Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 24 - Rick Ferrell

    Rick Ferrell, a 1984 Veterans' Committee selection, caught from 1929 through 1947 for the Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators and was good, but clearly not a Hall of Famer. 

    Ferrell played in over 100 games in only eleven seasons of his career, and in 110 in eight of them. When he was in the lineup, he batted .281 with a .378 on base percentage, averaging 80 walks and only 24 strikeouts per 162 games. However, he hit just 28 homers in 1,884 games and had a slugging percentage of .363 in the heaviest hitting era in history. He had an adjusted OPS of 95, a respectable mark for a catcher but nothing more. 

    Up until the 1950's, the Hall of Famers were pretty obvious because the best players were well superior to the rest (more on this later). Since then, players have been putting up more and more similar statistics to each other. Ferrell, and his batting statistics, point out that he wasn't among the elite. When one thinks of the best catchers from the 1930's and 1940's, they probably think of Bill Dickey, Mickey Cochrane, and Ernie Lombardi (please let me know if I accidentally forgot anyone particularly notable). That leaves Rick Ferrell fourth, at best. Should the Hall of Fame be electing an average of two catchers per decade? Probably not. 

    Ferrell was not a standout defensive catcher. His .984 fielding percentage was two points above the league average, and his 44% caught stealing percentage topped the league average of 41%. He led NL catchers in fielding once, double plays three times, caught stealing four times, and putouts, assists, games caught, and caught stealing percentage each twice. So what's the problem? He couldn't keep the ball in front of him as often as a Hall of Famer should. He had 142 passed balls in his career, and led the NL in the category four times. In addition, he also led NL catchers in stolen bases allowed three times and in errors four times, so he was not the kind of defensive catcher that a lot of his advocates like to say he was. 

    Rick had a brother named Wes who also played in the Big Leagues. Wes won 193 games on the mound and is generally regarded as the best hitting pitcher in history, as he batted .281 lifetime with 38 home runs, including nine in one season (both home run marks are MLB records). A lot of fans say that Wes was better than Rick (which is highly debatable) and that the wrong Ferrell is in Cooperstown. 

My opinion: Neither Ferrell brother was a Hall of Famer.