Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 16 - Red Ruffing

    Red Ruffing pitched from 1924 through 1947 for Red Sox, Yankees, and White Sox. He went 273-225 (.548) lifetime with a 3.80 ERA. Despite the fact that he pitched in the 1920's and 1930's, Ruffing wasn't among the top 1% of MLB players. Let's see why not. 

    Red Ruffing debuted in 1924 for the Red Sox and was a pretty lousy pitcher through 1931, posting a 4.52 ERA (93 ERA+) and a .378 winning percentage. In 1932 with the Yankees, Ruffing went 18-7 with a 3.09 ERA and led the league in strikeouts, starting a kind of second career. He slumped to average in 1933 and 1934, but from 1935 through 1942 (his age 30 through 37 seasons), Ruffing was pitching at a Hall of Fame level for the Yanks, four times winning 20 games and once winning 19. He even posted a 2.98 ERA in 1937 and an improved 2.93 in 1939. Ruffing then lost the next two seasons to military service. When he returned in 1945, he was 40 years old, but he was better than ever, going 7-3 with a 2.89 ERA in 87 1/3  innings. He had a 1.77 ERA and a 5-1 mark across 61 frames the following season. In 1947, however, Ruffing went 3-5 with an ERA over 6.00 for the White Sox in limited action. He was released by the club on September 30. 

    Despite his success, Ruffing is best known for two other things. Before his MLB career, he suffered the loss of four toes on his left foot when a coal car ran over it. Secondly, he was regarded as one of the greatest hitting pitchers in history, batting a career .269 with 36 home runs. 

    Additionally, Ruffing had a 7-2 record in the World Series with a 2.63 ERA and 61 strikeouts, winning six rings. 

    However, Ruffing's career winning percentage is 41 points below the Hall of Fame average, and his adjusted ERA is only 109. To start out a career like Ruffing did and still make the Hall of Fame would take a pretty amazing turnaround. Ruffing did have a fantastic turnaround starting in 1932, but it wasn't strong enough. 

My opinion: Red Ruffing is probably not a Hall of Famer. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 15 - Jesse Haines

    Jesse Haines pitched in 1918 and from 1920 through 1937 for the Reds and the Cardinals, and was good, winning 20 games in three different seasons, but he got hit pretty hard at times and failed even to reach 1,000 career strikeouts (981). His overall case isn't very compelling. Let's take a closer look at his career. 

    Haines debuted for the Reds at age 24 in 1918 and pitched one game, a five inning relief stint, and allowed only one run. He next played in the Majors in 1920 for the Cardinals and remained in St. Louis for the rest of his career. Haines was little more than average in his first three full seasons, but exploded for 20 wins and a 3.11 ERA in 1923. The following season, at age 30, Haines went 8-19 with an adjusted ERA of 86 (with 100 being the league average). He struggled through a similar season in 1925 but was one of the best pitchers in baseball from 1926 through 1928, going 57-22 with an ERA of 3.01. In the 1926 World Series, Haines went 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA, and won another World Series in 1934, contributing to a World Series record of 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA as the Cardinals made four World Series in his time. In 1929, Haines was crushed for a 5.71 ERA, but lowered it in 1930 to 4.30, the year that the entire NL batted .303. He had one last great season in 1931, 12-3 with a 3.02 ERA, but struggled in 1932. From 1933 through 1937, Haines provided much value in 485 innings as a reliever and occasional starter, ultimately hanging up his glove at the age of 44. 

    Haines's overall record is 210-158 (.571; below the Hall of Fame average of .589) with a 3.64 ERA, good only for an adjusted ERA of 109. While Haines was a fine pitcher with a very interesting career, his record simply isn't Hall of Fame worthy. He wasn't a top starter long enough to earn anywhere near the Hall of Fame average of 247 victories, and he had some poor seasons right in the middle of what should have been his peak. 

My opinion: Jesse Haines is not a Hall of Famer. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 14 - Don Drysdale

    Don Drysdale pitched for the Dodgers from 1956 through 1969. His career statistics were helped greatly by the era in which he pitched. 

    Drysdale went 209-166 with a 2.95 career ERA, capturing the NL Cy Young Award in 1962. In 1968, he set the MLB record for the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched (58), a record which would stand for 20 years. However, Drysdale had some below average seasons interspersed with his peak seasons. In 1958, 1966, and 1969, his age 21, 29, and 32 seasons, he went a 30-32 with a 3.83 ERA. A normal Hall of Famer would stay strong consistently. 

    Drysdale also led the NL in hits allowed twice and in hit by pitch five times. On top of that, he never received any Cy Young Award votes other than in his winning season. This means that he was not among the best of his era. 

    Finally, Drysdale didn't stick around long enough. He pitched for fourteen seasons (eleven of them full seasons), and was through by the time he was 32. 

