Election to Hall
A controversial topic
Many were better
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| 1989 Fleer #491 Harold Baines |
Rather than rehash the debate over Baines' worthiness, let's have some fun. Give me your best "If Harold Baines is in, then ______ should be in!" HOWEVER...you can only name players who have equaled or exceeded Baines' total of 6 All-Star Game selections and 1 Silver Slugger Award!
I'll start: If Harold Baines is in, then Dave Parker should be in! (Parker: 7 ASG, 3 SS)
This made me look up the crop of six-time All Stars which is interesting. All Star selection is based on your team so players who played for bad teams are more likely to be higher up, and ones who played for very good teams were squeezed out (though I'm surprised how spread out Baines's selections were, I thought it would be all mid-80's White Sox). Koufax had only six, but his career was a bit short. McCovey and Jim Palmer were the two that really surprised me. Both had such long careers, but I guess the Giants and Orioles were so dominant when they played that they often got overlooked. Maybe they were generally slow starters too, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteBy my count, there are 52 players who qualify, 23 of which are either still active or haven't been retired long enough to have appeared on a Hall ballot. The remaining 29 is a fascinating list, full of PED-linked players of course but some real eye-openers too!
DeleteLou Whitaker only made 5 all-star games, but I'd put him in. By the Harold Baines bar, Dale Murphy should be in. And Dave Parker, as you stated. Guys with the 6 AS / 1 SS that I wouldn't put in: Chase Utley, Willie Randolph, Magglio Ordonez, Bobby Bonilla, probably a bunch of others.
ReplyDeleteThat's such a classic Baines photo/pose. One of my faves of the "junk wax" era. Interesting question, and one that I'd definitely answer if it weren't for my upcoming 100 non-HOFers series. I'll say this though: All-Star Game appearances are tough to value. Bill Freehan has 11.
ReplyDeleteRobin Yount has three.
Barry Bonds :D
ReplyDelete