moose get closer to 250 wins, but he can probably make a very strong case for himself, right now. Strong, but, not quite there…yet. Verdict: Out…but, he’ll get in sooner, not later.
Relief pitchers are inherently inconsistent. Closers probably a little less so, but with few exceptions, you just don’t know what you’re going to get from year to year by pitchers whose entire season can be made or broken by one bad month, week or appearance.
In 1990, the Cincinnati Reds’ “Nasty Boys” bullpen took them to the World Series. Myers was the closer and his whip-like delivery kept hitters from picking up the ball, on his way to 31 saves and a 2.08 ERA. The next year, he had so much trouble finding the plate, that the Reds tried him out as a starting pitcher during the season.
After a not-as-good-as-it-looked 1992 season in San Diego, Myers took his inflated reputation to the North Side, where he put up 53 one-inning saves, thus, apparently, earning his newfound free agent riches. Ah, but even though the saves kept coming, in 1994, his ERA would creep up from 3.11 to 3.79. In ’95, the lasting image of Myers is a fan jumping out of the stands to attack him after he surrendered a home run.
Myers’ “career year” came at the age of 34, in 1997, while with the Baltimore Orioles (45 saves, 1.51 ERA, 2 HRs in 60 IP’s)…and two years later he would never play again. His 347 saves rank sixth all time, but that, my friends, is why the “save” is overrated. Verdict: Out
Check back later this week for the final part of Hall of Fame 100! Should the all time saves leader be in? Why should Curt Schilling be out? And, the two greatest managers of this era are under the microscope! Get at me on AOL or Yahoo IM: ajcameron13
