WHY I THINK PAUL HINES SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK PAUL HINES SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Paul Hines is best remembered as the first Triple Crown winner in MLB history. In 1878, the last non-shortened 60 game season, he batted .358 with four home runs and 50 RBI’s. Hines had many more fine seasons, and his overall batting record is better than dozens of players already in the Hall of Fame. He was also regarded as a top defensive centerfielder who won two fielding titles and had a career fielding percentage 20 points above the league average. Hines also played 194 games at first base, showing that he had versatility as well. Paul Hines started his career with the Washington Nationals of the NA in 1872, at the age of 17, and collected eleven hits and nine runs scored in eleven games. Hines batted .331 in 1873 and .328 in 1875, and in 1876, the season in which the National League made its debut, he batted .331 for the Chicago White Stockings and led the league in doubles. He slumped to .280 in 1877 but captured the league Batting Title in each of the next two seasons, both for the Providence Grays, including his Triple Crown win in 1878. Over the next five seasons, Hines batted .300 three times (and .299 in 1883) and led the NL in doubles twice more. He turned 30 in 1885 and had one of his least productive seasons in the Majors with a .270 mark in 98 games, but came back in 1886 to hit .312. That season, Hines was beaned, which caused permanent damage to his hearing. When he died in 1935, he was blind and deaf. At any rate, Hines batted over .300 two more times but reached the declining phases of his career in 1890, when he batted a combined .239 with two teams. He played in 54 games in 1891 for the American Association’s Washington Statesmen, batting .282, before retiring. Paul Hines was a great hitter, a stellar run producer, a fine fielder, and the first Triple Crown winner ever. He really should have been elected to the Hall of Fame as soon as it was instituted. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,658 season high: 133 in 1888 

At Bats career: 7,062 season high: 513 in 1888 led NL: 409 in 1879 

Hits career: 2,133 season high: 152 in 1886 led NL: 146 in 1879 

Doubles career: 399 season high: 36 in 1884 led NL: 21 in 1876, 27 in 1881, 36 in 1884 

Triples career: 93 season high: 10 in 1879, 1882, and 1884 

Home Runs career: 57 season high: 10 in 1887 led NL: 4 in 1878 

Runs career: 1,217 season high: 94 in 1883 and 1884 

Runs Batted In career: 855 season high: 72 in 1887 and 1889 led NL: 50 in 1878 

Stolen Bases career: 163 season high: 46 in 1887 (Hines’s stolen base numbers from 1876 through 1885 are unavailable) 

Walks career: 372 season high: 49 in 1889 

Strikeouts career: 310 season high: 45 in 1888 

Batting Average career: .302 season high: .358 in 1878 led NL: .358 in 1878, .357 in 1879 

On Base Percentage career: .340 season high: .380 in 1887 

Slugging Percentage career: .409 season high: .486 in 1878 led NL: .486 in 1878 

Total Bases career: 2,889 season high: 225 in 1886 led NL: 125 in 1878, 197 in 1879 

Sacrifice Hits career: N/A 

Fielding Percentage career: .903 season high: .965 in 1889 led NL OF: .923 in 1876, .927 in 1880 

Double Plays career: 189 season high: 66 in 1889 led NL OF: 7 in 1880 

Putouts career: 4,844 season high: 1,121 in 1889 

Assists career: 622 season high: 117 in 1875 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-was the youngest player in the NA in 1873 

-had a .455 OBP, five runs scored, and two stolen bases in the 1884 World Series 

-pitched an inning in 1884 without allowing an earned run 

-went 6-for-6 on August 26, 1879 

-hit three home runs off of Hall of Famer John Clarkson, two each off of Bobby Mathews, Pud Galvin, Mickey Welch, and Tim Keefe, and one each off of Tommy Bond, Jimmy Ryan, and Hank O’Day 

-led the NL twice each in plate appearances and at bats per strikeout and once each in singles, home run percentage, times on base, OPS, and games in the outfield  

-among MLB outfielders, ranks 23rd in career double plays and 28th in assists 

-also played three games at catcher, 74 at second base, 18 at third base, 16 at shortstop, 68 in leftfield, and seven in rightfield

