BBF Progressive HoF Election: 1957

[Ace Venom]

PLEASE READ BEFORE VOTING!

Format and Rules
Voting Rules: Voters may vote for between 0-15 candidates. Votes will be made public, and voters are encouraged to post their ballots in the thread and not view results before voting. PLEASE LIMIT YOUR BALLOT TO 15 VOTES AT MOST. EXCESS VOTES MAY RESULT IN YOUR BALLOT BEING DISQUALIFIED.
-Blank Ballots: A "None of the Above" option is available if you believe no one is worthy and you wish to submit a blank ballot. This option is not to be taken lightly and it is strongly urged that it be used only after the utmost consideration, as non-votes carry great weight. Additionally, if using this option, please post your rationale.

Voting Criteria: Players are to be evaluated within the context of the era in which they played and the history of the game to that point. Players are not to be held to standards that would materialize at a time beyond the year of the current election. Modern statistical analysis is permitted but must be applied strictly within historical context not to go beyond the year of the current election. Players are to be judged based solely on their playing careers. Other, non-playing contributions may be considered to the extent that they coincided with a player's playing career (such as a player/manager).

Thoughtfulness and Editing Ballots: Please review and thoughtfully consider the candidates before voting, and make sure you have accurately filled out your ballot before submitting. Requests for editing ballots after the fact will generally not be honored. Exceptions might be made if a voter accidentally voted for the wrong player or accidentally went over the voting limit (but I strongly encourage you to do your best to prevent either from happening).

Required Support: Players receiving at least 75% support in an election will be elected. Players need at least 5% support to appear on the next ballot.

Player Eligibility: Players eligible for an election will have last played at least 5 years prior to the election year and have appeared in at least 10 Major League seasons. If a player appeared in less than 10 seasons, he may still be eligible if he had a minimum of 3000 PAs or 1500 IP, though extra scrutiny will be applied. Players will remain on the ballot for 15 years, provided they continue to receive at least 5% of the vote, at which point they will become indefinitely eligible for periodic elections conducted by the Veterans Committee.
- Age Exception: For players 40 or older, they will become eligible the later of either 5 years after their last year of continuous play, or their first inactive year at age 45 or older.
- Death Exception: For players who meet the criteria for consideration, but die before their first year of eligibility can have the five year waiting period waived and placed on the ballot the year of death.

Election Period: Elections will close exactly one week after starting. The next election might not commence for another day or two.

Conduct Policy: Every vote is a voter's opinion on who should be elected to the Hall of Fame. It is our responsibility as voters to be respectful towards each other. Personal attacks should not be tolerated and you should notify a moderator rather than allowing an argument to escalate and further derail discussion of the candidates.

Recounts: There is a moratorium on regular election recounts until the 1960 election. It is your responsibility to ensure that your ballot is correct when it is submitted. No votes will be adjusted if you accidentally clicked on the wrong box.

1957 Guide
There are 34 candidates on the 1956 ballot - 18 holdovers and 16 first timers. First time eligible players last played in 1952 (unless qualifying under the age or death rule) or were omitted on the ballot in previous years.

Newly Eligible (16)
Al Belton
Johnny Berardino
Lou Boudreau
Bob Chipman
Dick Fowler
Randy Gumpert
Joe Haynes
Ken Heintzelman
Tommy Holmes
Johnny Hopp
Charlie Keller
Phil Masi
Stubby Overmire
Pete Reiser
Snuffy Stirnweiss

Holdovers (18)
Player Year of Eligibility Previous Support High Support Low Support
Wally Berger 13th 51.85% 53.85% (1947) 38.24% (1950)
Tommy Bridges 7th 44.44% 46.43% (1955) 22.58% (1952)
Kiki Cuyler 15th 29.63% 55.17% (1945) 29.63% (1956)
Lefty Gomez 10th 62.96% 62.96% (1956) 38.46 (1948)
Tommy Henrich 3rd 11.11% 25.00% (1955) 11.11% (1956)
Bob Johnson 8th 40.74% 47.06% (1953) 26.47% (1950)
Chuck Klein 9th 44.44% 45.71% (1951) 37.50% (1954)
Tony Lazzeri 13th 40.74% 40.74% (1956) 20.59% (1953)
Ernie Lombardi 6th 48.15% 48.15% (1956) 32.26% (1952)
Heinie Manush 13th 29.43% 34.48% (1945) 18.75% (1954)
Buddy Myer 12th 14.29% 20.59% (1953) 11.11% (1946)
Cecil Travis 6th 7.41% 11.76% (1953) 6.25% (1954)
Hal Trosky 8th 7.41% 14.29% (1951) 5.88% (1953)
Johnny Vander Meer 2nd 7.41% 7.41% (1956) 7.41% (1956)
Dixie Walker 4th 11.11% 11.11% (1956) 9.38% (1954)
Bucky Walters 3rd 40.74% 46.43% (1955) 40.74% (1956)
Lloyd Waner 8th 7.41% 11.76% (1950) 5.88% (1953)
Lon Warneke 8th 22.22% 22.22% (1956) 8.82% (1950)

Holdovers Dropped From Last Election (5)
Player Reason Years on Ballot High Support Low Support
Jim Bottomley End of Eligibility 15 28.00% (1949) 12.90% (1952)
Paul Derringer Lack of Support 6 8.82% (1953) 3.70% (1956)
Rick Ferrell Lack of Support 7 12.50% (1954) 3.70% (1956)
Augie Galan Lack of Support 3 7.14% (1955) 0.00% (1956)
Babe Herman End of Eligibility 15 20.00% (1943) 6.45% (1952)


Last Year of Eligibility (1)
Player High Support
Kiki Cuyler 55.17% (1945)


Penultimate Year of Eligibility (0)
Player High Support


Holdovers Receiving At Least 50% in Previous Election (2)
Player Previous Support Years with At Least 50% Support
Wally Berger 51.85% 4
Lefty Gomez 60.71% 5

