http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/bernieclemente/190051
1,500 RBI's - Hall of Fame?
Apr 24, 2009 02:02 PM |
Jim Thome is knocking on the door of becoming the 50th player in Major League Baseball history to join the 1,500 RBI club.
1,500 RBI's is a big number. That is 15 years of 100 RBI's. You have to been good, and sustain that excellence to reach that mark.
Only 15 players who have reached that milestone are not in the Hall of Fame.
4. Barry Bonds, 1996
14. Rafael Palmerio, 1835
18. Ken Griffey Jr, 1774
19. Manny Ramirez, 1737
21. Frank Thomas, 1704
24. Sammy Sosa, 1667
27. Gary Sheffield, 1634
28. Harold Baines, 1628
30. Alex Rodriguez, 1606
34. Andre Dawson, 1591
40. Fred McGriff, 1,550
44. Jeff Bagwell, 1529
47. Jeff Kent, 1518
49. Carlos Delgado, 1503
50. Jim Thome, 1,499
Griffey, Ramirez, Thomas, and Kent will all be enshirned once eligiable, so that leaves 11.
Bonds, Palmerio, Sosa, Sheffield, Rodriguez all have been liked to PEDs.
That leaves Baines, Dawson, McGriff, Bagwell, Delgado, and Thome.
Harold Baines
Baines is one of the most deserving players that doesn't get thrown into the Hall conversation.
He never had the 'peak' dominant run, was not a pereninal MVP candidate, only played in six All-Star games, and played most of his career as a DH.
Still, in 22 seasons, Harold spots a career line of .289/.356/.465, with 2,866 hits, 1,299 runs, 488 doubles, 384 home runs, 1,062 walks, and a 120 OPS+. And he hit .324 in 100 plus post-season at-bats.
Those look like Hall of Fame numbers to me. The only player who has more hits than Baines who isn't eligiable for Hall or used steroids is Pete Rose.
In his third year on the ballot in 2009, Baines received personal highes of 32 votes and 5.9%. He's got aways to go, and it is still surprising, that his name at least doesn't come up for disucssion.
Andre Dawson
Andre Dawson has the awards on his resume, MVP, two MVP runner-ups, Rookie of the Year, 8x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove Winner; and will likely be enshirned within the next year or two.
He was a 5-tool player. He is only one of six members of the 300 HR/300 SB club, and in addition, won eight gold gloves, and is 7th in the all-times Power/Speed Number by baseball-reference.com.
In 21 seasons, Dawson compiled a career line of .279/.323/.482, with 2,774 hits, 1,373 runs, 503 doubles, 98 triples, 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI's, 314 SB's, and a 119 OPS+.
Next year will be The Hawk's ninth year on the ballot, and his votes have increased each season, topping out last year at 361 votes and 67%. I'm not certain about this, but I think that no one has ever got that high, without eventually being elected.
Fred McGriff
The Crime Dog was one of baseball premier home run hitters before the Steroid era exploded in the 90s. He was consistent too, 15 staright years of 20 HR's and 80 RBI's or more (actually hit 19 HR in '88.)
He only was selected to 5 All-Star games, but was in the top 10 in MVP voting each year during his prime.
In 19 seasons, McGriff racked-up a career line of .284/.377/.509 with 2,490 hits, 1,349 runs, 441 doubles, 493 home runs, 1,550 RBI's, 1,305 walks, and a 134 OPS+. He also hit over .300 in 200 plus post-season plate apperances and was a main piece to the Braves '95 World Championship.
This year will be the first that McGriff is elgiable for voting, and it will be interesting to see how he does. Will the voters recognize some of the pre-emminit sluggers of the era that were not linked to PED's?
Jeff Bagwell
If it wasn't for a bum shoulder, Bagwell would have likely been a first ballot Hall of Famer, as it stands now, he still has a pretty good shot an enshirnment. He also could of had one of the all-time great seasons in 1994 had the season not been cut short with the player's strike (check out the numbers - http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bagweje01.shtml)
Bagwell hit for power, scored a lot of runs, drew a ton of walks, and ran pretty well for a first baseman (first 30/30 1B in MLB history).