WHY I THINK JOHAN SANTANA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK JOHAN SANTANA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Johan Santana was easily one of the greatest pitchers of his time, and he competed against starters like Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux for that honor for most of his career. He dominated batters with a speeding fastball, a great circle changeup, and a devastating slider. Santana went 139-78 lifetime with a 3.20 ERA and 1,988 strikeouts. He won two Cy Young Awards and three ERA titles, led the AL in strikeouts three times, won the pitching Triple Crown in 2006, and even won a perfect fielding title and a Gold Glove award in 2007. Johan Santana started his career with the Twins in 2000, going 2-3. He went 1-0 in 2001 and 8-6 in 2002 before establishing himself as one of the best starters in baseball with a 12-3 record in 2003. Santana went 20-6 in 2004 with a league leading 2.61 ERA and won his first Cy Young Award. He went 16-7 in 2005 and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting, and 19-6 with his second ERA title in 2006 to win the award again. After a 15-13 season Santana was traded to the Mets. He went 16-7 and won his third and final ERA title and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting in 2008. He went 13-9 and 11-9 after that before taking the 2011 season off. He went 6-9 in 2012 and though he signed with the Orioles in 2014 and the Blue Jays in 2015, he never appeared in another MLB game. Johan Santana was an excellent pitcher who stood out in an era that was full of great hitting. His overall play was worthy of a place in Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games Pitched career: 360 season high: 45 in 2003 

Starts career: 284 season high: 34 in 2004, 2006 and 2008 led AL: 34 in 2006 led NL: 34 in  2008 

Complete Games career: 15 season high: 4 in 2010 

Shutouts career: 10 season high: 2 in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012 

Games Finished career: 23 season high: 9 in 2000 

Wins career: 139 season high: 20 in 2004 led AL: 19 in 2006 

Losses career: 78 season high: 13 in 2007 

Winning Percentage career: .641 season high: .769 in 2004 

ERA career: 3.20 season low: 2.53 in 2008 led AL: 2.61 in 2004, 2.77 in 2006 led NL: 2.53 in 2008 

WHIP career: 1.132 season low: 0.921 in 2004 led AL: 0.921 in 2004, 0.971 in 2005, 0.997 in 2006, 1.073 in 2007 

Innings Pitched career: 2,025 ⅔ season high: 234 ⅓ in 2008 led AL: 233 ⅔ in 2006 led NL: 234 ⅓ in 2008 

Strikeouts career: 1,988 season high: 265 in 2004 led AL: 265 in 2004, 238 in 2005, 245 in 2006 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 8.8 season high: 10.5 in 2004 led AL: 10.5 in 2004, 9.2 in 2005, 9.4 in 2006 

Walks career: 567 (13 intentional) season high: 63 in 2008 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 3.51 season high: 5.29 in 2005 

Saves career: 1 season high: 1 in 2002 

Fielding Percentage career: .946 season high: 1.000 in 2007 led AL P: 1.000 in 2007 

Double Plays career: 16 season high: 3 in 2009 

Putouts career: 98 season high: 14 in 2007 

Assists career: 232 season high: 32 in 2006 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “No-han” 

-had a .453 career caught stealing percentage at pitcher 

-was a four time all-star 

-won the AL TSN Pitcher of the Year award in both 2004 and 2006 

-struck out 200 or more batters five years in a row 

-his 265 strikeouts in 2004 set the Minnesota Twins season record 

-pitched an 8-0 no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 1, 2012, which was the first no-hitter in New York Mets history 

-finished sixth in the AL MVP voting in seventh in 2006 and 14th in the NL MVP race in 2008 

-was fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2007 and seventh in 2003 

-won eight Pitcher of the Month awards and five Player of the Week awards 

-had the highest salary in the NL from 2010 through 2013 

-led the NL in batters faced (964) in 2008 

-struck out 17 batters in one game on August 19, 2007, setting a Twins team record 

-went 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 34 innings in postseason play 

-hit five doubles in 2008 and three in both 2009 and 2010 

-had the most wins without a loss in the second half of a season in 2004 (13) 

-allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in the AL in 2004 (6.2), 2005 (7.0), and 2006 (7.2) 

