Is It The NL/AL Hall of Fame or….
Baseball is changing. First, major league baseball came to its senses and allowed those of African-American descent to take the field. After that, there was an increased Latin presence. Now we’re seeing the best the Far East has to offer. Who knows what the future holds? Might we see an significant influx from Eastern Europe or Australia?
It’s all good.
Along a related line—why is Josh Gibson enshrined in Cooperstown but Sadaharu Oh not?
Yr Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG 1959 20 YOM CL 94 193 18 31 7 1 7 25 24 72 .161 .253 .316 1960 21 YOM CL 130 426 49 115 19 3 17 71 67 101 .270 .369 .448 1961 22 YOM CL 127 396 50 100 25 6 13 53 64 72 .253 .357 .444 1962 23 YOM CL 134 497 79 135 28 2 38 85 72 99 .272 .364 .565 1963 24 YOM CL 140 478 111 146 30 5 40 106 123 64 .305 .448 .640 1964 25 YOM CL 140 472 110 151 24 0 55 119 119 81 .320 .457 .720 1965 26 YOM CL 135 428 104 138 19 1 42 104 138 58 .322 .488 .666 1966 27 YOM CL 129 396 111 123 14 1 48 116 142 51 .311 .493 .715 1967 28 YOM CL 133 426 94 139 22 3 47 108 130 65 .326 .484 .723 1968 29 YOM CL 131 442 107 144 28 0 49 119 121 72 .326 .471 .722 1969 30 YOM CL 130 452 112 156 24 0 44 103 111 61 .345 .474 .690 1970 31 YOM CL 129 425 97 138 24 0 47 93 119 48 .325 .472 .713 1971 32 YOM CL 130 434 92 120 18 2 39 101 121 65 .276 .434 .597 1972 33 YOM CL 130 456 104 135 19 0 48 120 108 43 .296 .431 .654 1973 34 YOM CL 130 428 111 152 18 0 51 114 124 41 .355 .500 .755 1974 35 YOM CL 130 385 105 128 18 0 49 107 158 44 .332 .527 .761 1975 36 YOM CL 128 393 77 112 14 0 33 96 123 62 .285 .455 .573 1976 37 YOM CL 122 400 99 130 11 1 49 123 125 45 .325 .486 .725 1977 38 YOM CL 130 432 114 140 15 0 50 124 126 37 .324 .477 .706 1978 39 YOM CL 130 440 91 132 20 0 39 118 114 43 .300 .444 .611 1979 40 YOM CL 120 407 73 116 15 0 33 81 89 48 .285 .413 .565 1980 41 YOM CL 129 444 59 105 10 0 30 84 72 47 .236 .343 .462 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTALS 2831 9250 1967 2786 422 25 868 2170 2390 1319 .301 .445 .634
Oh was a nine-time MVP. Like Gibson, he never played a game in MLB. Unlike Gibson, Oh’s numbers and accomplishments are on the public record.
This really isn’t about Oh or Gibson, it’s about recognizing baseball’s best wherever and whenever they played. Obviously there were other recognized “major leagues” that have players enshrined in Cooperstown: The Federal League, the American Association, the Players League, the Union Association and the National Association. However, it’s not as cut and dried as that.
Baseball, like a diamond, has many facets due to changes in society, as we outlined in the opening. Before the reserve clause was redefined after Messersmith/McNally, it was actually possible to be paid better in what were considered “minor leagues” than it was in the majors. Gus Zernial related that when the A’s wanted him to come on board, they asked him to take a pay cut. Of note, the Pacific Coast League seriously considered requesting major league status due to the high quality of play in the league.
Some players in the PCL might have had terrific major league careers, but opted to stay put for whatever reasons. Others, had they played after Ron Blomberg, might have had careers like Edgar Martinez—or better.