In just 15 seasons, Bagwell accumlated a career line of .297/.408/.540 with 2,314 hits, 1,517 runs, 488 doubles, 449 home runs, 1,529 RBI's, 202 SB's, 1,401 walks and an OPS+ of 149.
Bagwell first becomes elgiable for the Hall of Fame in 2011. Despite a relatively shorter career, his numbers stand up pretty well, and he could get some extra votes for playing his entire career with one team.
Carlos Delgado
Delgado who turns 37 in late June, is the final year of his contract with the New York Mets, and is just 28 home runs shy of 500. Despite a down '07, he bounced back strong last season and could have a couple more productive seasons left in him.
He has been a Top 10 home run hitter in 10 of the last 11 years, finishing 3rd last year. He was also among the leaders in slugging or OPS in every season during his prime.
In 15 seasons, Delgado so far has a career line of .280/.383/.546 with 2,026 hits, 1,233 runs, 480 doubles, 472 home runs, 1,503 RBI's, 1,103 walks, and an OPS+ of 138.
His power numbers are just about there, and if he plays a few more seasons, the rest of the numbers will make it tough to leave him out.
Jim Thome
Thome is 18th in career on-base plus slugging, 15th in career walks, and 4th in at bats per home run.
He has always been a slugger, and has had the ability to draw walks, get on base, and score runs.
Thome, who turns 39 in August, is the final year of his contract with the Chicago White Sox, after finishing 4th in the AL with 34 HR's last year, so he can still do his thing.
In 19 season, to this point, Thome has a career line of .279/.405/.560 with 2,059 hits, 1,441 runs, 398 doubles, 545 home runs, 1,499 RBI's, 1,557 walks and an OPS+ of 149.
500 bombs used to be a gold-standard Hall of Famer, you add 1,500 RBI's, Runs, and Walks, then Thome deserves to be in.
1,500 RBI's - Hall of Fame?
Apr 24, 2009 02:02 PM |
Jim Thome is knocking on the door of becoming the 50th player in Major League Baseball history to join the 1,500 RBI club.
1,500 RBI's is a big number. That is 15 years of 100 RBI's. You have to been good, and sustain that excellence to reach that mark.
Only 15 players who have reached that milestone are not in the Hall of Fame.
4. Barry Bonds, 1996
14. Rafael Palmerio, 1835
18. Ken Griffey Jr, 1774
19. Manny Ramirez, 1737
21. Frank Thomas, 1704
24. Sammy Sosa, 1667
27. Gary Sheffield, 1634
28. Harold Baines, 1628
30. Alex Rodriguez, 1606
34. Andre Dawson, 1591
40. Fred McGriff, 1,550
44. Jeff Bagwell, 1529
47. Jeff Kent, 1518
49. Carlos Delgado, 1503
50. Jim Thome, 1,499
Griffey, Ramirez, Thomas, and Kent will all be enshirned once eligiable, so that leaves 11.
Bonds, Palmerio, Sosa, Sheffield, Rodriguez all have been liked to PEDs.
That leaves Baines, Dawson, McGriff, Bagwell, Delgado, and Thome.
Harold Baines
Baines is one of the most deserving players that doesn't get thrown into the Hall conversation.
He never had the 'peak' dominant run, was not a pereninal MVP candidate, only played in six All-Star games, and played most of his career as a DH.
Still, in 22 seasons, Harold spots a career line of .289/.356/.465, with 2,866 hits, 1,299 runs, 488 doubles, 384 home runs, 1,062 walks, and a 120 OPS+. And he hit .324 in 100 plus post-season at-bats.
Those look like Hall of Fame numbers to me. The only player who has more hits than Baines who isn't eligiable for Hall or used steroids is Pete Rose.
In his third year on the ballot in 2009, Baines received personal highes of 32 votes and 5.9%. He's got aways to go, and it is still surprising, that his name at least doesn't come up for disucssion.
