In "Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame" Bill James summed up a long chapter (Chapter 23) and concluded that the Hall of Fame is "a museum run by an accountant." (p. 307)
I agree with this. Omar's 11 Gold Gloves and 2877 hits were his only HOF arguments. He was not a good hitter (82 OPS+), not the best base runner (404 SB for 72nd all-time, but with 167 caught stealing for 19th all-time), and only 2.5 WAR per 162 games. Only three AS games and only received MVP votes once (16th place in 1999). His WAR of 45.6 is 32nd amongst SS, but it took him a lot of games to compile his numbers.
Despite all that, he received over 50% of the vote in 2020 and was almost assuredly on his way to being elected until the terrible things he did came to light.
Some great defensive players make hard plays look routine and thus are underrated. I have a feeling that Omar made a lot of routine plays look hard and is overrated due to all his flashy highlights.
Cooperstown is charming. I had no idea when I and two of my kids took the “schlep” in 2001, just after HOF weekend and before 9/11 hit. We ended up spending the night so we could do two days in the HOF and see more of the town. The variety of baseball merch was outlandish, and delightful, both in the HOF and in the town.
"An America that never existed except as an idea."
I'm ever so glad you included that thought.
Because - as Mr. Posnanski will be acutely aware - 1950s America was the America of Jim Crow, HUAC, and the Termination Policy. The 'simpler, sweeter' America reified by some depended very much on who you were.
And I know, he's writing about baseball here. But in these times when hateful ideas are not just being spoken by politicians but are being put into bloody practice on American streets, in many ways in the name of that America that never existed, it's important to keep in mind the story of the past that we choose to tell. To not accept the curated, whitewashed lies.
Anyway, Mr. Posnanski's thoughts about baseball are as incisive and fascinating as always. He thinks a lot about dreams, and so do I. I'm very glad to have baseball (among other things) as a pleasant thing to think about when the clamour becomes too much.
I just also think - and again, appreciate very much that this was signposted here - that especially when we talk about the past, in these fractious times, we must be sure to do so with honesty.
How about electing all the morally compromised great players, but there’s no induction ceremony for them until after they’re dead. And each of their plaques has an asterisk on it.
I think the Hall of Fame should be the Hallway of Fame.
At the Cosmos Club in DC, there's a winding hallway where members names are listed in increasing order of impressiveness: Award winners, ambassadors, Representatives, Senators, Presidents, etc. The last, most impressive two categories are my favorite. Members on US Stamps, then Members on Foreign Stamps. (The latter has exactly one member. Can you guess it? Answer below.)
I think the Hall of Fame could be organized the same way: One Titanic Play (The Bucky Fkn Dent Nook), humanitarians (Clemente Corner), category leaders, MVPs, record holders, multiple record holders, etc. The final category would be, as JoeBlogs has considered, the Hall of Fame of Hall of Famers, people so great they transcend categories. This would make the Hallway of Fame less exclusive overall like the playoffs nowadays, but also recognize the different types of fame, which isn't a bad thing.
The Aaron/Ruth/Mays of the Cosmos Club is: Alexander Graham Bell.
Cy Young must have meant George Gibson? I don't know a Charlie Gibson that fits there? Seems ol' Cy must have had a thing for tough, winning catchers - Lou Criger, George Gibson, Oscar Stanage . . .
Great article. I look forward to the HOF announcement every year and the debates that come with it. I have been thinking about the inconsistency of the BBWAA voters over the years & what players get elected vs who falls off the ballot. So many of the snubs were victims of timing (over-crowded ballots, careers that were not fully appreciated when they retired, shifting of the voting body and trends). There should be a better way to give some of these players another chance that doesn't involve the committees, which we know are flawed and limited. For example, the writers have elected or will most likely elect the following players, but not their contemporaries: (I'm not including players that have controversary following them)
Beltran and Andruw Jones, but not Lofton, Edmonds, or Dewey
Utley, but not Whitaker or Grich
Rolen, but not Nettles or Boyer
Mauer (and most likely Posey and Molina soon), but not Munson or Freehan
King Felix, but not Santana, who was a direct contemporary who was better
Catfish, but not Tiant or Lolich
Heck, Hamels might not be elected, but he's over 30% in his first year. Then look at the lack of support for Cone, Orel, Stieb, Saberhagen, Hudson, etc.
