So here is the 10 highest WAR Hall Of Fame potentials for 2014.
Interesting to see so many pitchers actually have a high WAR. Higher than many position players.
That's always my problem with Wins Above Replacement: You can have pitchers with a higher rating than position players in seasons and careers!
And Clemens has the highest! Right below Bonds. Do you see two problems here?
Again, I'll repeat what I said last year: I believe Bonds is Hall Of Fame material since his numbers qualified prior to juicing!
Clemens, I'm 50-50 on his chances. It was sure of his chances at one point. But Roger's denying of his PED use is a foolish and hopeless move.
Roger was 213-118 by the end of 1997. That's when, the juicing started, from all accounts. But looking at the turnaround in 1997 from his previous 4 seasons, you have to wonder if he wasn't already juicing.
Greg Maddux won 355 games. No point in going any further.
Mike Mussina won 270 games, but he did have a high ERA (3.68). I think he will make it, but I'm not sure about this year (2014).
Tom Glavine won 305 games. But again, a high ERA (3.54). He also pitched 4 more seasons than Mussina. The closeness of their WAR suggests they were both about equal. The 300 wins might give Glavine the edge. Voters might also feel persuaded by inducting not one, but two great pitchers from the Braves of the 90s.
Curt Schilling, I've always liked. His stats are not near Clemens, Maddux, Mussina or Glavine's.
But what about that game 5 shutout of the Jays in the 1993 World Series? What about 2001 vs. the Yankees? What about pitching the Red Sox to not one, but two World Series?
Those kinds of things. I saw this guy pitch. Believe me, when the chips were down, turn to him. I'd like to see him make it. Will he?
I'd lean towards "no" for this year. But soon...
Jeff Bagwell had over 400 home runs, over .400 OBP and the 1994 MVP. Oh, that's great! But how about the man I feared the most as a Jays fan back in the 1990s?
The Big Hurt.
Frank Thomas.
521 home runs, .301 BA, .419 OBP, 1993/94 MVPs.
Granted, Frank never once led the league in homeruns (Huh?). But it was that fear factor of him. To me, he was the most feared hitter in the AL in the 1990s. For that alone, I'd vote for him. And so should the writers! Gotta give Frank the edge over Jeff!
Larry Walker might be a close-but-no-cigar, this year and beyond. He hit over .300 but not quite 400 home runs. Yet his WAR rating is exactly 1.0 less than Thomas. He might have to wait another 4 or 5 years for his time to come.
Rafael Palmeiro isn't getting anywhere near enough votes!
2011: 64 votes
2012: 72 votes
2013: 50 votes
Not going the right direction with the voters, I'd say.
It's too bad. But, at the same time, Palmy has been named by several sources for his PED activities, including the dreaded Mitchell Report. It seems clear to me that he was doing it. When did he start? For how long? He's not saying. What I can say is it that's hurting his Hall Of Fame chances in a big way!
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 3, 2014.
Interesting to see so many pitchers actually have a high WAR. Higher than many position players.
That's always my problem with Wins Above Replacement: You can have pitchers with a higher rating than position players in seasons and careers!
And Clemens has the highest! Right below Bonds. Do you see two problems here?
Again, I'll repeat what I said last year: I believe Bonds is Hall Of Fame material since his numbers qualified prior to juicing!
Clemens, I'm 50-50 on his chances. It was sure of his chances at one point. But Roger's denying of his PED use is a foolish and hopeless move.
Roger was 213-118 by the end of 1997. That's when, the juicing started, from all accounts. But looking at the turnaround in 1997 from his previous 4 seasons, you have to wonder if he wasn't already juicing.
Greg Maddux won 355 games. No point in going any further.
Mike Mussina won 270 games, but he did have a high ERA (3.68). I think he will make it, but I'm not sure about this year (2014).
Tom Glavine won 305 games. But again, a high ERA (3.54). He also pitched 4 more seasons than Mussina. The closeness of their WAR suggests they were both about equal. The 300 wins might give Glavine the edge. Voters might also feel persuaded by inducting not one, but two great pitchers from the Braves of the 90s.
Curt Schilling, I've always liked. His stats are not near Clemens, Maddux, Mussina or Glavine's.
But what about that game 5 shutout of the Jays in the 1993 World Series? What about 2001 vs. the Yankees? What about pitching the Red Sox to not one, but two World Series?
Those kinds of things. I saw this guy pitch. Believe me, when the chips were down, turn to him. I'd like to see him make it. Will he?
I'd lean towards "no" for this year. But soon...
Jeff Bagwell had over 400 home runs, over .400 OBP and the 1994 MVP. Oh, that's great! But how about the man I feared the most as a Jays fan back in the 1990s?
The Big Hurt.
Frank Thomas.
521 home runs, .301 BA, .419 OBP, 1993/94 MVPs.
Granted, Frank never once led the league in homeruns (Huh?). But it was that fear factor of him. To me, he was the most feared hitter in the AL in the 1990s. For that alone, I'd vote for him. And so should the writers! Gotta give Frank the edge over Jeff!
Larry Walker might be a close-but-no-cigar, this year and beyond. He hit over .300 but not quite 400 home runs. Yet his WAR rating is exactly 1.0 less than Thomas. He might have to wait another 4 or 5 years for his time to come.
Rafael Palmeiro isn't getting anywhere near enough votes!
2011: 64 votes
2012: 72 votes
2013: 50 votes
Not going the right direction with the voters, I'd say.
It's too bad. But, at the same time, Palmy has been named by several sources for his PED activities, including the dreaded Mitchell Report. It seems clear to me that he was doing it. When did he start? For how long? He's not saying. What I can say is it that's hurting his Hall Of Fame chances in a big way!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 3, 2014.
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