-struck out David Ortiz for the 1,000th of his career 

-was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2018 

WHY I THINK BUCKY WALTERS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK BUCKY WALTERS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Bucky Walters was an absolutely dominant righthanded pitcher in a hitter friendly era. He had a lifetime total of almost 200 wins and over 40 shutouts, won the NL Triple Crown and MVP Award in 1939, won two ERA titles, and led the NL in wins three times. With his devastating sinkerball, he soon became a prolific winner on a lot of bad teams early in his career, and a prolific winner on some good teams later in his career. Walters, a converted third baseman, was also one of the finest hitting pitchers in the game, as he batted .243 lifetime with 99 doubles, 16 triples, and 23 home runs. He was a six time all-star and a World Series champion in 1940, when he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and also batted .286 with a home run and a double against the Tigers. To top it all off, Walters even won a fielding title in 1944. Bucky Walters started his career with the Boston Braves in 1931, hitting .211 in nine games. He was seldom used until 1934, when he played 80 games at third base and made his debut on the mound. Walters won nine games with a pair of shutouts in 1935, but fell to 11-21 in 1936, albeit with a terrible team. After a 14-15 season Walters split his services in 1938 between the Phillies and the Reds, compiling a 15-14 record. Walters pulled it all together in 1939, when he went 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA and 137 strikeouts, leading the NL in nine pitching categories, and captured the MVP Award. Walters won 22 games with a NL low 2.48 ERA in 1940 and won 19 games in 1941. Walters had another career year in 1942 but slumped to 15-15 in 1943. Walters had one last big season in 1944 (23-8, 2.40 ERA) and pitched very well in 1945 and 1946 before age began to catch up with him. He pitched his final game in 1950. Bucky Walters was a great pitcher and a baseball player who did everything well. Seriously, has there ever been a pitcher with an MVP, two ERA titles, and a Triple Crown who has not been voted into the Hall of Fame other than Walters? 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 428 season high: 40 in 1936 

Starts career: 398 season high: 36 in 1939 and 1940 led NL: 34 in 1937, 36 in 1939 

Complete Games career: 242 season high: 31 in 1939 led NL: 31 in 1939, 29 in 1940, 27 in 1941 

Shutouts career: 42 season high: 6 in 1944 led NL: 4 in 1936 

Games Finished career: 18 season high: 3 in 1936 and 1938 

Wins career: 198 season high: 27 in 1939 led NL: 27 in 1939, 22 in 1940, 23 in 1944 

Losses career: 160 season high: 21 in 1936 led NL: 21 in 1936 

Winning Percentage career: .553 season high: .742 in 1944 

ERA career: 3.30 season low: 2.29 in 1939 led NL: 2.29 in 1939, 2.48 in 1940 

WHIP career: 1.324 season low: 1.092 in 1940 led NL: 1.125 in 1939, 1.092 in 1940 

Innings Pitched career: 3,104 ⅔ season high: 319 in 1939 led NL: 319 in 1939, 305 in 1940, 302 in 1941 

Strikeouts career: 1,107 season high: 137 in 1939 led NL: 137 in 1939 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 3.2 season high: 3.9 in 1939 and 1942 

Walks career: 1,121 (0 intentional) season high: 115 in 1936 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 0.99 season high: 1.47 in 1941 

Saves career: 4 season high: 2 in 1941 

Fielding Percentage career: .960 season high: 1.000 in 1944 led NL P: 1.000 in 1944 

Double Plays career: 119 season high: 18 in 1934 

Putouts career: 364 season high: 107 in 1934 led NL P: 19 in 1943 

Assists career: 1,135 season high: 190 in 1934 led NL P: 96 in 1936 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-started the 1944 all-star game and had a career 2.00 ERA in nine career all-star innings 

-went 1-for-1 with a double and a run scored in the all-star game 

-allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in the NL in 1939 (7.1), 1940 (7.1) and 1944 (7.4) 

-led the NL in batters faced in 1939 (1,283) and 1940 (1,207) 

-finished third in the NL MVP Award voting in 1940, fifth in 1944, 28th in 1941 and 32nd in 1943 

-batted .325 with eight doubles in his 1939 MVP campaign 

-scored 227 runs and drove in 234 

-had a .515 career caught stealing percentage at pitcher 

-ranks 38th in career shutouts 

-also played 17 games at second base, six in the outfield, 72 as a pinch hitter and 14 as a pinch runner 

