WHY I THINK TONY OLIVA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK TONY OLIVA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Tony Oliva had perhaps the most extraordinary talent that any player in baseball history ever had. He could throw his bat at a pitched ball and hit line drives. Even though a talent even that amazing probably shouldn’t get a player into the Hall of Fame on its own, Tony Oliva was the best hitter in baseball for a considerable amount of time. He hit .304 lifetime, won three batting titles, hit 220 career home runs, collected 1,917 hits, and had seven full seasons over .300. In the field, he won a Gold Glove award as a rightfielder in 1966. Career long Minnesota Twin Tony Oliva started his career by hitting .444 in nine games in 1962, and .429 in seven games in 1963. In 1964, he had perhaps the best year that any rookie ever had, as he batted .323 to capture the AL batting title, tied a rookie record also held by Hal Trosky with 374 total bases, hit 32 homers, and led the AL in hits, total bases, and runs scored. Needless to say, he was the Rookie of the Year, accumulating 19 of 20 first place votes. In 1965, he again won the batting title at .321 and hit 40 doubles, scored 107 runs and led the AL in hits and sacrifice flies (10).  Oliva led in hits and doubles again in 1967, and hit .289 in 1968 when the AL hit .237 as a whole. In 1969 and 1970, Oliva batted .309 and .325 and led the AL in doubles and hits each year. He batted .337 in 1971 to win his third batting title. He was having serious knee problems by 1972 (he dove for a fly ball and injured his right knee in 1971) and was forced to DH, starting in 1973. He used to be a great baserunner and a tenacious slider but with the knee complications those skills all but diminished. Oliva hit .291, .285 and .270 on injured knees and batted .211 as a part time player in 1976 before being forced to retire after that season. His number six is retired by the Twins, and he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2000. For an excellent career as a hitter and baserunner, Tony Oliva should have been honored as a Hall of Famer. He always played like one. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,676 season high: 161 in 1964 

At Bats career: 6,301 season high: 672 in 1964 

Hits career: 1,917 season high: 217 in 1964 led AL: 217 in 1964, 185 in 1965, 191 in 1966, 197 in 1969, 204 in 1970 

Doubles career: 329 season high: 43 in 1964 led AL: 43 in 1964, 34 in 1967, 39 in 1969, 36 in 1970 

Triples career: 48 season high: 9 in 1964 

Home Runs career: 220 season high: 32 in 1964 

Runs career: 870 season high: 109 in 1964 led AL: 109 in 1964 

Runs Batted In career: 947 season high: 107 in 1970 

Stolen Bases career: 86 season high: 19 in 1965 

Walks career: 448 season high: 55 in 1965 

Strikeouts career: 645 season high: 72 in 1966 

Batting Average career: .304 season high: .337 in 1971 led AL: .323 in 1964, .321 in 1965, .337 in 1971 

On Base Percentage career: .353 season high: .378 in 1965 

Slugging Percentage career: .476 season high: .557 in 1964 led AL: .546 in 1971 

Total Bases career: 3,002 season high: 374 in 1964 led AL: 374 in 1964 

Sacrifice Hits career: 14 season high: 3 in 1964 

Fielding Percentage career: .975 season high: .987 in 1967 

Double Plays career: 19 season high: 4 in 1970 led AL RF: 3 in 1966, 4 in 1970, 3 in 1971 

Putouts career: 2,332 season high: 351 in 1970 led AL RF: 290 in 1964, 274 in 1965, 299 in 1966, 287 in 1967, 315 in 1969, 346 in 1970 

Assists career: 71 season high: 14 in 1969 led AL RF: 14 in 1969, 12 in 1970 

DID YOU KNOW?