To me, the overcrowded ballot issue is the most fixable. Ballots have been limited to 10 votes per year even as the number of players per year have expanded. Raise the limit to 12 or 13 and alot of this issue could have been solved.
For me, I love baseball as a piece of my growing up and following the game. But, my personal Hall of Fame is more about the heroes of the team of my youth the original Washington Nats. Roy Sievers is in my hall of fame, even though he struck out in his one All Star at bat. Eddie Yost who was a stalwart at 3rd base for years, Juan Ramos who lost 23 games in one season but was still good enough to hold his place in the rotation. These guys are as much All Stars in my personal Hall of Fame as Duke Snider, Peewee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges (who ended managing the new Washington Senators), etc, from my ancestral home team in Brooklyn.
“They may or may not (probably not) remember Bob Hope or Warren Harding or Mae West … but they will remember Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson.” Pretty much tells the tale!
It may abut, or open to, the mall, (although mall is stretching it a bit, it's one of those weird underground shopping/food court areas Toronto has in the downtown that extends for many kilometres), but it has its own building and entry on the corner of Yonge and Front streets.
Planning my second trip - but my first with my son (who will be 10) this summer. Thanks, Joe, for this article. No one is changing anyone's mind about anything about inclusion of players. But the museum part is amazing, the town is charming, and the gift shop is excellent. It's so oft-said as to be trite... but the plaque room is the least interesting thing about Cooperstown and the Hall. I'm looking forward to going again.
The hall's inclusion process has corrupted the institution. It's not hard to to tell the entire story of a player. Bud Selig, the architect of the steroid era, is in but the bricklayers are excluded?
I like the Bill James description the most, and it's why I think the standards for the Hall of Fame must be rigorously guarded
In "Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame" Bill James summed up a long chapter (Chapter 23) and concluded that the Hall of Fame is "a museum run by an accountant." (p. 307)
I need to re-read that book
I know it’s a throwaway line but Omar Vizquel did not play mind blowing defense… which is why his HOF candidacy was always silly.
He was a good defensive shortstop but I’m not sure he was ever even the best in the league for a single season.
I agree with this. Omar's 11 Gold Gloves and 2877 hits were his only HOF arguments. He was not a good hitter (82 OPS+), not the best base runner (404 SB for 72nd all-time, but with 167 caught stealing for 19th all-time), and only 2.5 WAR per 162 games. Only three AS games and only received MVP votes once (16th place in 1999). His WAR of 45.6 is 32nd amongst SS, but it took him a lot of games to compile his numbers.
Despite all that, he received over 50% of the vote in 2020 and was almost assuredly on his way to being elected until the terrible things he did came to light.
Some great defensive players make hard plays look routine and thus are underrated. I have a feeling that Omar made a lot of routine plays look hard and is overrated due to all his flashy highlights.
He would need to be close to Ozzie Smith level to get in to the HOF on that basis and he wasn’t even remotely near that defensively.
The Hockey Hall of Fame is in a bank. It's the museum part that's in a mall.
But we get your point.
Cooperstown is charming. I had no idea when I and two of my kids took the “schlep” in 2001, just after HOF weekend and before 9/11 hit. We ended up spending the night so we could do two days in the HOF and see more of the town. The variety of baseball merch was outlandish, and delightful, both in the HOF and in the town.
"An America that never existed except as an idea."
I'm ever so glad you included that thought.
Because - as Mr. Posnanski will be acutely aware - 1950s America was the America of Jim Crow, HUAC, and the Termination Policy. The 'simpler, sweeter' America reified by some depended very much on who you were.
And I know, he's writing about baseball here. But in these times when hateful ideas are not just being spoken by politicians but are being put into bloody practice on American streets, in many ways in the name of that America that never existed, it's important to keep in mind the story of the past that we choose to tell. To not accept the curated, whitewashed lies.
Anyway, Mr. Posnanski's thoughts about baseball are as incisive and fascinating as always. He thinks a lot about dreams, and so do I. I'm very glad to have baseball (among other things) as a pleasant thing to think about when the clamour becomes too much.
I just also think - and again, appreciate very much that this was signposted here - that especially when we talk about the past, in these fractious times, we must be sure to do so with honesty.
