Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 15 - Jesse Haines

    Jesse Haines pitched in 1918 and from 1920 through 1937 for the Reds and the Cardinals, and was good, winning 20 games in three different seasons, but he got hit pretty hard at times and failed even to reach 1,000 career strikeouts (981). His overall case isn't very compelling. Let's take a closer look at his career. 

    Haines debuted for the Reds at age 24 in 1918 and pitched one game, a five inning relief stint, and allowed only one run. He next played in the Majors in 1920 for the Cardinals and remained in St. Louis for the rest of his career. Haines was little more than average in his first three full seasons, but exploded for 20 wins and a 3.11 ERA in 1923. The following season, at age 30, Haines went 8-19 with an adjusted ERA of 86 (with 100 being the league average). He struggled through a similar season in 1925 but was one of the best pitchers in baseball from 1926 through 1928, going 57-22 with an ERA of 3.01. In the 1926 World Series, Haines went 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA, and won another World Series in 1934, contributing to a World Series record of 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA as the Cardinals made four World Series in his time. In 1929, Haines was crushed for a 5.71 ERA, but lowered it in 1930 to 4.30, the year that the entire NL batted .303. He had one last great season in 1931, 12-3 with a 3.02 ERA, but struggled in 1932. From 1933 through 1937, Haines provided much value in 485 innings as a reliever and occasional starter, ultimately hanging up his glove at the age of 44. 

    Haines's overall record is 210-158 (.571; below the Hall of Fame average of .589) with a 3.64 ERA, good only for an adjusted ERA of 109. While Haines was a fine pitcher with a very interesting career, his record simply isn't Hall of Fame worthy. He wasn't a top starter long enough to earn anywhere near the Hall of Fame average of 247 victories, and he had some poor seasons right in the middle of what should have been his peak. 

My opinion: Jesse Haines is not a Hall of Famer.