In the Lucky Hall of Famers section, I tend to emphasize the luck that certain players must have had in order to be inducted to the Hall of Fame with less than stellar records. On the other hand, Addie Joss was one of the unluckiest guys I have ever written about, dying of tuberculous meningitis two days after his 31st birthday. He was one of the best pitchers of his generation, pitching to a 1.89 ERA and 0.968 WHIP in nine Big League seasons, and was still an excellent pitcher when he fell ill. His "luck" lies in the fact that the Hall's own official criteria states that a player needs at least ten seasons under his belt in order to be considered for induction, a mark that Joss fell short of. In 1978, the Veteran's Committee finally made an exception to the rule and recognized Joss, and he is no less a Hall of Famer than anyone else. What do you think? Should the Veteran's Committee have stretched itself to induct Joss? They had to massage the rules in order to do so, but the man died two days into what would have been his tenth Big League season.
I personally do not mind Joss's selection to the Hall. The Veteran's Committee in the 1970's certainly went overboard at times, but I think that Joss deserved his plaque. There is no doubt that he had the talent to finish up what would have been a Cooperstown-worthy career.
I have never thought of Addie Joss as a lucky player before.
ReplyDeleteI think they certainly should have bent the rules for him; he was a great pitcher and it's not his fault that he died after nine seasons.