Hal McRae

[Cowtipper]

Does Hal McRae have an argument for the Hall of Fame? Over 19 years in the majors, he hit .290 with 2091 hits and 191 HR.

Considered by some as one of the top 10 DHs of all time, McRae was a three time All-Star, and also a solid postseason hitter.

I'm not much for electing DHs into the Hall of Fame, so I myself probably wouldn't give him a yes. But others might try to make a case for him.

[Fuzzy Bear]

He wouldn't have a case if he were a career Gold Glove Center Fielder.

[KCGHOST]

McRae was one hard-nosed baseball player. A "throwback" if you will. But not an HoF candidate.

[Fuzzy Bear]

McRae was one hard-nosed baseball player. A "throwback" if you will. But not an HoF candidate.

McRae may well have been a HOFer if he had not broken his ankle early in the 1968 season. Especially if he had been able to make a career either at second base or in center field. He had serious, serious speed before the ankle injury, but lost a decent amount of it when he broke the ankle. He lost all of 1968 and spent 1969 rehabbing and in the minors; time where he would otherwise have established himself as a star.

[Fuzzy Bear]

McRae was one hard-nosed baseball player. A "throwback" if you will. But not an HoF candidate.

McRae may well have been a HOFer if he had not broken his ankle early in the 1968 season. Especially if he had been able to make a career either at second base or in center field. He had serious, serious speed before the ankle injury, but lost a decent amount of it when he broke the ankle. He lost all of 1968 and spent 1969 rehabbing and in the minors; time where he would otherwise have established himself as a star.

[jjpm74]

Even if you take fielding out of the equation as a criteria for measuring HOF potential, there are other problems with his batting. Black Ink is 9 and well off the mark for a typical HOFer. Gray Ink is 87 which again falls well short. HOF Standards 23.2 which isn't even half way there for an average HOFer. HOF Monitor 49 which again puts him under halfway there. Looking at his career stats, he was a three time all star, had 6 full seasons where he batted over .300, had 1 season where he drove in over 100 RBIs and one super star calibre season (1982). 191 career HRs with 2 seasons hitting over 20 HRs means he wasn't much of a power hitter. A -131 strikeout to walk ratio. Not seeing too much in the way of offense to put him anywhere near the HOF. If he were a superstar Shortstop with those stats, maybe he'd get some support, but as a DH where the only real way to assess his ability is his batting, he falls way short.

[Fuzzy Bear]

McRae would be in the HOF, or at least a viable candidate, if he had been a career middle infielder. He wouldn't be viable at any positions other than SS or 2B. MAYBE at third, if he was a Gold Glover.

In truth, it is questionable just how valuable he was as a DH. McRae was put at DH because of his injury history and because of fears that he would reinjure himself, but he was nowhere near the level of an Edgar Martinez or Frank Thomas. He was better than Don Baylor, and by a lot, but Baylor (an overrated player if there ever was one) had a career Offensive Winning Percentage of only .567. That's terrible for a DH; one could come up with a platoon combination and top that. McCrae was better, at .603, and there are a lot of corner OFs who, while not HOFers, hold down regular jobs at that level, but those guys also bring some defense to the equation.

[Brad Harris]

Does Hal McRae have an argument for the Hall of Fame? Over 19 years in the majors, he hit .290 with 2091 hits and 191 RBI.

191 RBI in 19 years? He'd had to be special to make my ballot. ;)

[Cowtipper]

191 RBI in 19 years? He'd had to be special to make my ballot. ;)

Oops, talk about a mistake, huh? 191 RBI in 19 years...sounds more like a Rob Ducey. (that's a joke)

Anyway, thanks for the catch.

[Phish]

I won't consider too many DH's until Edgar gets a vote

[NineWorldSeries]

Who voted Yes ?!?