Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 39 - Ned Hanlon

    Ned Hanlon was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996 as a manager. His lifetime record was 1,313-1,164-53, good for only a .530 winning percentage. The wins are the 35th most of all time, and his winning percentage is not nearly high enough to merit his induction. 

    There are already 22 managers in the Hall of Fame, and most of them probably don't belong. An average manager wins 50% of the time (of course), and 11 managers in Cooperstown won less than 54% of the time. Two of them even have losing records. It is also good to remember that, in the end, the managers don't do as much to win games as the players do. 

    Hanlon, in particular, was not a fantastic candidate, as his Baltimore Orioles of the 1890's were absolutely hated. They would cause fights, hide extra baseballs in the outfield grass to use if they lost the one in play, grab onto opposing baserunners' belt loops to trip them up, and employ other such dirty tactics. For this reason, when the NL decided to contract to eight teams in 1899, the Orioles were unanimously voted out of the league. So even if Hanlon had a really impressive resume, he would not have been an ideal choice. As it is, he had to wait nearly a century to get in. 

My opinion: Ned Hanlon is not a Hall of Famer.