Groat to Maz to Stuart

In the January 1987 issue of Baseball Digest, Richard Blue of Hollywood, California, wrote:

    “I would like to champion the cause of a player who heretofore has received very little support [for the Hall of Fame]: second baseman Bill Mazeroski. He has better hitting and fielding statistics than another Hall of Fame second baseman, Johnny Evers of the old Chicago Cubs (and later miracle Boston Braves). Is Mazeroski to be denied because no one wrote a poem called Groat-to-Mazeroski-to-Stuart?”

This essay will give my personal opinions of his contention and the six players’ Hall of Fame cases, but first I need to give some background information. 

From 1902 through 1912, the Chicago Cubs’ double play combination featured shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance. They were all fine fielders and all around good players, and their Cubs won the World Series in 1907 and 1908. However, the trio became famous with the 1910 publication of “Tinker to Evers to Chance”, a poem written by Franklin Pierce Adams and published in the New York Evening Mail. The poem went something like this: 

These are the saddest of possible words: 

“Tinker to Evers to Chance.” 

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, 

Tinker and Evers and Chance. 

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, 

Making a Giant hit into a double, 

Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: 

“Tinker to Evers to Chance.” 

This poem, published in the prime of their careers, brought them much glory and public recognition. As a result, the three were inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1946. To this day many people question the merit of their selections. 

From 1958 through 1962, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ double play combination featured shortstop Dick Groat, second baseman Bill Mazeroski, and first baseman Dick Stuart. All three were good players, and helped the Pirates to the World Championship in 1960. However, all three of them more or less avoided the limelight during their careers, and were forgotten by the Hall of Fame for some time. Finally, in 2001, the Veterans’ Committee elected Mazeroski, but Groat, a legitimate candidate, remains on the outside looking in. 

First of all, Richard Blue’s piece is a little mixed up. While his main point (that Mazeroski should be inducted) is true, his argument is all out of whack. His first mistake is comparing Mazeroski’s statistics with those of Johnny Evers. In terms of hitting, Evers played in the dead ball era. From about 1900 to 1920, MLB played with a pretty “dead” baseball that wouldn’t travel very far unless you straight cow-tailed it. Sometimes entire teams would hit less than 10 home runs in a full season, and league leaders rarely topped 15. Comparing Maz’s hitting stats with Evers’ is a little unfair (although Mazeroski played during what many people call the “second dead ball era”). If you want to compare their defense, you must consider that Evers played before the invention of the Bill Doak baseball glove, which helped fielders handle the ball instead of just protecting their hands. Mazeroski played with the better glove for his whole career. That said, I tend to look for league leaders to reveal the best players of each era. Neither Evers or Mazeroski led the league in any major offensive category (Maz led twice in games and once in intentional walks), and neither was really considered a big time hitter. However, they both had their moments in the World Series, as Evers batted .316 in four Series while Mazeroski walked off the 1960 Series with one of the most famous home runs in history. On the other hand, Blue was right that Mazeroski was a better fielder. He simply demolishes Evers on defense. Maz led NL second baseman in games six times, fielding three times, double plays eight times, putouts five times, assists nine times, and range factor nine times. This is, quite simply, an insane record! It is not a surprise that Mazeroski is widely considered the best defensive second baseman of all time. On the other hand, Evers led in games and fielding each once, and twice each in putouts, assists, and range factor (and errors). This is a very good record, but it pales in comparison with Mazeroski’s accomplishments. 

The other problem with Blue’s argument is quite simple: just because Evers is enshrined doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone better than him should be inducted. Does anybody remember Tom Herr? Ozzie Smith’s double play partner with the Cardinals in the 1980’s? Well, his record is extremely similar to Evers’s, but he isn’t a Hall of Famer. The Hall of Fame has always been imperfect, and we don’t need to make it worse by inducting every Tom Herr and Bobby Richardson, good players, perhaps better than some in the Hall, but not those who define the Hall of Fame. 

My opinion: Of the six players in question, I believe that Chance, Mazeroski, and Groat should be in the Hall of Fame, while Tinker, Evers, and Stuart should not. We’ve already gone over Evers (https://thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com/2021/07/lucky-hall-of-famer-number-7-johnny.html) and Mazeroski, and we don’t need to go over Stuart, who has 1,055 hits and was finished at 33. 

Frank Chance was one of the top first basemen of the dead ball era, but I think his career was too short to merit induction as a player. I can live with his selection if you consider his accomplishments both as a player and a manager. However, he was a very good player and definitely the best of the three famous Cub infielders. He was a career .296 hitter with a .394 OBP and still holds the single season record for stolen bases by a first baseman (67 in 1903). Originally a catcher, Chance moved over to first after suffering many broken fingers and, as some sources suggest, at least one concussion. 

Dick Groat was a shortstop from 1952 through 1967, excepting two seasons lost to military service. He was a very good fielder, leading NL shortstops in double plays a record five times among other accomplishments. He had 2,138 hits, and could have had a shot at 2,500 without missing those two seasons. Groat was the NL MVP in 1960, when he won the Batting Title with .325, and finished second in 1963. He won the World Series with two different teams, the Pirates in 1960 and the Cardinals in 1964. Read more at https://thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com/2021/02/why-i-think-dick-groat-should-be-in.html. 

Joe Tinker was a strong defensive shortstop and a decent hitter. He was a very good player, but not a great player. The Hall of Fame is supposed to honor the greats. I just think that a .262 hitting shortstop, even in the dead ball era, should play more than 13 seasons as a regular to be seriously considered, unless he is one of the greats in something else. Tinker just doesn’t pass the test. Read more at https://thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com/2021/07/lucky-hall-of-famer-number-5-joe-tinker.html 

All things considered, Richard Blue’s article was successful: articles like his are what eventually prompted Mazeroski’s induction. However, Tinker and Evers, two of the Hall’s worst selections, are enshrined forever, and it looks like Groat may never be selected.