Hall of Famers - 172
A total of 172 players and contributors have been elected to the BBF Progressive Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame Players Wing
Players Elected - 150
Player Year Elected Election Percentage Years on Ballot Position Primary Team Active Years Total Seasons Living/Deceased Age at Election
Pete Alexander 1935 93.94% 1 Pitcher Philadelphia Phillies (NL) 1911-1930 20 Deceased (1887-1950) 48
Cap Anson 1902 100% 1 First Base Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) (NL) 1871-1897 27 Deceased (1852-1922) 50
Luke Appling 1955 100% 1 Shortstop Chicago White Sox (AL) 1930-1943, 1945-1950 20 Living - Age 50 48
Earl Averill 1947 82.14% 2 Center Field Cleveland Indians (AL) 1929-1941 13 Living - Age 55 45
Frank Baker 1927 96.43% 1 Third Base Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1908-1914, 1916-1919, 1921-1922 13 Living - Age 69 41
Ross Barnes^ 1911 76.00% 11 Second Base Boston Red Stockings (NA) 1871-1879, 1881 9 Deceased (1850-1915) 61
Jake Beckley 1917 76.00% 6 First Base Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1887-1907 20 Deceased (1867-1918) 50
John Beckwith*` 1947 (VC) 91.67% VC Third Base Chicago Giants (NNL) 1916-1938 19 Deceased (1900-1956) 47
James Bell 1952 (VC) 100% VC Center Field Pittsburgh crawfords (NNL) 1922-1946 25 Living - Age 54 49
Charlie Bennett 1907 75.00% 7 Catcher Detroit Wolverines (NL) 1878, 1880-1893 15 Deceased (1854-1927) 53
Roger Bresnahan 1925 79.17% 6 Catcher New York Giants (NL) 1897, 1900-1915 17 Deceased (1879-1944) 46
Dan Brouthers 1901 90.00% 1 First Base Buffalo Bisons (NL) 1879-1896, 1904 18 Deceased (1858-1932) 50
Mordecai Brown 1921 96.77% 1 Pitcher Chicago Cubs (NL) 1903-1916 14 Deceased (1876-1948) 45
Pete Browning 1909 77.27% 9 Left Field/Center Field Louisville Colonels (NL/AA) 1882-1894 13 Deceased (1861-1905) Deceased
Jesse Burkett 1910 92.00% 1 Left Field Cleveland Spiders (NL) 1890-1895 16 Deceased (1868-1953) 42
Max Carey 1934 82.14% 1 Center Field Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1910-1929 20 Living - Age 67 44
Bob Caruthers 1909 77.27% 9 Pitcher/Right Field St. Louis Browns (Cardinals) (NL/AA) 1884-1893 10 Deceased (1864-1911) 45
Frank Chance 1932 83.33% 14 First Base Chicago Cubs (NL) 1898-1914 17 Deceased (1876-1924) Deceased
Oscar Charleston*` 1947 (VC) 91.67% VC Center Field Indianapolis ABCs (I/NNL) 1915-1941 27 Deceased (1896-1954) 51
Cupid Childs 1920 76.92% 15 Second Base Cleveland Spiders (NL) 1888, 1890-1901 13 Deceased (1867-1912) Deceased
Fred Clarke 1917 88.00% 1 Left Field Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1894-1915 21 Living - Age 87 45
John Clarkson 1901 90.00% 1 Pitcher Boston Beaneaters (Braves) (NL) 1882, 1884-1894 12 Deceased (1861-1909) 40
Ty Cobb 1933 96.55% 1 Center Field Detroit Tigers (AL) 1905-1928 24 Living - Age 71 47
Mickey Cochrane 1942 89.19% 1 Catcher Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1925-1937 13 Living - Age 53 38
Eddie Collins 1935 96.67% 1 Second Base Chicago White Sox (AL) 1906-1930 25 Deceased (1887-1951) 48
Jimmy Collins 1913 82.61% 1 Third Base Boston Americans (Red Sox) (AL) 1895-1908 14 Deceased (1870-1943) 43
Roger Connor 1902 79.17% 1 First Base New York Giants (NL) 1880-1897 18 Deceased (1857-1931) 45
Andy Cooper*` 1947 (VC) 83.33% VC Pitcher Kansas City Monarchs (NNL/NAL) 1920-1941 22 Deceased (1898-1941) Deceased
Wilbur Cooper* 1950 (VC) 75.00% VC Pitcher Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1912-1926 15 Living - Age 65 58
Stan Coveleski 1934 89.29% 2 Pitcher Cleveland Indians (AL) 1912, 1916-1928 14 Living - Age 68 45
Sam Crawford 1922 92.86% 1 Right Field Detroit Tigers (AL) 1899-1917 19 Living - Age 77 41
Joe Cronin 1950 88.24% 1 Shortstop Boston Red Sox (AL) 1926-1945 20 Living - Age 51 44
Bill Dahlen 1916 88.00% 1 Shortstop Chicago Colts (Cubs) (NL) 1891-1911 21 Deceased (1870-1950) 46
George Davis 1914 84.62% 1 Shortstop New York Giants (NL) 1890-1909 20 Deceased (1870-1940) 44
Ed Delahanty 1908 96.00% 1 Left Field Philadelphia Phillies (NL) 1888-1903 16 Deceased (1867-1903) Deceased
Dizzy Dean 1948 80.77% 3 Pitcher St. Louis Cardinals (NL) 1930, 1932-1941, 1947 12 Living - Age 48 38
Bill Dickey 1951 94.29% 1 Catcher New York Yankees (AL) 1928-1943, 1946 17 Living - Age 50 44
Martin Dihigo*` 1952 (VC) 100% VC Second Base/Pitcher Cuban Stars (East) (ANL/I) 1923-1945 23 Living - Age 51 46
Joe DiMaggio 1956 96.30% 1 Center Field New York Yankees (AL) 1936-1942, 1946-1951 13 Living - Age 43 42
Bobby Doerr 1956 88.89% 1 Second Base Boston Red Sox (AL) 1937-1944, 1946-1951 14 Living - Age 39 38
Larry Doyle 1926 76.00% 2 Second Base New York Giants (NL) 1907-1920 14 Living - Age 71 40
Hugh Duffy 1918 75.00% 8 Center Field/Outfield Boston Beaneaters (Braves) (NL) 1888-1891, 1904-1906 17 Deceased (1866-1954) 52
Buck Ewing 1902 83.33% 1 Catcher New York Giants (NL) 1880-1897 18 Deceased (1859-1906) 44
Red Faber 1940 76.46% 3 Pitcher Chicago White Sox (AL) 1914-1933 20 Living - Age 69 52
Wes Ferrell 1955 78.57% 10 Pitcher Cleveland Indians (AL) 1927-1941 15 Living - Age 49 47
Elmer Flick 1916 80.00% 1 Right Field Cleveland Naps (Indians) (AL) 1898-1910 13 Living - Age 81 40
Willie Foster*` 1947 (VC) 75.00% VC Pitcher Chicago American Giants (ANL/NNL) 1923-1938 16 Living - Age 53 43
Jimmie Foxx 1950 100% 1 First Base Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1925-1942, 1945 20 Living - Age 50 43
Frankie Frisch 1942 91.89% 1 Second Base New York Giants (NL) 1919-1937 19 Living - Age 58 43
Pud Galvin 1903 80.77% 3 Pitcher Buffalo Bisons (NL) 1875, 1879-1892 15 Deceased (1856-1902) Deceased
Lou Gehrig 1944 100% 1 First Base New York Yankees (AL) 1923-1939 17 Deceased (1903-1941) Deceased
Charlie Gehringer 1947 100% 1 Second Base Detroit Tigers (AL) 1924-1942 19 Living - Age 54 44
Josh Gibson*` 1947 (VC) 100% VC Catcher Homestead Grays (ANL/NNL) 1929-1946 18 Deceased (1911-1947) Deceased
Jack Glasscock 1911 84.00% 11 Shortstop Cleveland Blues (NL) 1879-1895 17 Deceased (1857-1947) 54
George Gore 1909 77.27% 9 Center Field Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) (NL) 1879-1892 14 Deceased (1867-1933) 52
Joe Gordon 1955 75.00% 1 Second Base New York Yankees (AL) 1938-1943, 1946-1950 11 Living - Age 42 40
Goose Goslin 1943 93.33% 1 Left Field Washington Senators (NL) 1921-1938 18 Living - Age 56 42
Frank Grant*` 1947 (VC) 83.33% VC Second Base Cuban Giants (I/MSL) 1886-1905 20 Deceased (1865-1937) Deceased
Hank Greenberg 1952 93.55% 1 First Base Detroit Tigers (AL) 1930, 1933-1941, 1945-1947 13 Living - Age 46 41
Clark Griffith* 1940 (VC) 78.57% VC Pitcher Chicago Colts (Cubs) (NL) 1891, 1893-1909, 1912-1914 20 Deceased (1869-1955) 70
Heinie Groh 1936 81.25% 5 Third Base Cincinnati Reds (NL) 1912-1927 16 Living - Age 68 47
Lefty Grove 1946 100% 1 Pitcher Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1925-1941 17 Living - Age 57 46
Stan Hack 1952 77.42% 1 Third Base Chicago Cubs (NL) 1932-1947 16 Living - Age 48 43
Billy Hamilton 1906 82.61% 1 Center Field Philadelphia Phillies (NL) 1888-1901 14 Deceased (1866-1940) 40
Gabby Hartnett 1946 96.30% 1 Catcher Chicago Cubs (NL) 1922-1941 20 Living - Age 57 46
Harry Heilmann 1937 96.18% 1 Right Field Detroit Tigers (AL) 1914, 1916-1930, 1932 17 Deceased (1894-1951) 43
Billy Herman 1952 77.42% 1 Second Base Chicago Cubs (NL) 1931-1943, 1946-1947 15 Living - Age 48 43
Pete Hill*` 1947 (VC) 91.67% VC Center Field Chicago American Giants (I) 1899-1925 27 Deceased (1880-1951) 67
Paul Hines 1904 76.00% 4 Center Field Providence Grays (NL) 1872-1891 20 Deceased (1855-1935) 49
Rogers Hornsby 1942 97.30% 1 Second Base St. Louis Cardinals (NL) 1915-1937 23 Living - Age 60 45
Carl Hubbell 1948 96.15% 1 Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1928-1943 16 Living - Age 55 45
Hughie Jennings 1927 75.00% 14 Shortstop Baltimore Orioles (NL) 1891-1903, 1907, 1909, 1912, 1918 17 Deceased (1869-1928) 58
Grant Johnson*` 1947 (VC) 83.33% VC Shortstop Brooklyn Royal Giants (I) 1895-1916 22 Living - Age 83 73
Walter Johnson 1932 100% 1 Pitcher Washington Senators (AL) 1907-1927 21 Deceased (1887-1946) 45
Addie Joss 1926 76.00% 15 Pitcher Cleveland Naps (Indians) (AL) 1902-1910 9 Deceased (1880-1911) Deceased
