Greatness in sports is an evergreen source of fun, research and debate for most fans, and the recent election of (IMO) borderline third baseman Scott Rolen to baseball’s hall of fame has sparked predictably lively discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my previous post<\/a> I mentioned that I wanted a tiered Hall of Fame, so I’ve decided to start one<\/a>. Bill Simmons did something similar a while back with his Hall of Fame Pyramid<\/a> for Basketball, but I think I’d like mine to be more inclusive than just 96 players. Here are my rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don’t have any magic numbers like 500 Home Runs or 300 Wins, although I’ll be surprised if anyone who hit those marks doesn’t at least make Tier 1. I am going to make non-scientific affordances to players who lost time to injury or military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever I have time, I’m going to pick 10 players at random and research if they should be accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Howie Fox<\/a> (1944-1954) – Not Accepted. A very average starting pitcher who spent most of his career with the Cincinnati Reds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Erv Palica<\/a> (1947-1956) – Not Accepted. A slightly below average utility pitcher who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnny Lanning<\/a> (1936-1947) – Not Accepted. A slightly above average utility pitcher who played for the Boston Bees (Braves) and Pittsburgh Pirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark Sweeney<\/a> (1995-2008) – Not Accepted. A below average utility fielder and frequent pinch hitter who played for a number of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Minton<\/a> (1975-1990) – Not Accepted. An above average relief pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants and California Angels. 1-time All star. Notable achievement: 2691<\/sup>?3<\/sub>\u00a0consecutive innings without giving up a home run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dick Radatz<\/a> (1962-1969) – Deferred<\/em>. An above average relief pitcher\/closer who had several great years for the Red Sox at the beginning of his career, becoming the first pitcher in history to have consecutive 20-save seasons, but struggled after that. Member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frank Francisco<\/a> (2004-2014) – Not Accepted. A slightly above average relief pitcher who played for the Texas Rangers and several other teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n George Kell<\/a> (1943-1957) – Accepted<\/strong>. A 10x All Star contact-hitting, excellent-fielding third baseman who played for a number of teams. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Vaughn<\/a> (1989-2003) – Deferred<\/em>. A power-hitting left fielder and 4-time All Star who played for the Milwaukee Brewers and other teams. Probably not going to be accepted, he was an average fielder with a lot of strikeouts, but I’m not sure yet where the line is so we’ll revisit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n