Baseball's Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame (10 page)
It is obvious that all four men had much more power than Kell, and were far superior to him as run-producers. Each player also had some other fairly impressive credentials:
Ron Santo played for the Cubs from 1960 to 1974, during a pitcher’s era. In at least four of those seasons (’65-’67, ’69), he was the top third baseman in the National League and, perhaps, in all of baseball. He led the league in walks four times, on-base percentage twice, and triples once. He hit more than 20 homers eleven times, surpassing the 30-mark four times, drove in more than 100 runs four times, topping 90 on four other occasions, and batted .300 four times. He was an outstanding fielder, winning five Gold Gloves and setting a major league record by leading third basemen in total chances the most times (9), and he shares National League records for leading the most times in putouts and assists (7), and double plays (6). Santo was also selected to the All-Star Team nine times, finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting four times, and, as captain of the Cubs, was an outstanding team-leader.
Ken Boyer spent most of his 15 big league seasons from 1955 to 1969 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the National League’s top third baseman from 1962 to 1964, and vied for that honor with Eddie Mathews in both 1956 and 1961. He was the top player at his position in the major leagues in at least two of those seasons. Boyer led the league in runs batted in only once, but he knocked in more than 100 runs twice and surpassed the 90 RBI-mark six other times. Playing in a ballpark in St. Louis that was extremely difficult for righthanded power hitters, Boyer still managed to hit 30 homers once and hit more than 20 long balls eight other times. He also batted over .300 five times and scored more than 100 runs three times. Like Santo, he won five Gold Gloves, and he was selected to the All-Star Team seven times. In 1964, the Cardinals captain led his team to a victory over the Yankees in the World Series by turning the Series around with his grand-slam home run off Al Downing in Game Four. Boyer was selected N.L. MVP that season, one of four times he finished in the top 10 in the voting.
Probably the only thing keeping Graig Nettles out of the Hall of Fame is his career batting average of .248. His 390 career home runs are the third highest total ever by a third baseman, and the most ever by an American League player at that position. While he was rated behind George Brett among A.L. third basemen throughout much of his career, he was selected to
The Sporting
News’ All-Star Team
following each of the 1975, 1977, and 1978 seasons. He was also selected to the A.L. All-Star team six times and finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting twice. Although Nettles won only two Gold Gloves, he was one of the finest fielding third basemen in baseball history, shifting the momentum of the 1978 World Series with his great glove work in Game Three against the Dodgers.
Buddy Bell is one of the more underrated players at this position. He was not a dominant player, never having led the league in any major offensive category. He never scored 100 runs, and he knocked in 100 runs and hit as many as 20 home runs only one time each. However, Bell batted .300 twice, was selected to the All-Star Team five times, and finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting once, despite playing for mediocre teams in Cleveland and Texas throughout virtually his entire career. He was also the equal of Nettles, defensively, leading the league in fielding three times and winning six Gold Glove Awards.
Now, back to the subject at hand—George Kell. While Kell was a good player who was far from being the worst selection ever made by the Veterans Committee, he was not productive enough for a player at his position to legitimize his presence in Cooperstown. Santo and Boyer, both of whom were eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame when Kell was elected in 1983, would have been far better choices. Nettles and Bell, and perhaps even Madlock and former Cleveland Indian third baseman, Ken Keltner, have credentials equal to those of Kell.
Honus Wagner/Ernie Banks
As two of the three greatest shortstops in major league history (Alex Rodriguez being the other), Honus Wagner and Ernie Banks have overwhelming Hall of Fame credentials.
Honus Wagner was not only the finest shortstop of his time, but was the game’s greatest player during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1900 to 1909, Wagner won eight National League batting titles and led the league in runs batted in and stolen bases five times each, slugging percentage six times, and doubles seven times. When he retired, he had compiled more hits, runs, total bases, RBIs and stolen bases than any player in history, to that point. To this day, he still has more hits (3,415), doubles (640), triples (252), RBIs (1,732), and stolen bases (722) than any other shortstop who ever played, as well as the highest career batting average (.327). Many who saw him play considered him to be the greatest all-around player they ever saw. He is generally regarded as one of the 10 or 15 greatest players in baseball history.