Tim Keefe 1901 75.00% 1 Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1880-1893 14 Deceased (1857-1933) 44
Willie Keeler 1916 92.00% 2 Right Field Baltimore Orioles (NL) 1892-1910 19 Deceased (1872-1923) 44
Joe Kelley 1920 84.62% 8 Left Field Baltimore Orioles (NL) 1891-1906, 1908 17 Deceased (1871-1943) 49
King Kelly 1902 75.00% 2 Right Field/Catcher Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) (NL) 1878-1893 16 Deceased (1857-1894) Deceased
Napoleon Lajoie 1921 96.77% 1 Second Base Cleveland Naps (Indians) (AL) 1896-1916 21 Living - Age 83 47
Tommy Leach* 1940 (VC) 85.71% VC Third Base/Center Field Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1898-1915, 1918 19 Living - Age 80 63
Buck Leonard*` 1952 (VC) 100% VC First Base Homestead Grays (I/NNL) 1933-1950 18 Living - Age 50 45
John Henry Lloyd*` 1947 (VC) 100% VC Shortstop Lincoln Giants (I/ECL) 1906-1932 27 Living - Age 73 63
Herman Long* 1925 (VC) 75.00% VC Shortstop Boston Beaneaters (Braves) (NL) 1889-1904 16 Deceased (1866-1909) Deceased
Dick Lundy*` 1952 (VC) 81.82% VC Shortstop Bacharach Giants (I/ECL) 1916-1939 24 Living - Age 59 54
Ted Lyons 1949 80.00% 3 Pitcher Chicago White Sox (AL) 1928-1942, 1946 16 Living - Age 57 49
Biz Mackey*` 1952 (VC) 100% VC Catcher Hilldale Daises (ECL/ANL/I) 1920-1941, 1945-1947, 1950 26 Living - Age 60 55
Sherry Magee 1924 86.21% 1 Left Field Philadelphia Phillies (NL) 1904-1919 16 Deceased (1884-1929) 40
Rabbit Maranville* 1955 (VC) 100% VC Shortstop Boston Braves (NL) 1912-1933, 1935 23 Deceased (1891-1954) Deceased
Christy Mathewson 1922 93.55% 1 Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1900-1916 17 Deceased (1880-1925) 41
Joe McGinnity 1913 91.30% 1 Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1899-1908 10 Deceased (1871-1929) 42
Bid McPhee 1905 75.00% 2 Second Base Cincinnati Reds (NL/AA) 1882-1899 18 Deceased (1859-1943) 42
Cal McVey*^ 1920 (VC) 83.33% VC Catcher/First Base Boston Red Stockings (NA) 1871-1879 9 Deceased (1849-1926) 71
Joe Medwick 1953 85.29% 1 Left Field St. Louis Cardinals (NL) 1932-1948 17 Living - Age 46 42
Jose Mendez*` 1947 (VC) 91.67% VC Pitcher Kansas City Monarchs (NNL) 1908-1926 19 Deceased (1887-1928) Deceased
Bill Monroe*` 1947 (VC) 75.00% VC Second Base Brooklyn Royal Giants (I) 1896-1914 19 Deceased (1876-1914) Deceased
Tony Mullane 1908 80.00% 8 Pitcher Cincinnati Reds (NL/AA) 1881-1894 14 Deceased (1859-1944) 49
Kid Nichols 1911 100% 1 Pitcher Boston Beaneaters (Braves) (NL) 1890-1901, 1904-1906 15 Deceased (1869-1953) 42
Jim O'Rourke 1901 90.00% 1 Left Field/Utility New York Giants (NL) 1872-1893, 1904 23 Deceased (1850-1919) 51
Alejandro Oms*` 1947 (VC) 75.00% VC Center Field Cuban Stars (East) (ECL/ANL) 1917-1935 19 Deceased (1895-1946) Deceased
Mel Ott 1952 100% 1 Right Field New York Giants (NL) 1926-1947 22 Living - Age 48 43
Dickey Pearce*^ 1920 (VC) 100% VC Shortstop Brooklyn Atlantics (NA) 1871-1877 6 Deceased (1836-1908) Deceased
Lip Pike*^ 1920 (VC) 75.00% VC Center Field Baltimore Canaries (NA) 1871-1878, 1881, 1887 10 Deceased (1845-1926) Deceased
Eddie Plank 1922 92.86% 1 Pitcher Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1901-1917 17 Deceased (1875-1926) 47
Spotswood Poles*` 1947 (VC) 83.33% VC Center Field Lincoln Stars (I) 1909-1923 15 Living - Age 68 60
Charley Radbourn 1901 95.00% 1 Pitcher Providence Grays (NL) 1881-1891 11 Deceased (1854-1897) Deceased
Dick Redding*` 1947 (VC) 91.67% VC Pitcher Brooklyn Royal Giants (I/ECL) 1911-1938 18 Deceased (1891-1948) 56
Sam Rice* 1955 (VC) 76.92% VC Right Field Washington Senators (AL) 1915-1934 20 Living - Age 67 65
Hardy Richardson* 1920 (VC) 91.67% VC Second Base/Left Field Buffalo Bisons (NL) 1879-1892 14 Deceased (1855-1931) 65
Eppa Rixey* 1955 (VC) 92.30% VC Pitcher Cincinnati Reds (NL) 1912-1917, 1919-1933 21 Living - Age 66 64
Bullet Rogan*` 1947 (VC) 100% VC Pitcher Kansas City Monarchs (NNL/NAL) 1917-1938 22 Living - Age 64 54
Edd Roush 1943 76.67% 1 Center Field Cincinnati Reds (NL) 1913-1929, 1931 18 Living - Age 64 49
Red Ruffing 1951 82.86% 2 Pitcher New York Yankees (AL) 1924-1942, 1945-1947 22 Living - Age 52 46
Amos Rusie 1906 78.26% 1 Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1889-1895, 1897-1898, 1901 10 Deceased (1871-1942) 35
Babe Ruth 1940 97.06% 1 Right Field/Left Field New York Yankees (AL) 1914-1935 22 Deceased (1895-1948) 45
Jimmy Ryan* 1930 (VC) 86.67% VC Center Field Chicago Colts (Cubs) (NL) 1885-1900, 1902, 1903 18 Deceased (1863-1923) Deceased
Louis Santop*` 1947 (VC) 91.67% VC Catcher Hilldale Daises (I) 1909-1926 18 Deceased (1890-1942) Deceased
Joe Sewell 1942 75.68% 5 Shortstop/Third Base Cleveland Indians (AL) 1920-1933 14 Living - Age 58 43
Jimmy Sheckard* 1945 (VC) 83.33% VC Left Field Chicago Cubs (NL) 1897-1913 17 Deceased (1878-1947) 67
Al Simmons 1949 96.00% 1 Left Field Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1924-1944 21 Deceased (1902-1956) 47
George Sisler 1935 90.91% 1 First Base St. Louis Browns (AL) 1915-1922, 1924-1930 15 Living - Age 63 42
Al Spalding^ 1915 80.00% 15 Pitcher Boston Red Stockings (NA) 1871-1878 8 Deceased (1850-1915) Deceased
Tris Speaker 1933 100% 1 Center Field Cleveland Indians (AL) 1907-1928 22 Living - Age 69 45
Joe Start*^ 1920 (VC) 91.67% VC First Base Providence Grays (NL) 1871-1886 16 Deceased (1842-1927) 78
Turkey Stearnes*` 1947 (VC) 100% VC Center Field Detroit Stars (NNL/NAL) 1923-1942 20 Living - Age 56 46
Harry Stovey 1907 75.00% 7 Left Field/First Base Philadelphia Athletics (AA) 1880-1893 14 Deceased (1856-1931) 51
Mule Suttles*` 1952 (VC) 90.90% VC First Base Newark Eagles (NNL) 1921, 1923-1944 23 Living - Age 56 51
Ezra Sutton* 1920 (VC) 83.33% VC Third Base Boston Beaneaters (Braves) (NL) 1871-1888 18 Deceased (1850-1907) Deceased
Bill Terry 1941 80.00% 1 First Base New York Giants (NL) 1923-1936 14 Living - Age 58 43
Sam Thompson 1907 79.17% 5 Right Field Philadelphia Phillies (NL) 1885-1898, 1906 14 Deceased (1860-1922) 47
Cristobal Torriente*` 1947 (VC) 83.33% VC Center Field Chicago American Giants (NNL) 1913-1928 16 Deceased (1893-1938) Deceased
Pie Traynor 1942 83.78% 1 Third Base Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1920-1937 18 Living - Age 58 42
Dazzy Vance 1940 76.47% 1 Pitcher Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) (NL) 1915, 1918, 1922-1935 16 Living - Age 66 48
George Van Haltren 1918 75.00% 11 Center Field New York Giants (NL) 1887-1903 17 Deceased (1866-1945) 52
Arky Vaughan 1953 100% 1 Shortstop Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1932-1943, 1947-1948 14 Deceased (1912-1952) Deceased
Rube Waddell 1915 84.00% 1 Pitcher Philadelphia Athletics (AL) 1897, 1899-1910 13 Deceased (1876-1914) Deceased
Honus Wagner 1922 92.86% 1 Shortstop Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1897-1917 21 Deceased (1874-1955) 48
Bobby Wallace 1925 75.00% 3 Shortstop St. Louis Browns (AL) 1894-1918 25 Living - Age 84 52
Ed Walsh 1922 89.29% 1 Pitcher Chicago White Sox (AL) 1904-1917 14 Living - Age 76 41
John Ward 1907 75.00% 7 Shortstop/Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1878-1894 17 Deceased (1860-1925) 47
Paul Waner 1950 94.12% 1 Right Field Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 1926-1945 20 Living - Age 54 47
Mickey Welch* 1920 (VC) 75.00% VC Pitcher New York Giants (NL) 1880-1892 13 Deceased (1859-1941) 61
Willie Wells*` 1952 (VC) 90.90% VC Shortstop St. Louis Stars (NNL) 1924-1948 25 Living - Age 52 47
Zack Wheat 1932 87.50% 1 Left Field Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) (NL) 1909-1927 10 Living - Age 69 44
Deacon White 1904 76.00% 4 Catcher/Third Base Buffalo Bisons (NL) 1871-1890 20 Deceased (1847-1939) 57
Smokey Joe Williams*` 1947 (VC) 100% VC Pitcher Homestead Grays (I/ANL) 1905-1932 28 Deceased (1895-1946) Deceased
Vic Willis 1919 77.78% 5 Pitcher Boston Beaneaters (Braves) (NL) 1898-1910 13 Deceased (1876-1947) 43
Jud Wilson*` 1952 (VC) 90.90% VC Third Base Baltimore Black Sox (I/ECL/ANL) 1922-1939 18 Living - Age 58 53
George Wright^ 1907 75.00% 7 Shortstop Boston Red Stockings (NA) 1871-1882 12 Deceased (1847-1937) 60
Cy Young 1916 100% 1 Pitcher Boston Americans (Red Sox) (AL) 1890-1911 22 Deceased (1867-1955) 49