-batted lefthanded and threw righthanded

-was an eight time all-star from 1964 through 1971, setting the MLB record for the most consecutive all-star selections to start an MLB career

-was the first player in MLB history to win his league’s batting title in his first two big league seasons 

-was also the first player ever to win his league’s Rookie of the Year Award and batting title in the same season 

-finished second in the AL MVP voting in both 1965 and 1969, fourth in 1964, sixth in 1966, tenth in 1971, 15th in 1969 and 19th in both 1967 and 1968 

-had 100 plus RBI’s in a season twice and 98 once 

-hit over 20 homers in a season five times 

-hit three home runs in one game on July 3, 1973 

-got eight hits in a row on June 29, 1969 

-batted .385 and .500 in two ALCSes with a homer and two doubles in each 

-hit a double and a homer in the 1965 World Series

-led the AL in extra-base hits in 1964 (84) 

-led the AL in hit by pitch in 1975 (13) 

-finished second in the 1966 AL batting race to Triple Crown winner and future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (.316)

-led the AL in intentional walks in 1968 (16) 

-led AL rightfielders in games in 1967 (146), 1969 (152) and 1970 (154) 

-was named the AL Player of the Week on June 30, 1974

-when he first came up, teammate Zoilo Versalles called him “the new Ty Cobb” for his speed, throwing arm and hitting skills 

-also played 43 games in centerfield, ten in leftfield, 104 as a pinch hitter, and one as a pinch runner

-was inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 

WHY I THINK CECIL FIELDER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK CECIL FIELDER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Photo of my personal baseball card

Cecil Fielder was one of the best pure sluggers of all time. He not only hit a lot of home runs, but he was also known to hit some of the longest, such as one onto the roof of Tiger Stadium, and one out of Milwaukee County Stadium. He was part of the 50 home run club, led the majors in RBI’s for three straight years (Babe Ruth was the only other to do this, and Fielder was often compared with him), won two home run titles, led the AL in slugging once and total bases once, and hit 319 career home runs. Cecil Fielder was such a great, clean slugger that even fans of contact hitting (like myself) think that he should be a Hall of Famer. Fielder was never one to hit for average, as he hit .277 in his best season and a respectable .255 for his career but owned an astounding career home run percentage of 6.2, which is the 33rd highest of all time and higher than those of Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Fielder started his career in 1985 with the Blue Jays, batting .311 with four home runs in 30 games. After 34 games in 1986, Fielder hit .269 and 14 homers in 82 games in 1987. He slipped to .230 in 74 games in 1988 and took the 1989 season off to play in Japan (he batted .302 with 38 home runs for the Hanshin Tigers) before signing with the Detroit Tigers. Fielder was a huge hit there, becoming the first player to reach 50 or more home runs in a season since the legendary George Foster hit 52 in 1977, blasting homers number 50 and 51 on the last day of the season. After leading baseball in homers and RBI’s again Fielder hit 35 homers and drove in 124 runs, totals that still didn’t match his performance in the previous two seasons. He hit .267 in 1993 with 30 homers and proceeded to hit 28, 31 and 39 longballs before slowing to 13 in 98 games in 1997. Fielder retired after 1998 when he hit “only'' 17 homers. Cecil Fielder was one of the game’s best sluggers, and a player who long should have been inducted into Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,470 season high: 162 in 1991 led AL: 162 in 1991 

At Bats career: 5,157 season high: 624 in 1991 

Hits career: 1,313 season high: 163 in 1991 

Doubles career: 200 season high: 25 in 1990 and 1991 

Triples career: 7 season high: 2 in 1994 

Home Runs career: 319 season high: 51 in 1990 led AL: 51 in 1990, 44 in 1991 

Runs career: 744 season high: 104 in 1990 

Runs Batted In career: 1,008 season high: 133 in 1991 led AL: 132 in 1990, 133 in 1991, 124 in 1992 

Stolen Bases career: 2 season high: 2 in 1996 

Walks career: 693 season high: 90 in 1990 and 1993 

Strikeouts career: 1,316 season high: 182 in 1990 led AL: 182 in 1990 

Batting Average career: .255 season high: .277 in 1990 

On Base Percentage career: .345 season high: .377 in 1990 

Slugging Percentage career: .482 season high: .592 in 1990 led AL: .592 in 1990 

Total Bases career: 2,484 season high: 339 in 1990 led AL: 339 in 1990 

Sacrifice Hits career: 0 

Fielding Percentage career: .991 season high: .993 in 1991, 1994 and 1995 

Double Plays career: 742 season high: 137 in 1990 led AL 1B: 137 in 1990 

Putouts career: 7,382 season high: 1,190 in 1990 

Assists career: 694 season high: 111 in 1990 led AL 1B: 108 in 1994 

DID YOU KNOW?