-went 81-123-2 (.397) as a manager 

-coached with the Braves and the Giants from 1950 through 1957 

-was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1958 

WHY I THINK TOMMY BOND SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK TOMMY BOND SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Tommy Bond was the most dominant pitcher of his time. He won 234 games with a 2.14 ERA in ten seasons, earned a Triple Crown in 1877, won two ERA titles, and pitched 490 or more innings five times. He led his league in virtually every pitching category at least once, and played in four different leagues throughout his career. Bond was also an incredible fielder and an amazing hitter for a pitcher. Tommy Bond started his career with the National Association Brooklyn Atlantics in 1874, going 22-32 to become the youngest 20-game winner ever. That was still at the time when pitchers had to throw underhand, and you still couldn’t pitch overhand until 1884. He was traded to the NA Hartford Dark Blues in 1875 and went 19-16 and 31-13 in two seasons there. He went to the National League Boston Red Stockings in 1877 and earned a Triple Crown with 40 wins, a 2.11 ERA, and 170 strikeouts. He was even better in 1878 but just missed out on a second Triple Crown, as he led the NL in wins and strikeouts but finished fifth in ERA. Bond went 43-19 in 1879 with his other ERA crown before going 26-29 in 1880. After an 0-3 season Bond was traded to the NL Worcester Ruby Legs and went 0-1. Bond stayed out of baseball in 1883 but returned in 1884 to go 13-14 in a season that he split between the Union Association Boston Reds and the American Association Indianapolis Hoosiers, and then retired. Tommy Bond was one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball. He ranks better than the average Hall of Fame pitcher, but the reason why he never made it is simple. He, like many other pre-1900 stars that I write about, played before the Hall of Fame ever existed, and therefore had a very hard time getting in. Bond did get some votes by the Veterans Committee in 1936, but they were probably still too young to have seen him pitch. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games Pitched career: 417 season high: 64 in 1879 led NL: 59 in 1878

Starts career: 408 season high: 64 in 1879 led NL: 59 in 1878

Complete Games career: 386 season high: 59 in 1879 led NL: 57 in 1878

Shutouts career: 42 season high: 11 in 1879 led NL: 6 in 1877, 9 in 1878, 11 in 1879

Games Finished career: 13 season high: 6 in 1880

Wins career: 234 season high: 43 in 1879 led NL: 40 in 1877 and 1878 

Losses career: 163 season high: 32 in 1874 led NA: 32 in 1874

Winning Percentage career: .589 season high: .702 in 1877 led NL: .702 in 1877

ERA career: 2.14 season low: 1.41 in 1875 led NL: 2.11 in 1877, 1.96 in 1879

WHIP career: 1.091 season low: 0.878 in 1875 led NL: 1.086 in 1877, 1.021 in 1879

Innings Pitched career: 3,628 ⅔ season high: 555 ⅓ in 1879 led NL: 532 ⅔ in 1878 

Strikeouts career: 972 season high: 182 in 1878 led NL: 170 in 1877, 182 in 1878

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 2.4 season high: 5.5 in 1884 led NL: 1.9 in 1876

Walks career: 193 season high: 45 in 1880

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 5.04 season high: 10.00 in 1875 led NA: 5.25 in 1874 led NL: 6.77 in 1876, 4.72 in 1877, 5.52 in 1878

Saves career: 0

Fielding Percentage career: .902 season high: .952 in 1879 led NL P: .957 in 1879 (the league fielding percentage was .873) 

Double Plays career: 32 season high: 8 in 1880 

Putouts career: 336 season high: 60 in 1875 and 1880

Assists career: 928 season high: 153 in 1880 led NL P: 117 in 1878, 144 in 1879, 141 in 1880

DID YOU KNOW?

-allowed only 0.479 walks per nine innings for his career, which is the second fewest of all time

-had a winning percentage of nearly .600 despite the fact that 1,069 of his 1,931 runs allowed were unearned

-batted .238 with totals of 213 runs scored, 471 hits, 53 doubles, 11 triples, 174 RBI’s, and 22 walks, and batted as high as .276, .275, and .266 in three different seasons

-ranks tenth in career ERA, 21st in WHIP, 20th in complete games, and second in strikeouts per walk

-was the youngest player in the National Association in 1874

-was second in the 1875 NA ERA race to Hall of Famer Pud Galvin 

-led the NL in batters faced in 1878 (2,159) 

-threw exactly six shutouts every season from 1875 through 1877 

-also played six games at first base, three at second base, two at third base, three in centerfield, and 89 in leftfield 

