It always strikes me.

[AlecBoy006]

Some guys have the worst offense, but amazing defense, are in the hall of fame. Yet, guys have great offense *cough*Frank Howard*cough* and yet people say if he had decent d he'd be in.

[plask_stirlac]

Howard was really humming for only about 5 seasons, whereas some (questionable) selections on glovework did show 10, 15 years of consistency.

[Fuzzy Bear]

How many HOFers are there for their glove alone? Hmmm . . .

Bill Mazeroski
Rabbit Maranville
Ozzie Smith
Brooks Robinson
George Kelly
Dave Bancroft
Bid McPhee
Luis Aparicio
Harry Hooper
Ray Schalk

These guys would NOT, IMO, have gone into the HOF if they had been merely good defensive players.

There are others, like Reese and Rizzuto, whose defense is cited, who made the HOF not on defense, but on just enough offense, coupled with being part of a great team. Tinker and Evers are in a different category; Tinker was pretty much a glove man, but Evers was a significant offensive player in his time.

Of the top list, Kelly is a big mistake. Bancroft and Hooper have weak cases. The rest of these guys all have cases stemming from their uniqueness, with the exception of Ozzie, whose offense was much better than is remembered. (Ozzie was the NL's best OFFENSIVE shortstop in the late 80s.)

Glove men do poorly in HOF balloting, however. Here are some guys who are NOT in the HOF:

Frank White
Marty Marion
Jim Hegan
Harold Reynolds
Bob Boone
Keith Hernandez
Graig Nettles
Larry Bowa
Mark Belanger
Jimmy Piersall
Vic Power
Dave Concepcion

These are guys that are at, or near, the very top of defensive performance at their positions. Ever. Marion won an MVP pretty much with his glove alone. Hegan is considered by some as the greatest defensive catcher in history. White is an excellent comp for Maz and Harold Reynolds was an All-Star with the majority of his value being defensive. Concepcion really has the same case Reese and Rizzuto have (Reese's case being much better, BTW). Piersall was considered by many to be the greatest defensive center fielder of all time. None of these guys have come close to the HOF.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to argue that glove men get a pass in the HOF. I DO think that many of these "glove men" have less valuable careers than some guys with better hitting stats that are outside the HOF.

[John Shoemaker]

The case of Greg Nettles has always bothered me. He was as good a defensive third baseman as ever played the game and he had almost 400 career home runs. How can he not be in the hall of fame?

[Captain Cold Nose]

The case of Greg Nettles has always bothered me. He was as good a defensive third baseman as ever played the game and he had almost 400 career home runs. How can he not be in the hall of fame?
Sub-Maranville batting average. Third base is the least represented position in the HOF.