* = Elected by Veterans Committee
^ = Played Significantly Prior to 1871
` = Played in the Negro Leagues

Players Elected by Primary Position
Catcher (11): Charlie Bennett, Roger Bresnahan, Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey, Buck Ewing, Josh Gibson, Gabby Hartnett, Biz Mackey, Cal McVey, Louis Santop, Deacon White
First Base (13): Cap Anson, Jake Beckley, Dan Brouthers, Frank Chance, Roger Connor, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, Buck Leonard, George Sisler, Joe Start, Mule Suttles, Bill Terry
Second Base (15): Ross Barnes, Cupid Childs, Eddie Collins, Bobby Doerr, Larry Doyle, Frankie Frisch, Charlie Gehringer, Joe Gordon, Frank Grant, Billy Herman, Rogers Hornsby, Napoleon Lajoie, Bid McPhee, Bill Monroe, Hardy Richardson
Third Base (9): Frank Baker, John Beckwith, Jimmy Collins, Heinie Groh, Stan Hack, Tommy Leach, Ezra Sutton, Pie Traynor, Jud Wilson
Shortstop (19): Luke Appling, Joe Cronin, Bill Dahlen, George Davis, Jack Glasscock, Hughie Jennings, Grant Johnson, John Henry Lloyd, Herman Long, Dick Lundy, Rabbit Maranville, Dickey Pearce, Joe Sewell, Arky Vaughan, Honus Wagner, Bobby Wallace, John Ward, Willie Wells, George Wright
Left Field (12): Jesse Burkett, Fred Clarke, Ed Delahanty, Goose Goslin, Joe Kelley, Sherry Magee, Joe Medwick, Jim O'Rourke, Jimmy Sheckard, Al Simmons, Harry Stovey, Zack Wheat
Center Field (21): Earl Averill, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Pete Browning, Max Carey, Oscar Charleston, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Hugh Duffy, George Gore, Billy Hamilton, Pete Hill, Paul Hines, Alejandro Oms, Lip Pike, Spotswood Poles, Edd Roush, Jimmy Ryan, Tris Speaker, Turkey Stearnes, Cristobal Torriente, George Van Haltren
Right Field (10): Sam Crawford, King Kelly, Elmer Flick, Harry Heilmann, Willie Keeler, Mel Ott, Sam Rice, Babe Ruth, Sam Thompson, Paul Waner
Pitcher (39): Pete Alexander, Mordecai Brown, Bob Caruthers, John Clarkson, Andy Cooper, Wilbur Cooper, Stan Coveleski, Dizzy Dean, Red Faber, Wes Ferrell, Willie Foster, Pud Galvin, Clark Griffith, Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Walter Johnson, Addie Joss, Tim Keefe, Ted Lyons, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity, Jose Mendez, Tony Mullane, Kid Nichols, Eddie Plank, Charley Radbourn, Dick Redding, Eppa Rixey, Bullet Rogan, Red Ruffing, Amos Rusie, Al Spalding, Dazzy Vance, Rube Waddell, Ed Walsh, Mickey Welch, Smokey Joe Williams, Vic Willis, Cy Young

