Posted on 01/01/2002 5:54:14 AM PST by jmccoy1252
Hi fellow freepers! How about a little MLB Hall of Fame talk. Ozzie Smith, shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals is up for election to the Hall this year. My question is this, Is the Wizard of Oz a first ballot HOF'er? I have follwed baseball since 1975, and I have never seen a better defensive short stop in the game. Ozzie won 14 straight gold gloves between 1980 and 1992. I still say the greatest defensive play I have ever seen by an infielder was when he barehanded a ground ball and threw the runner out at first base. That was against the Braves either in 1978 or 1979. Some people will argue that Ozzie didn't hit enough to get into the hall of fame at all, much less on the first ballot. Oz was a poor hitter for the first 4 years of his career, but he slowly improved and by 1987, he had a .303 batting average. Also, don't forget the element of speed Oz brought to the game, he stole 580 bases in his career. Ozzie is and was a great ambassador for the game, so in my opinion, yes he is a first ballot HOF'er. The only short stops playing today I would take over Ozzie are A-Rod and Jeter, who are both future HOF'ers in their own right.
IMO, Gary Carter is belongs in the HOF, but shouldn't have gone in on the first ballot (and still hasn't gone in, obviously). The difference is that while he was a great catcher and has solid HOF credentials, he isn't Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella or Johnny Bench.
Similarly, I thought it was a sham a few years back when George Brett and Robin Yount went in together as first-ballot picks. Brett, I believe was clearly a first-ballot pick while Yount -- if he went in at all -- certainly didn't have the overwhelming numbers to put him in immediately. Have you ever wondered why Yount went in on the first ballot and Dale Murphy and Jim Rice, among others with similar credentials, are still on the outside looking in?
I know, No! What many of these baseball fans don't seem to understand or know themselves is that the Wizard re-defined the way shortstop was played. Without Ozzie, the current crop of "great" defensive shortstops may never have become great. Ozzie let the world know what could be done. He is to baseball what Dr. J was to basketball.
Not only was Oz's ability to pick the ball unmatched, his ability to "get the runner" was amazing. I wish I had the photo of him almost parallel to the ground while letting go with a throw that did get the out. Perhaps only those of us from towns where he played his best ball can really understand how almost miraculous his play was.
His homerun against the Dodgers was icing on the cake. Ozzie made baseball fun again for many, many people. And don't forget the many years he led ALL players in voting for the All-Star ballot.
We St. Louis Cardinals' fans were blessed with his presence as was the city, the metro area and all of baseball.
And while it would be an honor for him to be voted in on the first ballot, Oz is so humble, I'm sure he is just stunned that such an honor should even be discussed.
Santo should have been a lock. When someone is the premiere player in their leage at a position for ten years, they should go into the Hall of Fame. It shouldn't always be about cumulative career offensive stats. That's
That would also put Ozzie Smith in there.
Tony Oliva too.
Hopefully with living Hall of Faners now having a say about who gets in, some of the oversights of the past will be rectified.
Because Yount had 3,000 hits. Yet, he was a .285 career hitter and only broke .300 six times in twenty seasons in the bigs. Despite his hit total, he probably wouldn't have been on my first ballot. He's a classic example of how longevity can get you to Cooperstown. So, I agree with you.
For my money, the most deserving player who isn't in the Hall is Bert Blyleven. He's only the fourth-leading strikeout pitcher of all time, but despite two Series rings (two more than Yount) he spent the majority of his career on poor teams and didn't win 300 games (stopped at 287).
He's also the only inactive member of the all-time top ten in Ks who isn't in the Hall. It's time.
Santo would be making 12 million a year or more, if he were playing today.
Interesting bit of Santo trivia: I believe he was the first player to exercise the 10 year / 5year clause and veto a trade to another team. This preceded Free Agency, and was the first actual victory by any player over any facet of the old Reserve Clause.
They've finally gotten Orlando Cepeda, Tony Perez, and Bill Mazeroski into the Hall. Oliva is deserving.
Other than a couple of rings, their are a lot of similarities between the careers Tony-O and Kirby Puckett. Oliva has more Silver Bats, though, including one as Rookie of the year.
Also yes: Gary Carter, Ryne Sandberg (next year, I think).
Tough calls: Andre Dawson, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter, Jim Rice
Close, but no cigar: Ron Santo, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Joe Carter, Alan Trammell, Tony Oliva.
As for Kurt Warner possibly if he keeps rolling the way he has been, along with another ring.
T.D, as of right now no way.
I believe you are right.
I have followed MLB since 1961 and have been to a gazillion Braves games since 1966.
The Wizard of Oz is, without a doubt, the finest glove man I have ever seen and a clutch performer to boot.
No question....a first rounder if I have ever seen one.
Having watched Dale Murphy for many years....nice guy, maybe Honorable Mention... but NOT Hall of Fame material.
I couldn't agree with you more. Quite frankly, I've always thought that to be in the HOF requires a unanimous vote. After all, you either are or are not of that caliber. To say that, among recent entrants, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan were not amongst the best players of all time is horsecrap. But then again, the very fact that some idiot sports writers with grudges will not vote for someone based solely upon personality (witness the inexplicable absence of votes for Jim Rice) makes my idea pure fantasy.
Agreed. Hopefully Kirby's appearance on the dais this year will remind people of Oliva's talent. It's a shame he had to play the last four years of his career basically on one leg.
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