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With less then a month until voting is complete we continue our ongoing look at the players who make up this years Hall of Fame ballot.

Harold Baines - 22 years, .289/.356/.465, 384 HR, 1628 RBI, 1299 R, 34 SB
Awards: 6 time All-Star, 1 silver slugger
Trademark: pioneer to modern DH

Below average defender becomes key DH ingredient could be the tag line for Harold Baines career. Baines spent most his career with th Chicago White Sox but also had quite a few runs with the Baltimore Orioles and also had stops in Texas and Cleveland. Baines had 2 seasons of 25-plus homers and topped 100 RBI just three times. Baines finished his career with 2866 career hits at the age of 42. A lifetime .289 hitter who reached most of his numbers purely on the 22 years he was able to play and the 9908 at-bats he was able to amass. Baines deserves to be in the White Sox Hall of Fame and may be a good coach but he just does not have the numbers to stand out from his peers.

Bert Blyleven - 22 years, 287-250, 3.31 ERA, 242 CG, 60 SHO
Awards: 2 time All-Star
Trademark: from the Netherlands

Some argue that had Bert Blyleven not played on such awful teams he would have surpassed 300 wins and already been in the hall. With that being said Blyleven had 10 years of 15 or more wins and ranked in the top 10 in ERA ten times. Blyleven was a lock to be on the strikeout, complete game, and WHIP list each year. In addition all comparable pitchers to Blyleven are in the hall with the exception of Tommy John who is also still on the ballot. Other positives that his HOF standards and HOF Monitor (baseball-reference.com) are both above that of a likely Hall of Famer. His Gray Ink numbers are well above many who are already in the hall.

Dave Concepcion - 19 years, .267/.322/.357, 101 HR, 950 RBI, 993 R, 321 SB
Awards: 9 time All-Sar, 1982 All-Star game MVP, 5 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers, 2 World Series rings
Trademark: Being a intigal part of the Big Red machine

Concepcion played short for one of the best teams in baseball. As a part of the Cincinnati Reds he was a part of a team that won two World Series and multiple division titles. His best RBI season was 84 in 1979 when he also set a career best with 91 runs scored and 16 homers. He only notched 75 or more runs scored two times in his career and only stole 30 or more bases twice. Concepcion owes a lot of perceived success to the Big Red machine.

Andre ‘Hawk’ Dawson - 21 years, .279/.323/.482, 438 HR, 1591 RBI, 1373 R, 314 SB
Awards: 8 time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, ML Hutch Award, 8 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Sluggers
Trademark: The Hawk was the face of baseball in Montreal

Andre Dawson burst into the NL and won the 1977 rookie of the year awarad. Dawson would hit 25 homers the next two seasons and would win 8 gold gloves in the 1980’s. He topped 20 homers 13 times highlighted by his 1987 MVP season in which he hit 49 and had a career best 137 RBI. It wasn’t until he jumped to the AL at the age of 38 that his career began to tail off. Last season he received just 56.7% of the 75% necessary for induction. One of the best stories about Dawson is that of that magical 1987 season. Dawson badly wanted to sign with the Cubs and even went to the extent of offering a blank check to then GM Dallas Green. Green eventually gave Dawson $500,000 as a base salary with incentives if he made the All-Star game, started it and then won the MVP award. Of course Dawson did all three. Dawson ended his career with 438 homers a number that would almost ensure induction had it not

Rich Gossage - 22 years, 124-107, 3.01 ERA, 310 SV
Awards: 9 time All-Star, 1 Rolaids Relief award
Trademark: Being one of the most reliable relievers of his time

True Gossage played 12 more seasons then Rob Nen and has 4 less career saves but in the 80’s the closer’s role wasn’t as defiined as it is now. Gossage ocassionaly came into games in the 8th inning and  and pitched 80-plus innings 8 times.,a feat Nen did just twice. A 9 time All-Star Gossage saved the bulk of his games for the Yankees in the late 70’s and into the 80’s. Some nocks on Gossage include that he saved 13 or fewers games the last seven years of his career or from the age of 35 on. Of course Bruce Sutter was inducted a few years ago and he played just 12 seasons as a closer and racked up 300 saves. Gossage and Sutter both received a ton of sympathy due to the fact they were “pioneers” to the closers role.  I’ve never felt too strong about either but understand their contributions. On the other hand Sutter did seem to accomplish more in a shorter span.

