2065.01 Hall of Fame - The Case for Tiernan O'Macken

[Trebro]

My plan is to do as many as I can tonight and maybe tomorrow to help spark some discussion and votes.

The Case for Tiernan O'Macken

6th Year on the Ballot.
Last Year Vote Percentage: 39.4%
Have I voted for him? Yes, almost every year, including last year



O'Macken is running out of time, and it looks like he won't be making the Hall. The former Yellow Springs Nine, Phoenix Tallllllon, and Montreal Blazer, who retired in 2058 after a few final games with Sean's squad, pitched for parts of 18 seasons, often as the workhorse reliever who logs significant innings to help his team win, but without the gaudy numbers to match. And with so many people with so many gaudy numbers, it's hard for him to get any air.

This is likely his last, best chance to get recognition. And yet, I'm still not sure it's going to happen.

Arguments for Enshrinement:

• 9x over 100 innings pitched
  2x over 149 innings pitched (149.1 and 159)
  Total innings pitched: 1652.2, despite only 2 starts
  7.2 WAR season in 2043
  2.00 or better WAR in 11 of 18 seasons
  Over 2000Ks despite only 1652.2 innings pitched (2063)
  1x Nebraska Winner
  2x Reliever of the Year
  5x All Star
  JAWS of 38.8 (RP HoF Average is 19)
  HoF Standard is 59 vs the 50 currently in

Arguments Against Enshrinement:

• A relief pitcher
  Almost no Black Ink (1), i.e. was only a leader once
  Almost no Grey Ink (23), i.e. was rarely a top ten person in his time

My final pitch: While he wasn't one to acquire high counting stats other than strikeouts, this guy not only had longevity (18 years) but they were almost all QUALITY years, right from his rookie season. Only his brief swan song in 2058 was bad. I understand that there's some reluctance to instill a relief pitcher, but the man was just a beast out of the bullpen (only 113 melt downs in 1115 games). If I had been around during his prime, I'd have desperately wanted this guy on my team.

Now I want him in the Hall.

He deserves your time, attention, and vote.

[Dington]

Didn’t get my vote this year since de Medici didn’t get in. Spite vote.

[Trebro]

Didn’t get my vote this year since de Medici didn’t get in. Spite vote.

This shouldn't shock me one bit that you'd make the case harder for any similar player by not helping O'Macken get in. I'm disappointed, but not surprised.

[Dington]

Voters have made up their minds on these types of pitchers, unfortunately.

[woods]

I'm a voter who has made up my mind about O'Macken, and here's why I haven't voted for him:
- No championships
- 4 blown saves in 10 opportunities in the playoffs
- 4.10 ERA in the playoffs

Compare him to someone like Manuel Barrera, who I will vote for when he's eligible. Barrera has 3 rings, and is 28/31 in playoff save opportunities. If you can't get it done on the biggest stage, you're not a Hall of Famer, in my opinion. The word "Fame" carries a lot of weight for me in who I decide to vote for, and to me it implies some degree of big game success.

[RonCo]

I'll die on the hill that says O'Macken was a better pitcher than Lorenzo di'Medici. If you voted for di'Medici, you should vote for him.

[Dington]

I'll die on the hill that says O'Macken was a better pitcher than Lorenzo di'Medici. If you voted for di'Medici, you should vote for him.

I’ll send flowers to your grave.

[Lane]

I'm a voter who has made up my mind about O'Macken, and here's why I haven't voted for him:
- No championships
- 4 blown saves in 10 opportunities in the playoffs
- 4.10 ERA in the playoffs

Compare him to someone like Manuel Barrera, who I will vote for when he's eligible. Barrera has 3 rings, and is 28/31 in playoff save opportunities. If you can't get it done on the biggest stage, you're not a Hall of Famer, in my opinion. The word "Fame" carries a lot of weight for me in who I decide to vote for, and to me it implies some degree of big game success.

why does fame=was lucky to be on playoff teams and be excellent in those games?

his 63.2 playoff innings are less than 4% of his career, but you give them all the weight because of what time of year they were played?

i'm not advocating for him to be in the HoF, but it seems like weird things to count against a player.

[Lane]

Barrera has half the career WAR, and only pitched 919 innings as a reliever. But he's a Hall of Famer because he got 28 saves in the playoffs?

[recte44]

No de Medici, no O'Macken. Sorry, folks. You all did this.

[woods]

why does fame=was lucky to be on playoff teams and be excellent in those games?

I wouldn't call it "lucky". Good players should lead their teams to the playoffs. This is even more true in the case of a closer, where wins and losses are directly impacted by their performance.

I'll concede that there are rare cases where a great player is stuck on bad teams for their entire career, this is something I do account for when voting for the HoF. But this would be apparent, if say, a player never made the playoffs. O'Macken is not this. He made the playoffs in seven different years, pitched badly, and lost.

his 63.2 playoff innings are less than 4% of his career, but you give them all the weight because of what time of year they were played?

Lol you're getting very close to "championship trophy is a piece of metal" territory with this comment. Yes I do give them all the weight because of the "time of year." I just think it's nice to see fall leaves around during HoF-worthy performances. Call me a romantic in that way.