Chuck Klein was a rightfielder active from 1928 through 1944. He made the Hall of Fame in 1980 despite some relatively low counting statistics, and his home run hitting was greatly aided by his home ballparks. For example, he played ten years calling Philadelphia's Baker Bowl home, with dimensions of 341 feet to left, 300 to right center, and 280 to right - perfect territory for a lefthanded power hitter, especially in the heavy hitting 1930's. Klein led the NL in home runs four times in Philly, and never again anywhere else, despite playing three years with the Cubs in Wrigley (another offense oriented park) as well. Klein certainly hit a lot, but he didn't do much more than hit. He didn't walk much (601 times in 1,753 games), giving him an on base percentage only 59 points higher than his batting average. Additionally, Klein was through as a player after 1939, his age 34 season - in 196 games in the 1940's, he batted .192/.276/.286 as a player-coach. Finally, he was also simply an awful outfielder. His .962 career fielding percentage was a dozen points below the league average, as he didn't move very well in rightfield and didn't have sure hands.
My opinion: Chuck Klein is not a Hall of Famer.
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