Simmons broke the curse
Of Hall of Fame "One-and-done"
Is Oliver next?
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| 1986 Topps #775 Al Oliver |
Al Oliver has a surprisingly strong Hall of Fame case: over 2700 hits, a career .300 hitter, 7-time All-Star, MVP votes in 10 different seasons. Yet, on his first ballot appearance in 1991, he failed to get 5% of the vote. It didn't help that it was a stacked ballot, with 9 eventual Hall of Famers to compete with. It definitely didn't help to be compared with fellow 1st timer Rod Carew. Perhaps if the owners didn't collude to end his career after 1985, he could have hung on long enough to get to that 3,000 hit mark. Ted Simmons fell off the ballot after one yer and eventually made the Hall of Fame; perhaps Oliver could get another look?
I was just wondering how many non-HOFers collected 2,500 career hits and had a lifetime average over .300. Al Oliver would not have been one of my guesses.
ReplyDeleteWhoa. He had some solid career numbers. I'm always going to be personally drawn towards career .300 hitters, but I'd need a little more convincing before voting him into Cooperstown.
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