Very often when considering Hall of Fame candidates, it is tempting to reduce them merely to names and numbers. Of course historical context is important too, but evaluating careers commonly becomes nothing more than a math problem. Does he have enough hits? A high enough WAR?
While statistics are undoubtedly important, even primary, in discerning fitting candidates, there are more to players than merely their numbers, as they had a real historical impact on the game, for better or for worse. Here are some other factors I tend to look for in a candidate beyond what is recorded in the stat sheet, which affect the game both on and off the field.
1. A truly good baseball player is a good teammate. Baseball is a team sport, and damaging influences on a team's culture can prove cancerous to a ballclub's on-field success. If a team doesn't work well together, then it generally won't succeed. This is true at any level at which the game is played.
2. A Hall of Famer should treat fans well and generally be a good ambassador for the sport. After all, professional baseball is ultimately entertainment, and the players are the entertainers (and often celebrities). Being a good entertainer is vital to being a respectable MLB player. Hall of Famers should also help serve the game in other ways besides their on-field contributions and should never harm the game in any respect.
3. Like any other profession, baseball is a job, so one must be a good employee. Again, being a team player is critical to being a good player, as is showing up on time, giving your best effort, respecting superiors such as managers, and generally avoiding unreasonable contract disputes.
4. Something that is key to on-field success is good strategy. In today's fast-paced game, the intricacies of each pitch are easily lost, and the only strategy today seems to be throwing harder, hitting farther, and running faster. In addition to these necessary skills, intelligence and heads-up play can make the difference between a win and a loss. For example, Willie Mays sometimes used to awkwardly whiff on breaking pitches early in a game in hopes of getting the same pitch in a critical spot later in the game, leading to many clutch RBI's. Roberto Clemente used to bobble singles on purpose to bait runners to try for second, where he'd often gun them down. Al Kaline and countless others in years past sacrificed many an at bat by moving runners with ground balls, which counts negatively in the stat sheet but is very beneficial in a game. A truly great baseball player is not only fast and strong, but also smart and team-oriented.
5. While fielding statistics, both traditional and advanced, are important in evaluating a player's defense, they remain very limited, more so than other statistics. Therefore, contemporary opinion and the eye test are important when considering a player's defense. Outstanding plays often count just the same as average ones, and many errors were committed on difficult plays that are rarely attempted today, leading to a discrepancy between statistics and on-field impact. Additionally, there are plays that are not accounted for in fielding statistics that are absolutely necessary to make and can often save a game. For example, saving an errant throw or choosing to hold the ball (and thereby a runner) are critical to a locked-down defense, but do not receive their proper credit in the record books (it looks as though nothing happened, when in reality the play saved something from happening). In addition, errors are usually only charged for physical errors, not mental errors (which can be worse depending on the situation).
Just as a disclaimer, I am not saying these things should replace common methods of statistical analysis in evaluating a Hall of Fame candidate, nor am I discrediting the Ty Cobbs of the world as Hall of Famers. I am merely suggesting that these things can and should make some sort of difference in considering candidates, and indeed they could be enough to sway one's perspective on a borderline candidate.
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