-father of Prince Fielder, and they are the only father and son to reach the 50-homer plateau

-nicknamed “Big Daddy” 

-was a three time all-star (in 1990, 1991 and 1993)

-won two Silver Slugger awards, three Player of the Week awards, one Player of the Month award and even the 1996 AL Babe Ruth Award for the best performance during the postseason

-won a World Series ring in 1996 while with the Yankees, when he batted .391 with a pair of doubles 

-had career totals of 19 games, six runs scored, 18 hits, three doubles, three home runs, 15 RBI’s, seven walks, 13 strikeouts and a .286 batting average in postseason play 

-played two games as a second baseman, seven as a third baseman and one as a leftfielder 

-led the AL in extra-base hits (77) and home run percentage (8.9) in 1990 

-had the highest salary in the AL in 1995 and 1996 

-hit 20 or more doubles in a season five times 

-hit three home runs in one game on three separate occasions 

-finished second in the AL MVP voting in 1990 and 1991, ninth in 1992 and 24th in 1993 

-had the highest salary in the AL in 1995 and 1996 ($9,237,500 for each season)

-actively spoke out against steroid users in baseball, especially Mark McGwire, stating that he was the best first baseman in the league and should have been an all-star more often

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

Introduction to the Cooperstown Advocate

THE COOPERSTOWN ADVOCATE

    Hello, my name is Damien, and I am a baseball enthusiast. The Cooperstown Advocate is a blog on all of baseball’s best players who were denied recognition to the Hall of Fame (in Cooperstown, New York). I will include all of the players that I believe are worthy of such a great honor, but if I leave anyone important out please let me know. You can also vote on my articles as to which players you agree with and which players you disagree with, in case I decide to publish all of my articles in a book. I will exclude suspected* or admitted steroid users and players who broke other rules (such as betting on games or even throwing them) on account of the scandals they were a part of. Baseball is supposed to be clean and fun, and you can’t give everlasting fame to a crook. I hope you like my blog. It was fun for me to research and write, and I hope that you enjoy reading it! 

*If you find out that a suspected PED user was judged wrongly, please let me know so that I can consider their numbers and career accomplishments for an upcoming article. 

NOTES

-Players will be released twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, starting on July 6, 2020. 

-If a player is retired less than ten years without ever appearing on a Hall of Fame ballot, he will be excluded, but if he was on a ballot but failed to be inducted, or was retired ten or more years ago without appearing on a ballot, he may be included (not counting the Eras Committee). 

-In order to not leave anybody out, I will be advocating for a lot of players with borderline Hall of Fame cases, so if I pick somebody who may seem somewhat average or obscure, I'm not a crazy nut.

-If you find out that one of the players that I advocated for threw games or cheated with steroids or a corked bat, please let me know. 

-I will give a slight favor to players who fought for our country in times of war. 

-A player has to have been active for at least nine seasons (Addie Joss made Cooperstown in nine, the fewest of any player). 

-At the bare minimum, non-pitchers have to have at least 1,000 career hits and 3,000 career at bats. 

-A starting pitcher is required to have at least 100 wins and 1,000 innings pitched, and a closer won’t be considered unless he earned at least 100 saves. 

-All relief pitchers with at least 300 career saves and an ERA under 3.00 who are inactive and not still on the Hall of Fame ballot will be written about before this blog is through.

-Players who used illegal drugs will be completely ignored.

-for seasonal lows in ERA, I will include season lows for ERA Title qualifiers. If a pitcher never qualifies (relievers), then I will include his all time season low.

-After I send in all of my posts for the deserving players not in the Hall of Fame, I will have a few more posts for honorable mentions, future Hall of Famers, and the undeserving Hall of Famers.

-I will cover each year's Hall of Fame ballot

-If you have any questions, please let me know.

-God bless!