Andre Dawson
Andre Dawson has the awards on his resume, MVP, two MVP runner-ups, Rookie of the Year, 8x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove Winner; and will likely be enshirned within the next year or two.
He was a 5-tool player. He is only one of six members of the 300 HR/300 SB club, and in addition, won eight gold gloves, and is 7th in the all-times Power/Speed Number by baseball-reference.com.
In 21 seasons, Dawson compiled a career line of .279/.323/.482, with 2,774 hits, 1,373 runs, 503 doubles, 98 triples, 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI's, 314 SB's, and a 119 OPS+.
Next year will be The Hawk's ninth year on the ballot, and his votes have increased each season, topping out last year at 361 votes and 67%. I'm not certain about this, but I think that no one has ever got that high, without eventually being elected.
Fred McGriff
The Crime Dog was one of baseball premier home run hitters before the Steroid era exploded in the 90s. He was consistent too, 15 staright years of 20 HR's and 80 RBI's or more (actually hit 19 HR in '88.)
He only was selected to 5 All-Star games, but was in the top 10 in MVP voting each year during his prime.
In 19 seasons, McGriff racked-up a career line of .284/.377/.509 with 2,490 hits, 1,349 runs, 441 doubles, 493 home runs, 1,550 RBI's, 1,305 walks, and a 134 OPS+. He also hit over .300 in 200 plus post-season plate apperances and was a main piece to the Braves '95 World Championship.
This year will be the first that McGriff is elgiable for voting, and it will be interesting to see how he does. Will the voters recognize some of the pre-emminit sluggers of the era that were not linked to PED's?
Jeff Bagwell
If it wasn't for a bum shoulder, Bagwell would have likely been a first ballot Hall of Famer, as it stands now, he still has a pretty good shot an enshirnment. He also could of had one of the all-time great seasons in 1994 had the season not been cut short with the player's strike (check out the numbers - http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bagweje01.shtml)
Bagwell hit for power, scored a lot of runs, drew a ton of walks, and ran pretty well for a first baseman (first 30/30 1B in MLB history).
In just 15 seasons, Bagwell accumlated a career line of .297/.408/.540 with 2,314 hits, 1,517 runs, 488 doubles, 449 home runs, 1,529 RBI's, 202 SB's, 1,401 walks and an OPS+ of 149.
Bagwell first becomes elgiable for the Hall of Fame in 2011. Despite a relatively shorter career, his numbers stand up pretty well, and he could get some extra votes for playing his entire career with one team.
Carlos Delgado
Delgado who turns 37 in late June, is the final year of his contract with the New York Mets, and is just 28 home runs shy of 500. Despite a down '07, he bounced back strong last season and could have a couple more productive seasons left in him.
He has been a Top 10 home run hitter in 10 of the last 11 years, finishing 3rd last year. He was also among the leaders in slugging or OPS in every season during his prime.
In 15 seasons, Delgado so far has a career line of .280/.383/.546 with 2,026 hits, 1,233 runs, 480 doubles, 472 home runs, 1,503 RBI's, 1,103 walks, and an OPS+ of 138.
His power numbers are just about there, and if he plays a few more seasons, the rest of the numbers will make it tough to leave him out.
Jim Thome
Thome is 18th in career on-base plus slugging, 15th in career walks, and 4th in at bats per home run.
He has always been a slugger, and has had the ability to draw walks, get on base, and score runs.
Thome, who turns 39 in August, is the final year of his contract with the Chicago White Sox, after finishing 4th in the AL with 34 HR's last year, so he can still do his thing.
In 19 season, to this point, Thome has a career line of .279/.405/.560 with 2,059 hits, 1,441 runs, 398 doubles, 545 home runs, 1,499 RBI's, 1,557 walks and an OPS+ of 149.
500 bombs used to be a gold-standard Hall of Famer, you add 1,500 RBI's, Runs, and Walks, then Thome deserves to be in.