Ernie Banks was the greatest shortstop of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the game’s most dominant players during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1955 to 1960, he hit more home runs than any other player in baseball, and was one of the top five players in the game. He won back-to-back National League MVP Awards in 1958 and 1959, when, playing for the second-division Chicago Cubs, he averaged 46 home runs and 136 runs batted in, while batting over .300 each season. He also finished in the top five in the league MVP voting two other times and was a perennial All-Star. Banks led the league in both homers and RBIs twice, and in slugging percentage once. He hit over 40 homers five times, finishing his career with 512, and knocked in more than 100 runs eight times. Banks was clearly the best shortstop in baseball from 1955 to 1961 and, after being shifted to first base following the 1961 season, went on to become one of the top players at that position for the next eight seasons.
Cal Ripken Jr.
Equally deserving of a place in Cooperstown is Cal Ripken Jr., the man who, in many ways, revolutionized his position for future generations of players who aspired to play shortstop in the major leagues.
Although he will always be remembered as the man who broke Lou Gehrig’s record for the most consecutive games played, Cal Ripken Jr. was an exceptional player whose list of accomplishments extends far beyond that revered mark.
In his 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Ripken hit 431 home runs, knocked in 1,695 runs, scored another 1,647, and compiled 3,184 hits and 603 doubles, to finish second all-time among major league shortstops in each offensive category. He hit more than 20 homers twelve times, knocked in more than 100 runs four times, scored more than 100 runs three times, and batted over .300 five times, while compiling a lifetime mark of .276.
Ripken is the only shortstop in American League history to win two Most Valuable Player Awards. He earned the honor for the first time in 1983 when he hit 27 home runs, knocked in 102 runs, batted .318, and led the league in runs scored (121), hits (211), and doubles (47), while leading the Orioles to the world championship. He won the award again in 1991, when he established career highs in homers (34), runs batted in (114), and batting average (.323). Ripken was the top shortstop in the American League in virtually every season from 1983 to 1994, with only Alan Trammell’s superb 1987 season for Detroit breaking the string. He was also the best shortstop in baseball in many of those seasons.
Although he is remembered more for his offense, Ripken was also an excellent defensive player, having led A.L. shortstops in fielding twice. Even though he was not particularly quick or overly spectacular, Ripken had exceptional hands and was an expert at studying opposing hitters and positioning himself in the right spot on the field. He also set the mold for other big shortstops of future generations to follow, being credited by others such as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter as having been a huge influence on their careers. Ripken is clearly among the four or five greatest shortstops in baseball history. As such, he is most deserving of his 2007 election into Cooperstown.
Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith was unquestionably the greatest fielding shortstop in baseball history. While there have been others such as Marty Marion, Luis Aparicio, and Omar Vizquel who have excelled at the position, no other player could quite match Smith’s acrobatic play and wizardry in the field. As spectacular as he was, though, he was also extremely consistent, setting a record for National League shortstops in 1991 by committing only eight errors in 150 games. His 13 Gold Gloves are a record for shortstops.
Offensively, while Smith’s numbers are not on a par with many of the other players in the Hall of Fame, he was able to turn himself into an above-average offensive player, totaling 2,460 hits, 1,257 runs, and 580 stolen bases during his career. Although, among major league shortstops, Cal Ripken Jr.’s hitting made him a better all-around player, Smith was clearly the National League’s best shortstop during the 1980s. He was also unquestionably one of the ten greatest shortstops in baseball history, thereby justifying his place in Cooperstown.
John Henry “Pop” Lloyd/Willie Wells
As the two greatest shortstops in Negro League history, both Lloyd and Wells clearly earned their places in Cooperstown.
Although he was never given a chance to play in the major leagues because of the color of his skin, John Henry “Pop” Lloyd was clearly one of the greatest shortstops in baseball history. Generally considered to be the greatest Negro League player of the Deadball Era, Lloyd was regarded by some as the finest player in all of baseball during his playing days. Babe Ruth once stated that he believed Lloyd to be the greatest player he ever saw.
Lloyd spent more than a quarter of a century playing in the black professional leagues, for 12 different teams. He began to establish his reputation as one of the game’s great players in 1910 when he joined Rube Foster’s Chicago Leland Giants. That year, the Giants won 123 games and Lloyd hit .417. Also that season, Lloyd spent some time playing in Cuba for the Havana Reds. While there, he played five exhibition games against Ty Cobb and his Detroit Tigers. Against Detroit, Lloyd batted .500, getting 11 hits in 22 at-bats, out-hitting Cobb by 131 points, and causing the latter to proclaim that he would never again play against black players.
