Mark Narducci spent 37 years overlaying all sports activities for The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier than retiring in July 2021. He lined every thing from highschool sports activities to the Phillies successful the World Sequence and the Eagles successful the Tremendous Bowl. A lifelong resident of southern New Jersey, he continues to be a contract author and broadcaster. As soon as once more, Mark reached out to see if MLB Commerce Rumors could be desirous about publishing his Corridor of Fame poll. I’m joyful to take action and I hope it will likely be an fascinating matter of dialogue for our readers. This is Mark…
It’s all the time an honor to be revealed by MLBTradeRumors.com, among the many most revered baseball publications on the planet. For those who have not read the past yearsJust a bit housekeeping. I do not vote for these related to doping, which implies Alex Rodriguez and Manny RamirezYou do not obtain my vote.
I additionally didn’t vote for Carlos Beltran Who was admittedly the mastermind of the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, which modified the notion of the World Sequence-winning crew. These actions value him his job as director and, for the time being, this vote. I do not really feel like all of the Astros ought to be punished, however as talked about earlier than, that is a narrative for an additional day.
I by no means criticize how my fellow voters vote. This doesn’t imply that our voices will not be susceptible to criticism, together with my very own. Each voter should do what he thinks is greatest.
Now, right here is that this yr’s poll, which incorporates 5 names.
Retainers
There are three remaining that I voted for final yr and bought my vote once more this yr.
There is not any doubt that accidents slowed Utley’s profession and lots of really feel he did not have the counting stats entering into, however he was a six-time All-Star and solely 4 HOF second basemen have extra dwelling runs than Utley’s 259. These 4 we’re Rogers Hornsby (301), Craig Biggio (291), Ren Sandberg (282) And Joe Morgan (268). I am an enormous fan of second basemen who present nice energy, which is why I voted for them Jeff Kent (377 dwelling runs) when he was on the poll. We additionally are likely to search for excellence, even whether it is within the brief time period. As we talked about final yr, from 2005-09, Utley’s slash line was .301/.388/535 and he averaged 29.2 dwelling runs and 110 RBI. 101.4 RBI, 151 RBI, 675 RBI. His BWAR throughout that point was 7.7. Solely 9 HOF second basemen have the next profession B-Warfare than Utley (64.5).
Utley gained the World Sequence in 2008 with the Philadelphia Phillies, and the next yr he hit 5 dwelling runs within the 2009 World Sequence in opposition to the Yankees, tying the MLB file with Reggie Jackson In 1977 and George Springer In 2017. He was a profession .275/.358/.465 hitter with an 823 OPS and a 117 OPS+. Utley has additionally gained 4 Silver Slugger Awards. Will it’s sufficient? Final yr, in his first season on the poll, Utley acquired 28.8% of the vote, so he has an extended strategy to go.
That is Wagner’s tenth and remaining season on the poll after final yr he got here near getting 73.8% of the vote, dropping by 5 votes. Those that do not feel Wagner is a HOF participant level to his lack of appearances and World Sequence statistics. Each are legitimate.
Wagner pitched solely 903 innings. His postseason manufacturing, although consisting of solely 11 1/3 innings over 14 video games, was poor to say the least. He had a ten.03 ERA.
The explanation for voting for Wagner was his superiority. According to the Baseball Hall of Famehis profession WHIP of .998 is lowest amongst all retired relievers with no less than 700 innings pitched, and his 2.31 profession ERA is lowest amongst retired left-handed pitchers with no less than 500 innings pitched within the live-ball period. His ERA+ of 187 is second all-time to Mariano Rivera.
According to HOF expert Jay JaffeWagner’s 11.9 strikeouts per 9 innings (minimal 900 innings) are one of the best in MLB historical past. There are actually others forward of him, however they’ve pitched fewer than 900 innings.
Wagner completed with 422 saves, second-highest amongst left-handed relievers and eighth total. According to MLB.comHe transformed 422 of 476 save alternatives (.887).
He was a seven-time All-Star and performed on groups that superior to the postseason seven instances.
Wright falls into Utley’s class of not getting counting stats as a consequence of harm. That is his second yr on the poll, and he solely acquired 6.2 p.c of the votes final yr. Nonetheless, Wright was a dominant pressure when wholesome. Wright was a seven-time All-Star throughout a nine-year span from 2005 to 2013. Throughout that point, his slash line was .302/.384/.505 with a 138 OPS+. He averaged 23 dwelling runs, 90 runs scored, and 93 RBI whereas additionally successful two Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards. Wright completed within the high 10 in MVP voting 4 instances. Throughout that nine-year interval, he was among the many greatest gamers not solely at his place, but in addition within the sport of baseball.
In accordance with the Baseball HOF, Wright is one among 4 third-tier baserunners in historical past (together with Corridor of Famers George Brett, Chipper Jones and Mike Schmidt) who retired with no less than 350 doubles, 200 dwelling runs, and 150 stolen bases. He completed with 390 doubles, 242 dwelling runs, and 196 stolen bases.
He was a profession .296/.376/.491 hitter with a 133 OPS+. Solely seven third basemen within the HOF have the next OPS+ than Wright. Attributable to accidents, he was by no means a full-time participant after the age of 31.
New arrivals
It is a participant who is certain to generate some controversy. Amongst his largest promoting factors have been his profession wins (251) and successful share (.609) in an period the place wins aren’t valued the way in which they was once. He’s tied for forty seventh all-time in profession wins.
Some may use his 3.74 ERA in opposition to Sabathia, which is honest. His profession ERA+ was 116, stable however not spectacular.
On the plus facet, he was the star of all three groups he performed for (Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the New York Yankees) and led all three to the postseason. (Later in his profession, he wasn’t the Yankees’ greatest pitcher, however throughout his first 5 years in New York, he was.)
The left-hander was a six-time All-Star in 2007 Si Young Award winner with Cleveland. He has completed within the high 10 in Cy Younger voting 4 different instances. He was a workhorse, making 30 or extra begins 12 instances. Sabathia helped lead the Yankees to the 2009 World Sequence throughout his first yr with the membership. Throughout that yr he was ALCS MVP, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in two appearances in opposition to the Los Angeles Angels. In 10 of his 19 seasons, he performed on playoff groups and has a profession file of 10-7 and a 4.28 ERA in 26 postseason appearances. Sabathia is one among three left-handers with no less than 3,000 strikeouts. He has hit 3,093 hits, 18th all-time.
Simply as Adrian Beltre was chosen on the primary poll final yr, so is Ichiro this yr. He has the credentials to be a unanimous decide. Maybe one of the best stat is that Ichiro had 200 or extra hits and gained a Gold Glove in every of his first 10 seasons with Seattle. In 2001, he turned the second participant to win each Rookie of the 12 months and MVP awards in the identical season. What’s much more spectacular is that he did not make his MLB debut till the age of 27. In these first 10 seasons, his slash line was .331/.376/.430. Earlier than coming to play for the Seattle Mariners, he had 1,278 hits whereas taking part in in Japan. He completed his profession with 3,089 MLB hits and a .311/.355/.402 slash line. Ichiro gained two hits as he hit .350 in 2001 and .372 in 2004. He additionally stole 509 bases in 626 makes an attempt (83%) in his profession and was a 10-time All-Star, all of which got here in his first 10 seasons. . In 86 postseason plate appearances, he hit .346/.400/.436. Ichiro performed primarily as a right-sided participant, taking part in 1,970 matches as a right-hander, 322 as a midfielder and 117 as a left-hander. He was additionally very sturdy, taking part in 150 or extra video games 13 instances and 160 or extra on 9 events.
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