2002 Hall of Fame Final Tally

[blake]

Yeah. Everyone has their opinion which makes for an interesting discussion. I think I had him 13th on my list. I'm extremely strict when it comes to the Hall of Fame though.

[Al-Hoot]

Yeah. Everyone has their opinion which makes for an interesting discussion. I think I had him 13th on my list. I'm extremely strict when it comes to the Hall of Fame though.

Yeah, well, again, so am I.

I guess we will all have to accept that others are also extremely strict yet come to different conclusions as to who and how to vote.

[cheekimonk]

I've already established that he's not Dave Kingman. Pretty meaningless to compare MLB numbers, but if you're going to bring a specific player into the mix then Belinda is no Kingman. His prolific HR rate was in the Bonds/Thome/Kiner range and, even just considering MLB, that's rare company.

[cheekimonk]

You have to think years ahead and the whole picture too. The league is still young. Once history builds up hes going to be about 30 to 40th all-time in HR's with a .262 average and a .308 OBP. Not much else otherwise. He'll look silly being in there surrounded by real Hall of Famers.

Hes just a one dimensional slugger. It's exactly like having a Dave Kingman type in the Hall of Fame.

This is actually a good philosophical point to consider, but the only way to put that in practice is wait another 10 seasons before christening the HoF. We can only vote on what we have now. Look at the all-time list of HR leaders in MBBA...what active player is going to pass him in the next 10 years? In the MBBA universe, 500+ HRs is astounding (600+ is just ridiculous). And he did it in 12 seasons.

[blake]

500+ HR's isn't that much here considering the aging modifiers are low. These guys have long careers here. I'm assuming 500 HR will not be hard to achieve for many of the greats. Barr and Sale aren't even big HR hitters and theyre up there close with him. Vanderhugen and Dwayne Johnson are knocking on the door. Pennebaker has already past him and hes only 32.

Right now it looks like hes one of the great HR hitters but 40 years from now hes going to look like a fool surrounded by all the Pennebaker's and Vanderhugen's. Hes simply not in that class.

[recte44]

You have to think years ahead and the whole picture too. The league is still young. Once history builds up hes going to be about 30 to 40th all-time in HR's with a .262 average and a .308 OBP. Not much else otherwise. He'll look silly being in there surrounded by real Hall of Famers.

Hes just a one dimensional slugger. It's exactly like having a Dave Kingman type in the Hall of Fame.

This is actually a good philosophical point to consider, but the only way to put that in practice is wait another 10 seasons before christening the HoF. We can only vote on what we have now. Look at the all-time list of HR leaders in MBBA...what active player is going to pass him in the next 10 years? In the MBBA universe, 500+ HRs is astounding (600+ is just ridiculous). And he did it in 12 seasons.

We already have nearly 30 seasons of history to put a player into context.

[jcrmoon42]

Yeah, plenty of history here to compare.

Great discussion. Makes me wonder if any of you have read Bill James's book about the Hall of Fame. Good stuff.

Again, there really is not a correct answer. It is like the pitcher vs. hitter as MVP discussion. There is no true guidance, and, thus, no standard by which to gauge one's opinion. It is just that. An opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!