My opinion: Don Drysdale is not a Hall of Famer. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 13 - Fred Lindstrom

    Fred Lindstrom was a third baseman for four NL clubs from 1924 through 1936. He was a good hitter, as he led the NL with 231 hits in 1928 and had an adjusted OPS of 110 for his career, but his hitting statistics were ballooned by the heaviest hitting years in baseball history. 

    From around 1920 through around 1940, hitters ruled baseball. For example, during that span there were eight .400 hitters. In 1930, the entire National League batted .303. Lindstrom picked the perfect time to hit plentifully. Lindstrom was above average for his time, batting .311 lifetime and .353 over a three year peak, but he wasn't hitting close to guys like Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, or Mel Ott... you know, the established best of the era. He drove in 100 runs only twice in his career and led his league only in hits in 1928 (and in caught stealing that same season). 

    Some say that Lindstrom  was a phenom because he debuted in the Big Leagues at age 18. Well, he was below average in his teenage years and played his last MLB game at thirty, playing only 13 seasons in the Majors. Thirteen seasons simply isn't long enough to merit induction into the Hall of Fame with Lindstrom's hitting statistics. 

My opinion: Fred Lindstrom is not a Hall of Famer. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 12 - George "Highpockets" Kelly

     George "Highpockets" Kelly was primarily a first baseman, but he played 145 games at second as well. Kelly was a good fielder and a good hitter, but he wasn't a Hall of Famer. 

    Let's take a look at his hitting. He was a good hitter, batting .297 lifetime with one home run title and two RBI titles. However, he only had a six year peak (1925 through 1930) in which he batted .313 with some good run production, but his numbers were not even Hall of Fame worthy during that span. Kelly was simply never an overwhelmingly good player. 

    Kelly's Hall of Fame plaque says, 

"Established Major League record by hitting seven home runs in six consecutive games (1924). Rapped homers in three successive innings (1923). Drove in more than 100 runs four consecutive years, 1921 - 1924. Set league records for chances accepted (1,862) and putouts (1,759) by first basemen in 1920. Also led in chances accepted 1921 - 22 -23." 

    Okay. The plaque just reads off some interesting career accomplishments of Kelly's. It may sound like the plaque says that Kelly hit 42 homers in six games, but he hit seven in a six game span. 

My opinion: George "Highpockets" Kelly is not a Hall of Famer. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 11 - Chick Hafey

    Chick Hafey was a truly great hitter. The problem is that his career was too short. He played from 1924 through 1937, but only played in over 100 games in seven seasons and 1,283 in his career. 

    Hafey batted .317/.372/.526 for an .898 OPS, which was 133% better than the average batter's in the heaviest hitting era in history, but his play wasn't without flaw. He was no great shakes as an outfielder, hardly walked very much, and batted .205 in four World Series. 

    The biggest excuse for Hafey's election is that he was one of the first MLB players to wear glasses on the field, and despite the fact that he was vision impaired, he was one of the best hitters of the era. Well, Hafey saw fine with his glasses on. My proof for this statement: Hitting is all about seeing the ball, and Hafey hit well. That he wore glasses shouldn't make a difference. 

    Some also point to his NL Batting Title in 1931. Well, one Batting Title doesn't make a Hall of Fame career. The only major offensive categories that Hafey led his league in were slugging percentage (.590) in 1927 and batting (.349) in 1931. 

My opinion: Chick Hafey wasn't around long enough to be a Hall of Famer. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 10 - Harry Hooper

    Harry Hooper was a rightfielder for the Red Sox and White Sox from 1909 through 1925. He was a good bunter, a famous postseason hero, and a fine fielder, but he had a career slash line of .281/.368/.387, which was only good for an OPS 114% as good as that of the average hitter of the era. Hooper never led the AL in any offensive categories except for plate appearances and sacrifice hits in 1910. Furthermore, he batted .242 in his age 24 season and .235 at age 27. He should have been in his prime in those seasons. Those seasons are pretty tough to look past if you're trying to induct an outfielder. 

    Almost every one of Hooper's statistics is good, but none of them really stand out. For example, this Hall of Fame leadoff hitter only scored 100 or more runs in three seasons. 

    Hooper's Hall of Fame plaque reads, 

"Leadoff hitter and right fielder for of 1912-15-16-18 World Champion Red Sox. Noted for speed and strong arm. Collected 2,466 hits for .281 career average. Had 3,981 putouts and 344 assists. Lifetime fielding average .966." 

    Well, 2,466 hits isn't close to 3,000, and .281 isn't .300. His .966 fielding percentage was six points above the league average, when they had pretty weak gloves, but a .966 fielding percentage would be a terrible mark if recorded today. 

My opinion: Harry Hooper was too ordinary to be a Hall of Famer.