Players Elected by Year
1901 (5): Dan Brouthers, John Clarkson, Tim Keefe, Jim O’Rourke, Charley Radbourn
1902 (4): Cap Anson, Roger Connor, Buck Ewing, King Kelly
1903 (1): Pud Galvin
1904 (2): Paul Hines, Deacon White
1905 (1): Bid McPhee
1906 (2): Billy Hamilton, Amos Rusie
1907 (5): Charlie Bennett, Harry Stovey, Sam Thompson, John Ward, George Wright
1908 (2): Ed Delahanty, Tony Mullane
1909 (3): Pete Browning, Bob Caruthers, George Gore
1910 (1): Jesse Burkett
1911 (3): Ross Barnes, Jack Glasscock, Kid Nichols
1912 (0):
1913 (2): Jimmy Collins, Joe McGinnity
1914 (1): George Davis
1915 (2): Al Spalding, Rube Waddell
1916 (4): Bill Dahlen, Elmer Flick, Willie Keeler, Cy Young
1917 (2): Jake Beckley, Fred Clarke
1918 (2): Hugh Duffy, George Van Haltren
1919 (1): Vic Willis
1920 (2): Cupid Childs, Joe Kelley
- 1920 VC (7): Cal McVey, Dickey Pearce, Lip Pike, Hardy Richardson, Joe Start, Ezra Sutton, Mickey Welch
1921 (3): Mordecai Brown, Napoleon Lajoie, Christy Mathewson
1922 (4): Sam Crawford, Eddie Plank, Honus Wagner, Ed Walsh
1923 (0):
1924 (1): Sherry Magee
1925 (2): Roger Bresnahan, Bobby Wallace
- 1925 VC (1): Herman Long
1926 (1): Larry Doyle
1927 (2): Frank Baker, Hughie Jennings
1928 (0):
1929 (1): Addie Joss
1930 (0):
- 1930 VC (1): Jimmy Ryan
1931 (0):
1932 (3): Frank Chance, Walter Johnson, Zack Wheat
1933 (2): Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker
1934 (2): Max Carey, Stan Coveleski
1935 (3): Pete Alexander, Eddie Collins, George Sisler
- 1935 VC (0):
1936 (1): Heinie Groh
1937 (1): Harry Heilmann
1938 (0):
1939 (0):
1940 (3): Red Faber, Babe Ruth, Dazzy Vance
- 1940 VC (2): Clark Griffith, Tommy Leach
1941 (1): Bill Terry
1942 (5): Mickey Cochrane, Frankie Frisch, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Sewell, Pie Traynor
1943 (2): Goose Goslin, Edd Roush
1944 (1): Lou Gehrig
1945 (0):
- 1945 VC (1): Jimmy Sheckard
1946 (2): Lefty Grove, Gabby Hartnett
1947 (2): Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer
- 1947 Negro League Players VC (19): John Beckwith, Oscar Charleston, Andy Cooper, Willie Foster, Josh Gibson, Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Grant Johnson, John Henry Lloyd, Jose Mendez, Bill Monroe, Alejandro Oms, Spotswood Poles, Dick Redding, Bullet Rogan, Louis Santop, Turkey Stearnes, Cristobal Torriente, Smokey Joe Williams
1948 (2): Dizzy Dean, Carl Hubbell
1949 (2): Ted Lyons, Al Simmons
1950 (3): Joe Cronin, Jimmie Foxx, Paul Waner
- 1950 VC (1): Wilbur Cooper
1951 (2): Bill Dickey, Red Ruffing
1952 (4): Hank Greenberg, Stan Hack, Billy Herman, Mel Ott
- 1952 Negro League Players VC (8): James "Cool Papa" Bell, Martin Dihigo, Buck Leonard, Dick Lundy, Biz Mackey, Mule Suttles, Willie Wells, Jud Wilson
1953 (2): Joe Medwick, Arky Vaughan
1954 (0):
1955 (3): Luke Appling, Wes Ferrell, Joe Gordon
- 1955 VC (3): Rabbit Maranville, Sam Rice, Eppa Rixey
1956 (2): Joe DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr

