Lucky Hall of Famer Number 60 - Larry Doby

It's hard to call any player from the Negro Leagues lucky. Despite Jackie Robinson having broken the color barrier before him, Doby still experienced his share of bigotry as the first black player in American League history in 1947. However, based on his baseball record alone, Doby can be considered lucky to have been chosen for the Hall of Fame. 

    While Major League Baseball declared the Negro Leagues Major Leagues in December of 2020, the quality of Negro League play is certainly questionable, and their records are very spotty. While Negro League statistics should not be ignored, they need to be taken with a grain of salt. 

    Even if we add Doby's existing Negro League numbers to his MLB totals, he nonetheless comes up short as a Hall of Fame candidate, in my opinion. His counting stats are still quite thin for an outfielder (1,697 hits, 1,080 runs, 1,099 RBI's) and he was finished at age 35. Considering Doby's high OPS+ and his historical significance as the first black player in the AL, I can live with his selection, but he is far from an ideal candidate. 

My opinion: Larry Doby is probably not a Hall of Famer.