Why? Shouldn't the performance of the candidate be of the highest level? A common sense perspective I've long advocated is to ask: among like players, what Hall of Famer players is the candidate better than? In other words, don't add to the bottom.
Lou Gehrig
Bats: Left , Throws: Left
6-0, 200 pounds
Born: June 19, 1903 in New York, NY
Died: June 2, 1941 (Aged 37 and 348 days) in Bronx, NY
493 Home Runs in 8,001 At Bats
Fred McGriff
Bats: Left , Throws: Left
6-3, 200 pounds
Born: October 31, 1963 (Age: 54 and 63 days) in Tampa, FL
493 Home Runs in 8,757 At Bats
OK, completely different eras, blah, blah, blah. They have only these similarities:
- Both threw and hit lefty; in other words, natural lefties like Babe Ruth, not opportunist lefties like Ted Williams, who threw righty.
- Both played first base.
- Both hit 493 home runs, McGriff in a home run hitting era and with many more at bats.
Black Ink. You know, leading a league in a season. Gehrig has much more but that's not fair because there are many more teams now and many more players to beat out. Let's look at first and second place finishes by McGriff. That's cutting a lot of slack. When Gehrig played there were 16 teams. McGriff played from 1986 through 2004: 26 teams when he started and 30 when he finished. In 1993 Colorado and Florida (Miami) were added and in 1997 Arizona and Tampa.
In season home runs, McGriff was in the top ten seven times.
Home Run Proficiency relative to League. Thursday, December 13, 2012
Babe Ruth dominates as do other batters of the 1920s and 1930s. Ruth took spots 1 through 9, 11, 13. Of the top 19 spots, the only one later: Hank Greenberg 1946: 4.43 time more proficient at hitting home runs (HR) than the other batters in his league that season. Best position after Greenberg: Mike Schmidt 21 (1980).
_________________________McGriff is not mentioned in the body of the post. Gehrig is listed in the data with seasons ranked numbers 15 and 18 for his two 49 homer seasons.
Home Run Proficiency 35 Home Runs. Thursday, January 3, 2013
McGriff is not mentioned in the body of the 35 homer post.
Home Run Proficiency Career Sunday, January 6, 2013
McGriff is mentioned in the career post only once: in a list of all 43 batters with at least 493 career home runs through 2012. McGriff is number 31. Gehrig is number two, behind only Ruth.
Let's look at the key average stats: OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+. McGriff led the league in 1989 in OPS and OPS+. Those were his only times leading the league in any of the four stats. Here are first place finishes for Gehrig and first and second for McGriff:
I'm not into the total stat WAR (Wins Above Replacement) because it includes fielding, which seems to be ever evolving. But for those who like WAR, here it is with their plate appearances (PA):
Gehrig 112 9,663
McGriff 52 10,172
OK, Lou Gehrig was better than Fred McGriff. The purpose of this post was not to denigrate McGriff but to put into perspective the sometimes ridiculous reasons being presented for why a player should be given serious consideration as a candidate for the Hall of Fame based on performance on the field.
"500" home runs posts
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