Players Elected by Primary Decade
1870s (9): Ross Barnes, Cal McVey, Dickey Pearce, Lip Pike, Al Spalding, Joe Start, Ezra Sutton, Deacon White, George Wright
1880s (21): Cap Anson, Charlie Bennett, Dan Brouthers, Pete Browning, Bob Caruthers, John Clarkson, Roger Conner, Buck Ewing, Pud Galvin, Jack Glasscock, George Gore, Paul Hines, Tim Keefe, King Kelly, Tony Mullane, Jim O’Rourke, Charley Radbourn, Hardy Richardson, Harry Stovey, John Ward, Mickey Welch
1890s (19): Jake Beckley, Jesse Burkett, Cupid Childs, Bill Dahlen, George Davis, Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, Frank Grant, Clark Griffith, Billy Hamilton, Hughie Jennings, Joe Kelley, Herman Long, Bid McPhee, Kid Nichols, Jimmy Ryan, Amos Rusie, Sam Thompson, George Van Haltren
1900s (24): Roger Bresnahan, Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Fred Clarke, Jimmy Collins, Sam Crawford, Elmer Flick, Pete Hill, Grant Johnson, Addie Joss, Willie Keeler, Napoleon Lajoie, Tommy Leach, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity, Bill Monroe, Eddie Plank, Jimmy Sheckard, Rube Waddell, Honus Wagner, Bobby Wallace, Ed Walsh, Vic Willis, Cy Young
1910s (17): Pete Alexander, Frank Baker, Max Carey, Wilbur Cooper, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Larry Doyle, Heinie Groh, Walter Johnson, John Henry Lloyd, Sherry Magee, Jose Mendez, Spotswood Poles, Louis Santop, Tris Speaker, Zack Wheat, Smokey Joe Williams
1920s (24): John Beckwith, Oscar Charleston, Andy Cooper, Stan Coveleski, Red Faber, Frankie Frisch, Goose Goslin, Harry Heilmann, Rogers Hornsby, Dick Lundy, Biz Mackey, Rabbit Maranville, Alejandro Oms, Dick Redding, Sam Rice, Eppa Rixey, Bullet Rogan, Edd Roush, Babe Ruth, George Sisler, Joe Sewell, Cristobal Torriente, Pie Traynor, Dazzy Vance
1930s (31): Luke Appling, Earl Averill, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Mickey Cochrane, Joe Cronin, Dizzy Dean, Bill Dickey, Martin Dihigo, Wes Ferrell, Willie Foster, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Lou Gehrig, Josh Gibson, Hank Greenberg, Lefty Grove, Gabby Hartnett, Billy Herman, Carl Hubbell, Ted Lyons, Joe Medwick, Mel Ott, Red Ruffing, Al Simmons, Turkey Stearnes, Mule Suttles, Bill Terry, Arky Vaughan, Paul Waner, Willie Wells, Jud Wilson
1940s (4): Joe DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, Joe Gordon, Stan Hack

Players Elected by Primary Organization
Bacharach Giants (I, ECL) (1): Dick Lundy
Baltimore Black Sox (I, ECL, ANL) (1): Jud Wilson
Baltimore Canaries (NA) (1): Lip Pike
Baltimore Orioles (fka St. Louis Browns) (AL) (2): George Sisler, Bobby Wallace
Baltimore Orioles (NL) (3): Hughie Jennings, Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley
Boston Red Sox (fka Americans) (AL) (4): Bobby Doerr, Jimmy Collins, Joe Cronin, Cy Young
Brooklyn Atlantics (NA) (1): Dickey Pearce
Brooklyn Dodgers (fka Robins) (NL) (2): Dazzy Vance, Zack Wheat
Brooklyn Royal Giants (I, ECL, NNL) (3): Grant Johnson, Bill Monroe, Dick Redding
Buffalo Bisons (NL) (4): Dan Brouthers, Pud Galvin, Hardy Richardson, Deacon White
Chicago American Giants (I, NNL, NSL, NAL) (3): Willie Foster, Pete Hill, Cristobal Torriente
Chicago Cubs (fka White Stockings, Colts) (NL) (12): Cap Anson, Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Bill Dahlen, Clark Griffith, George Gore, Stan Hack, Gabby Hartnett, Billy Herman, King Kelly, Jimmy Ryan, Jimmy Sheckard
Chicago Giants (NNL) (1): John Beckwith
Chicago White Sox (AL) (5): Luke Appling, Eddie Collins, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Ed Walsh
Cincinnati Reds (NL, AA) (5): Heinie Groh, Bid McPhee, Tony Mullane, Eppa Rixey, Edd Roush
Cleveland Blues (NL) (1): Jack Glasscock
Cleveland Indians (fka Naps) (AL) (8): Earl Averill, Stan Coveleski, Wes Ferrell, Elmer Flick, Addie Joss, Napoleon Lajoie, Joe Sewell, Tris Speaker
Cleveland Spiders (NL) (2): Jesse Burkett, Cupid Childs
Cuban Giants (I, MSL) (1): Frank Grant
Cuban Stars (East) (I, ECL, ANL) (2): Martin Dihigo, Alejandro Oms
Detroit Stars (I, NNL, NAL) (1): Turkey Stearnes
Detroit Tigers (AL) (5): Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Harry Heilmann
Detroit Wolverines (NL) (1): Charlie Bennett
Hilldale Daises (I, ECL, ANL, EWL) (2): Biz Mackey, Louis Santop
Homestead Grays (I, ANL, NNL) (3): Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Smokey Joe Williams
Indianapolis ABCs (I, NNL, NSL, NAL) (1): Oscar Charleston
Kansas City Atheltics (fka Philadelphia Athletics) (AL) (7): Frank Baker, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, Al Simmons, Rube Waddell
Kansas City Monarchs (I, NNL, NAL) (3): Willie Foster, Jose Mendez, Bullet Rogan
Lincoln Giants (I, ECL, ANL) (1): John Henry Lloyd
Lincoln Stars (I) (1): Spotswood Poles
Louisville Colonels (NL, AA) (1): Pete Browning
Milwaukee Braves (fka Boston Braves, Beaneaters, Red Stockings) (NA, NL) (11): Ross Barnes, John Clarkson, Hugh Duffy, Herman Long, Rabbit Maranville, Cal McVey, Kid Nichols, Al Spalding, Ezra Sutton, Vic Willis, George Wright
New York Giants (NL) (16): Roger Bresnahan, Roger Connor, George Davis, Larry Doyle, Buck Ewing, Frankie Frisch, Carl Hubbell, Tim Keefe, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity, Jim O’Rourke, Mel Ott, Amos Rusie, George Van Haltren, John Ward, Mickey Welch
New York Yankees (AL) (6): Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Joe Gordon, Red Ruffing, Babe Ruth
Newark Eagles (NNL) (1): Mule Suttles
Philadelphia Athletics (AA) (1): Harry Stovey
Philadelphia Phillies (NL) (5): Pete Alexander, Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Sherry Magee, Sam Thompson
Pittsburgh Crawfords (NNL) (1): James "Cool Papa" Bell
Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) (9): Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Wilbur Cooper, Tommy Leach, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Honus Wagner, Paul Waner
Providence Grays (NL) (3): Paul Hines, Charley Radbourn, Joe Start
St. Louis Cardinals (fka Browns) (NL, AA) (4): Bob Caruthers, Dizzy Dean, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Medwick
St. Louis Stars (NNL) (1): Willie Wells
Washington Senators (AL) (3): Goose Goslin, Walter Johnson, Sam Rice