WHY I THINK TIP O’NEILL SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK TIP O’NEILL SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Tip O’Neill was the dominant batter and slugger of his era. O’Neill holds many achievements, such as being the first to reach 200 hits in a season (in 1887, tied with pre-1900 greats Denny Lyons, Pete Browning and Sam Thompson), two batting titles, a .400 season, five seasons of 100 or more runs scored, a Triple Crown, and a lifetime batting average of .326. He was also a great defender in leftfield even with no glove. In the ten years he played, Tip O’Neill terrorized opposing pitchers and infielders with his bat. O’Neill started his career in 1883 by batting an unimpressive .197 in 23 games. He raised it to .276 in 78 games in 1884 and hit .350 in 52 games in 1885. O’Neill batted .328 and led the American Association with 107 RBI’s for his 1886 season. O’Neill brought the storm in 1887, establishing new major league records for, most notably, hits (225), batting average (.435), doubles (52), OBP (.490), total bases (357), slugging percentage (.691), extra-base hits (84), OPS (1.180) and runs scored (167) in only 124 games. He also led the AA in RBI’s, triples, home runs and home run percentage. The incredible thing about his .490 OBP was that by 1887 you still needed five balls to earn a walk and that pitchers threw underhand from only 50 feet away, although to be fair foul balls weren’t counted as strikes yet, and it took four strikes to whiff you. O’Neill’s batting average slipped 100 points to .335 in 1888 but still won the AA batting title and led the league with 177 hits. After batting .335 again Tip O’Neill batted .302 in 1890 in a Players League high 137 games played. He proceeded to hit .323 with ten homers in 1891. Although O’Neill slipped to .251 in 1892 and retired on a “weak” note, he certainly still had the most lethal swing in the game, even if it had slowed slightly. Whatever the reason, Tip O’Neill isn’t in the baseball Hall of Fame, even though he hit for the second highest single season batting average in baseball history. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,052 season high: 138 in 1886 led PL: 137 in 1890 

At Bats career: 4,248 season high: 579 in 1886 

Hits career: 1,385 season high: 225 in 1887 led AA: 225 in 1887, 177 in 1888 

Doubles career: 222 season high: 52 in 1887 led AA: 52 in 1887 

Triples career: 92 season high: 19 in 1887 led AA: 19 in 1887 

Home Runs career: 52 season high: 14 in 1887 led AA: 14 in 1887 

Runs career: 879 season high: 167 in 1887 led AA: 167 in 1887 

Runs Batted In career: 757 season high: 123 in 1887 led AA: 107 in 1886, 123 in 1887 

Stolen Bases career: 161 season high: 30 in 1887 (stolen bases weren’t counted until 1886) 

Walks career: 420 season high: 72 in 1889 

Strikeouts career: 194 season high: 37 in 1889 (strikeouts weren’t counted from 1884 through 1886) 

Batting Average career: .326 season high: .435 in 1887 led AA: .435 in 1887, .335 in 1888 

On Base Percentage career: .392 season high: .490 in 1887 led AA: .490 in 1887 

Slugging Percentage career: .458 season high: .691 in 1887 led AA: .691 in 1887 

Total Bases career: 1,947 season high: 357 in 1887, led AA: 357 in 1887 

Sacrifice Hits career: N/A

Fielding Percentage career: .917 season high: season high: .937 in 1888 (the league fielding percentage was .895) 

Double Plays career: 16 season high: 4 in 1886 

Putouts career: 1,810 season high: 279 in 1886 

Assists career: 81 season high: 37 in 1884 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “The Woodstock Wonder” and "Canada's Babe Ruth"

-is the only player ever to lead his league in doubles, triples, and home runs in the same season

-went 16-16 on the mound with a 3.39 ERA in 289 innings pitched (29 complete games), including a 2.68 mark in 1884, and led the AA in winning percentage (.733, 11-4) that year 

-hit 20 or more doubles six times and over 30 twice 

-his 167 runs in 1887 are still the season record for a right handed batter 

-hit ten or more triples five times and eight once 

-had over 100 RBI’s in a season three times and also had two other seasons with 95 or more 

-finished second in the 1889 AA batting race to Tommy Tucker (.372) 

-led the AA in singles in 1886 and 1888 

-his .326 career batting average ranks 36th all time 

-hit for the cycle a record three times

-won an 1886 World Series ring and batted .400 with a pair each of stolen bases and home runs in the Series against the Chicago White Stockings 

-had totals of 35 hits, 23 runs scored, 25 RBI’s, three doubles, three triples, five home runs, two  stolen bases, ten walks, and ten strikeouts in “World Series” play 

-played a game at first base in 1884 

-was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986