Lloyd was a complete player who could hit, run, field, and throw. An exceptional lefthanded line-drive hitter, Lloyd usually batted fourth in his team’s lineup. Different sources have him batting either .337 or .368 over the course of his career. In the field, Lloyd positioned himself wisely, got a good jump on the ball, and possessed both outstanding range and sure hands. Among Negro League shortstops, only Dick Lundy drew favorable comparisons to him as a fielder, and Lloyd was widely regarded as the greatest shortstop in the history of black baseball. Indeed, he was frequently referred to as “the black Honus Wagner” for his tremendous all-around ability. Aside from Wagner, no other major league shortstop of the first half of the 20th century was considered to be his peer by those who saw him play. Wagner, himself, after being told of the comparisons being made between himself and Lloyd, commented: “After I saw him play, I felt honored that they should name such a great ballplayer after me.”
Long before Cal Ripken Jr. set the standards for major league shortstops by combining exceptional fielding with home-run power, Willie Wells was doing the same in the Negro Leagues. Besides having great range, soft hands, and an extremely accurate throwing arm, Wells also possessed outstanding power that enabled him to set a Negro Leagues single-season record for home runs by a shortstop, with 27. Over his 25-year career, he also batted .334.
Negro League legend Buck O’Neill said in his 1996 autobiography, “If I had to pick a shortstop for my team, it would be Willie Wells. He could hit to all fields, hit with power, bunt, and stretch singles into doubles. But it was his glove that truly dazzled…” O’Neill then went on to compare Wells favorably to the great Ozzie Smith.
Wells was also a bit of a pioneer, becoming the first player in baseball history to wear a batting helmet, in 1936, after being thrown at often by opposing pitchers. They clearly did not appreciate the fact that, from 1936 to 1939, Wells hit no lower than .346, after batting a career-high .401 in 1930.
Joe Cronin/Arky Vaughan/Luke Appling
With the exception of Honus Wagner and John Henry Lloyd, these three men were the finest shortstops of the first half of the twentieth century. As such, they are all deserving of their Hall of Fame status.
Playing for the Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox, Joe Cronin compiled a lifetime .301 batting average, .390 on-base percentage, and .468 slugging percentage (third all-time among shortstops with at least 5,000 at bats, behind only Ernie Banks and Alex Rodriguez). His 170 career home runs were the most by any shortstop during the first half of the century, and his 1,424 runs batted in and 515 doubles were second only to Honus Wagner. During his career, Cronin knocked in more than 100 runs eight times, batted over .300 eight times, had more than 40 doubles six times, and scored more than 100 runs four times. Although known more for his offense, Cronin was considered to be an above-average defensive shortstop.
Using our Hall of Fame criteria, Cronin would have to be considered one of the ten greatest shortstops in baseball history. For much of the 1930s, he was considered to be the finest shortstop in the American League, if not in all of baseball, having been named the outstanding major league shortstop by
The Sporting News
a total of seven times. That same publication selected him American League MVP in 1930, when he hit .346, knocked in 126 runs, and scored 127 others. He also finished second to Jimmie Foxx in 1933 in the official MVP voting, and placed in the top 10 another four times. Cronin was selected to the All-Star Team seven times. He also led the league in doubles twice, and in triples once, and led A.L. shortstops in fielding twice. Therefore, Cronin does fairly well in this area as well.
Arky Vaughan had the misfortune of playing the same position, for the same team, as Honus Wagner. Therefore, his offensive accomplishments for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1930s and early ’40s were probably not appreciated as much as they should have been.
Vaughan was an above-average fielder, but it was as a hitter that he truly excelled. In fact, he is generally considered to have been one of the greatest offensive shortstops in baseball history. Among players at that position, only Wagner exceeded his .318 career batting average, and Vaughan’s .406 on-base percentage is the highest ever for players at the position. His .385 batting average in 1935 won him the National League batting crown and set a 20th century league record for highest average by a shortstop. During his career, he knocked in over 90 runs four times, batted over .330 three times, had at least 10 triples eight times, and scored more than 100 runs five times.
Further analyzing his Hall of Fame credentials, Vaughan clearly ranks as one of the 10 greatest shortstops in baseball history. For much of the 1930s, he was one of the top five players in the National League, and, in one or two of those seasons, in all of baseball. He was the top shortstop in his league for virtually the entire decade, and was the best player in baseball at his position in some of those seasons. Vaughan finished in the top five in the MVP voting twice and was a perennial All-Star. He led the league in batting once, in slugging percentage once, and in on-base percentage, walks, triples, and runs scored three times each. He is clearly most deserving of his place in Cooperstown.