Tommy John - 26 years, 288-231, 3.34 ERA, 162 CG, 46 SHO
Awards: 4 time All-Star, Hutch Award, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
Trademark: Shoulder surgery named after him

I really should write a larger piece on the career of John. His 288 wins are the most of a player not in the hall. He’s been on the ballot since 1994. With his career believed to be over he underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive surgery in 1974. This is the elbow ligament that can be damaged by repeated throwing. The surgery takes ligament from one part of the body to replace it. After returning from surgery he picked up 164 wins and pitched another 15 seasons. He was recently elected into the Indiana Baseball hall of fame. The biggest knock on John is that he only had 4 years of 15 or more wins and missed 300 wins by 12. Similar pitchers to him are in the hall including Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins and Early Wynn.

Don Mattingly -14 years, .307/.358/.471, 222 HR, 1099 RBI, 1007 R, 14 SB
Awards: 6 time All-Star, 1 MVP award, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, 9 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers
Trademark: Bushy mustache

Had Don Mattingly not succumb to back pain at the age of 34 it’s likely it would have been him and not Tino Martinez anchoring first for the Yankees during their World Series run. Instead Mattingly never won a World Series and was able to play just 14 seasons. What a 14 seasons it was though. Mattingly drove in 100 RBI’s 5 times including a career best 145 during his 1985 MVP season. That season also saw his career best of 35 homers which stand out due to Mattingly not being much of a power hitter. He would only hit 20 or more homers 6 times in his career. Mattingly was the steady force on a Yankee franchise in transition. Had he played another five seasons I could make a real strong case for him.

Mark McGwire - 16 years, .263/.394/.588, 583 HR, 1414 RBI, 1167 R, 12 SB
Awards: 12 time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, 1 Gold Glove, 3 silver sluggers
Trademark: Breaking Roger Maris’ record for homers in a season

I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about Big Mac. If not for sterioud suspecions he’d already be in the hall. McGwire refused to answer if he had ever used steriods when asked infront of congress. McGwire’s best season was in 1998 when he broke Roger Maris’ record for homers in a season by hitting 70. He also had a career best 162 RBI that season. McGwire  hit 35 or more homers 8 times in his 16 year career and had 100 RBI or more 7 times. McGwire retired following a 2001 season in w hich he hit just .187 but managed 29 homers despite just 59 hits on the season. This is his second year on the ballot, have his chances increased? With all the light on steriods this year my guess is hell no.

Jack Morris - 18 years, 254-186, 4.08 ERA, 175 CG, 28 SHO
Awards: 5 time All-Star, 2 time Babe Ruth Award winner, World Series MVP, 4 World Series Rings
Trademark: 1991 World Series

Jack Morris had 12 years of 15 or more wins in his 18 year career. He pitched three different franchises to World Series rings and was considered one tough individual. The crowing moment of his career was a 10 inning outting in the decisive game 7 which saw the Minnesota Twins go from worst to first. He never won a CY Young but did finish in the top 5 five times. Following his retirment from the game he has acted as a television broadcaster for both the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins. The biggest knock on Morris is he played in pitcher parks and posted a 3.90 career ERA. Morris was not your ideal number one starter but a darn good pitcher nonetheless.

Dale Murphy - 18 years, .265/.346/.469, 398 HR, 1266 RBI, 1197 R, 161 SB
Awards: 7 time All-Star, 2 time MVP, Lou Gehrig Memorial Awward, Roberto Clemente Award, 5 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Sluggers
Trademark: Mr. Clean, Drug Awareness

Few big leaguers have been so outspoken about drugs and alcohol as Dale Murphy. Murphy began his career as a catcher but after hitting a pitcher in the back on a throw to second turned to the outfield. Murphy won multiple gold gloves and back to back MVP awards in 1982 and 1983. Murphy hit 30 plus homers 6 times and finished with 398. He was the face of an Atlanta Braves franchise for 13 years until he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He finished up his career with the Colorado Rockies failing in his quest to hit two more homers to reach 400. Had he reached that number it’s very likely he would be in the hall today. Murphy was never the same hitter after a career best 44 homers in 1987. The final six years of his career reflect numbers of a guy trying to hang on. Overall his numbers reflect a player who was right on the boarder of very good and great. Murphy’s numbers are positively reflected in Black and Gary Ink.