If Martinez takes a place in baseball’s hallowed Hall, why not a player who could’ve had an equally good career had circumstances been different? Here’s a quick list of some minor league greats:
BATTERS YEARS AB AVG R H 2B 3B HR RBI Buzz Arlett 1918-37 8001 .341 1610 2726 598 107 432 1786 Ike Boone 1920-37 6807 .370 1362 2521 477 128 215 1334 Bunny Brief 1910-28 8945 .331 1776 2963 594 152 340 1776 Nick Cullop 1920-44 8571 .312 1607 2670 523 147 420 1857 Ox Eckhardt 1925-40 7563 .367 1275 2773 455 146 66 1037 Hector Espino 1960-84 8605 .337 1597 2898 403 49 484 1678 Ray French 1914-41 12174 .267 1769 3254 590 129 46 1029 Spencer Harris 1921-48 11377 .318 2287 3617 743 150 258 1769 Joe Hauser 1918-42 6426 .299 1430 1923 340 116 399 1353 Smead Jolley 1922-41 8298 .366 1455 3037 612 75 334 1593 Jigger Statz 1920-42 10657 .315 1996 3356 595 137 66 1044 Perry Werden 1884-08 6233 .341 1214 2124 392 87 169 n/a
Some were anti-Mazeroskis: Tremendous bats, leaden gloves. Some hit very well when they were given playing time in the bigs: Smead Jolley had a 112 OPS+ in less than 2,000 AB; Buzz Arlett a 138 OPS+ in his only major league season (418 AB). Arlett also won more than 100 games as a pitcher before arm miseries in 1923 made him a full time outfielder.
Ike Boone had a 121 OPS+ in parts of eight ML seasons. Joe Hauser couldn’t stay healthy whenever he reached the majors but still was good for a 118 OPS+ in a bit over 2,000 AB.
Hector Espino’s career (1960-84) overlaps the DH era, but Espino simply didn’t care to play in the majors. Espino holds the minor league career home run record with 484; all but three of those were hit in Mexico. At the end of the 1964 Mexican League season, the 25-year-old first baseman, who had led the league with 46 homers and a .371 batting average, was sold by Monterrey to the St. Louis Cardinals’ Jacksonville farm club. He hit .300 with those three homers in 100 at-bats and was invited to spring training by the Cards for 1965, but he never reported and was eventually returned to Monterrey.
I’m not advocating the above for the Hall of Fame, but simply showing why a more comprehensive search for all-time greats might be warranted.
Switching gears, suppose Ichiro Suzuki plays only eight major league seasons. So far he’s a .330 ML hitter, owns two batting titles, has won six Gold Gloves, was a Rookie of the Year and an MVP, averaged 226 hits a season and owns the single season record for base hits. Do his .353/.435/.522, three NPB MVPs, seven batting titles and seven Gold Gloves count for nothing when evaluating his Hall of Fame worthiness?
For that matter, they’ve inducted Negro League stars, but why do they ignore players like Minnie Minoso, who built up part of his impressive résumé in the Negro Leagues?
A lot of tremendous players had amazing careers that, for one reason or another (lack of skill excluded), never got them significant major league time. Should they be exempted from baseball’s highest honor simply because the circumstances of history didn’t shake out in their favor? Or is Cooperstown only for players who happened to be born in the right time and place?
Josh Gibson might have hit 900 homers. Sadaharu Oh has 858 fully documented HR. Why is Gibson recognized? Because he played some baseball in the United States? Because he wasn’t allowed to play in MLB? What if Oh wasn’t allowed either? Is Cooperstown about greatness or geography?
Don’t forget, the best players pre-1947 didn’t play against the very best talent either. I’m not saying that the NPB, the CL, the old PCL, the NNL etc, should be given the same weight as the major leagues when evaluating candidates, What I am saying is that they should be part of equation. Is the baseball Hall of Fame about honoring the best players of selected leagues or about the best players to play the game, period?
Major league baseball is evolving and expanding. Our attempts at honoring the game’s very best should evolve with it.