How about electing all the morally compromised great players, but there’s no induction ceremony for them until after they’re dead. And each of their plaques has an asterisk on it.
I think the Hall of Fame should be the Hallway of Fame.
At the Cosmos Club in DC, there's a winding hallway where members names are listed in increasing order of impressiveness: Award winners, ambassadors, Representatives, Senators, Presidents, etc. The last, most impressive two categories are my favorite. Members on US Stamps, then Members on Foreign Stamps. (The latter has exactly one member. Can you guess it? Answer below.)
I think the Hall of Fame could be organized the same way: One Titanic Play (The Bucky Fkn Dent Nook), humanitarians (Clemente Corner), category leaders, MVPs, record holders, multiple record holders, etc. The final category would be, as JoeBlogs has considered, the Hall of Fame of Hall of Famers, people so great they transcend categories. This would make the Hallway of Fame less exclusive overall like the playoffs nowadays, but also recognize the different types of fame, which isn't a bad thing.
The Aaron/Ruth/Mays of the Cosmos Club is: Alexander Graham Bell.
Cy Young must have meant George Gibson? I don't know a Charlie Gibson that fits there? Seems ol' Cy must have had a thing for tough, winning catchers - Lou Criger, George Gibson, Oscar Stanage . . .
Great article joe. The montville quote was particularly on target
Great article. I look forward to the HOF announcement every year and the debates that come with it. I have been thinking about the inconsistency of the BBWAA voters over the years & what players get elected vs who falls off the ballot. So many of the snubs were victims of timing (over-crowded ballots, careers that were not fully appreciated when they retired, shifting of the voting body and trends). There should be a better way to give some of these players another chance that doesn't involve the committees, which we know are flawed and limited. For example, the writers have elected or will most likely elect the following players, but not their contemporaries: (I'm not including players that have controversary following them)
Beltran and Andruw Jones, but not Lofton, Edmonds, or Dewey
Utley, but not Whitaker or Grich
Rolen, but not Nettles or Boyer
Mauer (and most likely Posey and Molina soon), but not Munson or Freehan
King Felix, but not Santana, who was a direct contemporary who was better
Catfish, but not Tiant or Lolich
Heck, Hamels might not be elected, but he's over 30% in his first year. Then look at the lack of support for Cone, Orel, Stieb, Saberhagen, Hudson, etc.
To me, the overcrowded ballot issue is the most fixable. Ballots have been limited to 10 votes per year even as the number of players per year have expanded. Raise the limit to 12 or 13 and alot of this issue could have been solved.
For me, I love baseball as a piece of my growing up and following the game. But, my personal Hall of Fame is more about the heroes of the team of my youth the original Washington Nats. Roy Sievers is in my hall of fame, even though he struck out in his one All Star at bat. Eddie Yost who was a stalwart at 3rd base for years, Juan Ramos who lost 23 games in one season but was still good enough to hold his place in the rotation. These guys are as much All Stars in my personal Hall of Fame as Duke Snider, Peewee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges (who ended managing the new Washington Senators), etc, from my ancestral home team in Brooklyn.
Ira Lourie
Thanks, Joe. Cooperstown is a beloved space for folks who love baseball and the history of a game we played and enjoy for a lifetime.
“They may or may not (probably not) remember Bob Hope or Warren Harding or Mae West … but they will remember Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson.” Pretty much tells the tale!
THE hockey Hall of Fame (in Toronto), is not in a shopping mall.
Hi Joe! It's in Brookfield Place, is it not?
I’ve been the Hockey Hall of Fame and it felt like it was in a shopping center aka “Mall”.
It may abut, or open to, the mall, (although mall is stretching it a bit, it's one of those weird underground shopping/food court areas Toronto has in the downtown that extends for many kilometres), but it has its own building and entry on the corner of Yonge and Front streets.
Planning my second trip - but my first with my son (who will be 10) this summer. Thanks, Joe, for this article. No one is changing anyone's mind about anything about inclusion of players. But the museum part is amazing, the town is charming, and the gift shop is excellent. It's so oft-said as to be trite... but the plaque room is the least interesting thing about Cooperstown and the Hall. I'm looking forward to going again.
The hall's inclusion process has corrupted the institution. It's not hard to to tell the entire story of a player. Bud Selig, the architect of the steroid era, is in but the bricklayers are excluded?