Dave Parker - 19 years, .290/.339/.471, 339 HR, 1493 RBI, 1272 R, 154 SB
Awards: 7 time All-Star, NL MVP, All-Star game MVP, 3 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers, 2 World Series rings
Trademark: 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates

Dave Parker was a large part of the 1979 Pirates run to the World Series trophy but it was the previous season that earned him NL MVP honors. Overall Parker hit 25 plus homers six times and 100 or more RBI four times. He was a good player for a large amount of years but never seemed to be truely dominating. In addition Parker missed considerable time during his career due to injury and his on base habits left things to be desired.

Jim Rice - 16 years, .298/.352/.502, 382 HR, 1451 RBI, 1249 R, 58 SB
Awards: 8 time All-Star, AL MVP, 2 Silver Sluggers
Trademark: 16 years all with the Red Sox

Jim Rice was a constant in the MVP voting including six times in the top five including the 1978 year in which he won the award with a career bet 46 homers and 139 RBI. In his 16 year career he hit 25 plus homers seven times and notched 100 or more RBI 8 times. The end came fast for Rice. During the final three season’s he never hit above .277,a  number he had topped each season with the exception of his first year. Rice retired after an awful 1989 season in which he hit just .234. Rather then hang on Rice retired following that 1989 season at the age of 36. Rice finished with 2452 career hits.

Lee Smith - 18 years, 71-92, 3.03 ERA, 478 SV
Awards: 7 time All-Star, 3 Rolaids Relief Awards

Lee Smith retired with a major league best 478 saves, a number that has since been broken only by Trevor Hoffman. Despite that and 11 years of 30 or more saves including 4 years of 40 or more he has been left out of the hall so far. Some have argued he didn’t pitch in that many close games, though one could point out that Smith did save 478 games and with how much emphisis is placed on saves these days he did it largely during the early 80’s. SOme say he didn’t pitch enough innings though he did notch 80 or more innings eight times. Frankly I think it’s a little unfair to discriminate Smith yet priase guys like Bruce Sutter and Rich Gossage for being closers in the 80’s.

Alan Trammell - 20 years, .285/.352/.415, 185 HR, 1003 RBI, 1231 R, 236 SB
Awards: 6 time All-Star, WS MVP, 4 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers, World Series ring
Trademark: dependable

If only Cal Ripken didn’t play in the AL. That is what Alan Trammell must think of his hall of fame chances. Trammell played most of his career in the shadow of Ripken. Never the power hitter Ripken was, Trammell instead hit for solid average, stole bases and drew a good share of walks. In 1984 he was selected as the MVP of the World Series in which he led the Detroit Tigers to the World Series. His best season was the 1987 season in which he hit .343 with 28 homers and 105 RBI. It was the only season in which he topped 25 homers and 100 RBI. An average season for Trammell consisted of 70-plus RBI and 13 homers. On the side of fielding Trammel was far above those of his time evident by his 4 gold gloves, though he recorded none after 1984 and the emerage of Ripken’s bat. Trammell’s numbers are almost identical to those of Barry Larkin.

In closing

This is a great chance for guys who have been on the ballot before to make it into the hall. Below are the percetange these players received last seaosn.

Gossage 71.2
Rice 63.5
Dawson 56.7
Blyleven 47.7
Smith 39.8
Morris 37.1
McGwire 23.5
John 22.9
Trammell 13.4
Parker 11.4
Mattingly 9.9
Murphy 9.2
Baines 5.3

It’s always hard to predict how these writers are going to vote. Gossage seems almost certain to make it this year after coming so close last year and seeing the 2006 induction of Bruce Sutter. I also suspect Jim Rice to make a surge this season as well Blyleven and maybe Tommy John to a lesser extent. Dawson remains a wild card and unfortuntaley there hasn’t seemed to be too much name pushing when it comes to Trammell. Baines is the one guy I can see falling off the ballot for next season.

Frankly I could pull stats and comparisons and make a strong case for atleast seven of these players to be in the hall. Will they get their chance?

New to the Ballot

Brady Anderson
Rod Beck
Shawon Dunston
Chuck Finley
Travis Fryman
David Justice
Chuck Knoblauch
Rob Nen
Tim Raines
Jose Rijo
Todd Stottlemyre