Hall of Fame Contributors Wing
Contributors Elected - 23
Contributor Year Elected Contribution Living/Deceased Age at Election
Doc Adams 1925 Pioneer Deceased (1814-1899) Deceased
Ed Barrow 1941 General Manager Deceased (1868-1953) Deceased
Alex Cartwright 1925 Pioneer Deceased (1820-1892) Deceased
Henry Chadwick 1925 Writer Deceased (1824-1908) Deceased
Charlie Comiskey 1925 Owner Deceased (1859-1931) 66
Tommy Connolly 1956 Umpire Living - Age 87 86
Jim Creighton 1925 Pioneer Deceased (1841-1862) Deceased
Rube Foster 1930 Manager/Executive Deceased (1879-1930) Deceased
Miller Huggins 1941 Manager Deceased (1879-1929) Deceased
William Hulbert 1925 NL President Deceased (1832-1882) Deceased
Ned Hanlon 1936 Manager Deceased (1857-1937) 79
Ban Johnson 1936 AL President Deceased (1864-1931) Deceased
Bill Klem 1941 Umpire Deceased (1874-1951) 67
Kenesaw Landis 1951 Commissioner Deceased (1866-1944) Deceased
Connie Mack 1930 Manager/Owner Deceased (1862-1956) 68
Joe McCarthy 1951 Manager Living - Age 70 64
John McGraw 1936 Manager Deceased (1873-1934) Deceased
Al Reach 1946 Owner Deceased (1840-1928) Deceased
Francis Richter 1941 Writer Deceased (1854-1926) Deceased
Branch Rickey 1946 General Manager Living - Age 76 65
Frank Selee 1936 Manager Deceased (1859-1909) Deceased
AG Spalding* 1930 Executive Deceased (1850-1915) Deceased
Harry Wright 1925 Manager Deceased (1835-1895) Deceased

* = Also elected as a player

Contributors Elected by Primary Contribution
Commissioner (1): Kenesaw Landis
General Manager (2): Ed Barrow, Branch Rickey
League President (2): William Hulbert, Ban Johnson
Manager (6): Miller Huggins, Ned Hanlon, Joe McCarthy, John McGraw, Frank Selee, Harry Wright
Owner (3): Charlie Comiskey, Al Reach, AG Spalding
Pioneer (3): Doc Adams, Alex Cartwright, Jim Creighton
Umpire (2): Tom Connolly, Bill Klem
Writer (2): Henry Chadwick, Francis Richter

Contributors Elected by Primary Team
Brooklyn Dodgers (fka Superbas) (AA, NL) (1): Ned Hanlon
Chicago American Giants (NNL) (1): Rube Foster
Chicago Cubs (fka White Stockings, Colts) (NA, NL) (1): AG Spalding
Chicago White Sox (AL) (1): Charlie Comiskey
Excelsior of Brooklyn (NAB) (1): Jim Creighton
Kansas City Athletics (fka Philadelphia Athletics) (AL) (1): Connie Mack
Milwaukee Braves (fka Boston Braves, Beaneaters, Red Caps, Red Stockings) (NA, NL) (2): Frank Selee, Harry Wright
New York Giants (NL) (1): John McGraw
New York Knickerbockers (NAB) (2): Doc Adams, Alex Cartwright
New York Yankees (AL) (2): Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Phillies (fka Quakers) (NL) (1): Al Reach
St. Louis Cardinals (AA, NL) (1): Branch Rickey

Contributors Elected by Year
1925: Doc Adams, Alex Cartwright, Henry Chadwick, Harry Wright, William Hulbert, Charlie Comiskey, Jim Creighton
1930: Rube Foster, Connie Mack, AG Spalding
1936: Ned Hanlon, Ban Johnson, John McGraw, Frank Selee
1941: Miller Huggins, Bill Klem, Francis Richter, Ed Barrow
1946: Al Reach, Branch Rickey
1951: Kenesaw Landis, Joe McCarthy
1956: Tom Connolly

Miscellaneous Information
- Highest Regular Election Percentage: Cap Anson, Luke Appling, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Grove, Walter Johnson, Kid Nichols, Mel Ott, Tris Speaker, Arky Vaughan, Cy Young – 100%
- Number of 1st Ballot Electees: 67
- Most Years on Ballot Before Election: Cupid Childs, Addie Joss, Al Spalding – 15
- Number of Players Elected After 10 Years on Ballot: 9
- Number of Players Lasting 15 Years on Ballot without Election: 44
- Number of Players Elected by Veterans Committee: 42
- Highest Percentage Among Players Not Elected: 73.53% - Burleigh Grimes (1953)
- Most Regular Election Electees in One Year: 5 (1901, 1907, 1942)
- Fewest Regular Election Electees in One Year: 0 (1912, 1923, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1938, 1939, 1945, 1954)
- Most Veterans Committee Electees in One Year: 19 (1947)
- Largest Ballot: 78 Players (1901)
- Largest Post-1915 Ballot: 50 Players (1952)
- Smallest Ballot: 23 Players (1918)
- Most Votes Cast: 37 (1942)
- Fewest Votes Cast: 20 (1901)
- Team With Most Players Elected: New York Giants - 16
- Team With Second Most Players Elected: Chicago Cubs - 12
- Electee with Longest Post-1871 Career: Smokey Joe Williams - 28
- Electee with Shortest Post-1871 Career: Dickey Pearce – 8 Seasons
- Members Elected as Both Players and Contributors: Al Spalding
- Youngest Elected Player: Amos Rusie – Age 35
- Oldest Elected Player: Joe Start – 78
- Number of Posthumously Elected Players: 27
- Number of Posthumously Elected Contributors: 16
- Number of Living Hall of Famers: 66
- Number of Deceased Hall of Famers: 104
- Oldest Living Hall of Famer: Fred Clarke - Age 87
- Deceased in Past Year:

Number of Ballots Submitted in Past Elections
1901: 20
1902: 24
1903: 26
1904: 25
1905: 24
1906: 23
1907: 24
1908: 25
1909: 22
1910: 25
1911: 25
1912: 23
1913: 23
1914: 26
1915: 25
1916: 25
1917: 25
1918: 24
1919: 27
1920: 26
1921: 31
1922: 28
1923: 25
1924: 29
1925: 24
1926: 25
1927: 28
1928: 27
1929: 25
1930: 25
1931: 32
1932: 24
1933: 29
1934: 28
1935: 33
1936: 32
1937: 34
1938: 30
1939: 32
1940: 34
1941: 35
1942: 37
1943: 30
1944: 27
1945: 29
1946: 27
1947: 28
1948: 26
1949: 25
1950: 34
1951: 35
1952: 31
1953: 34
1954: 32
1955: 28
1956: 27

Links to Past Elections
1901 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=77167)
1902 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=77464)
1903 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=77797)
1904 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=78133)
1905 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=78417)
1906 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=78737)
1907 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=79020)
1908 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=79393)
1909 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=79738)
1910 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=80134)
1911 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=80597)
1912 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=81008)
1913 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=81477)
1914 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=81965)
1915 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=82365)
1916 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=82681)
1917 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=82940)
1918 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83241)
1919 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83422)
1920 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83665), 1920 Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83697)
1921 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83924)
1922 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84099)
1923 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84257)
1924 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84423)
1925 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84552), 1925 Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php? t=84636), 1925 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83852)
1926 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84727)
1927 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84871)
1928 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=85029)
1929 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=85206)
1930 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=85358), 1930 Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php? t=85439), 1930 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=84578)
1931 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=85681)
1932 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=85850)
1933 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=86054)
1934 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=86291)
1935 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=86514), 1935 Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php? t=86576)
1936 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=86747), 1936 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=85051)
1937 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=87002)
1938 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=87241)
1939 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=87501)
1940 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=87800), 1940 Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php? t=87854)
1941 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=88041), 1941 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=87881)
1942 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=88297)
1943 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=89063)
1944 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=89394)
1945 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=89744), 1945 Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=89707)
1946 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=89923), 1946 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=89916)
1947 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=90195), 1947 Negro League Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=90109)
1948 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=90391)
1949 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=90572)
1950 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=90811), 1950 VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=90804)
1951 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=91009), 1951 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=91013)
1952 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=91182), 1952 Negro League Players VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=91175)
1953 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=91388)
1954 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=91792)
1955 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=92050), 1955 VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=92049)
1956 (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=92322), 1956 Contributors VC (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=92324)

[jjpm74]

Ballot:

Wally Berger
Lou Boudreau
Bob Johnson

My shortest ballot to date.

I am close on Charlie Keller and would like to hear more about him.

[Ace Venom]

I am close on Charlie Keller and would like to hear more about him.

Keller only played one full season after coming back from the war. He doesn't get wartime credit from me despite the inflated OPS+.

Here's my ballot:
Wally Berger
Lou Boudreau
Tommy Bridges
Kiki Cuyler
Lefty Gomez
Tommy Henrich
Bob Johnson
Chuck Klein
Tony Lazzeri
Ernie Lombardi
Heinie Manush
Dixie Walker
Bucky Walters
Lon Warneke

[PVNICK]

Boudreau
Bridges
Walters
Warnecke

Ditto on the short ballot, it seems like a few years ago I had to count to make sure I didn't go over the limit.

[Cowtipper]

For the first time in a long time, I am not submitting a full ballot.

Wally Berger
Lou Boudreau
Tommy Bridges
Kiki Cuyler
Lefty Gomez
Bob Johnson
Chuck Klein
Tony Lazzeri
Ernie Lombardi
Heinie Manush
Bucky Walters
Lon Warneke

Normally I'd be able to find three other names to fill in the gaps, but this time those names just aren't there.

[mwiggins]

Keller only played one full season after coming back from the war. He doesn't get wartime credit from me despite the inflated OPS+.



How would his back injury in '47 affect how he would have performed in '44 and '45? He certainly was great in limited duty when he came back from the war mid-season in '45, was great in '46, and was great every year before leaving for the war.

[Senor Octobre]

Big ballot again...

Berger
Boudreau
Bridges
Cuyler (last ballot)
Gomez
Johnson
Keller
Klein
Lazzeri
Lombardi
Myer
Travis
Walters
Warneke

[jalbright]

Boudreau and Keller

[mwiggins]

Boudreau and Keller

Interesting ballot. Only two players, yet one is a guy even many large ballot voters are leaving off.

[jalbright]

Here's my case for Keller:

He's a tough case, because a congenital back condition effectively ended his career in 1947, though he hung around a few years longer. He missed the gradual decline phase we usually expect for HOFers, and he also lost 250 or so games to the service in WW II. His 30.18 Win Shares per 162 games is eye-catching, even allowing that he had a small decline phase. He's a 5 time all-star, and given the 44 and 45 seasons largely lost to the military, that's good enough. He could have done better in MVP shares, at 380th, but that's only one measure. His top 3 seasons in win shares is good for 11th among LF in the latests BJHA, and might have gone higher but for the war. Certainly, that's more than good enough. His top five WS are given as 147 in the BJHA, but that's sticking him with late 1945. It still would be 15th among LF, which is good enough, but if you use 1946, it's 156, good for 8th. I estimate he lost about 52 win shares to the service, which move him to 270 and 31st place among LF, not quite what you'd like, but close enough to be acceptable. His HOF standards suffer from the shortness of his career, but that isn't a huge issue for me. However, he didn't do well in either ink category despite being a lefty hitter in Yankee Stadium. The Black Ink I could overlook, but the gray ink bothers me a bit.

[mwiggins]

Keller's league leaderships, and ink scores, seem quite impressive for a short career guy. Out of 6 seasons where he qualified for rate stats leaderboards, he was top 5 in OBP 5 times, top-5 in SLG 4 times, Top-5 in OPS+ 4 times (lead league once), and top 5 in OWP 4 times (lead league once).

[SavoyBG]

Berger
Boudreau
Gomez

[dgarza]

My shortest ballot yet: 14 players

Wally Berger
Lou Boudreau
Tommy Bridges
Kiki Cuyler
Lefty Gomez
Bob Johnson
Chuck Klein
Tony Lazzeri
Ernie Lombardi
Heinie Manush
Dixie Walker
Bucky Walters
Lloyd Waner
Lon Warneke


1. Chuck Klein
2. Bob Johnson
3. Lou Boudreau
4. Kiki Cuyler
5. Ernie Lombardi
6. Heinie Manush
7. Lefty Gomez
8. Tony Lazzeri
9. Bucky Walters
10. Tommy Bridges
11. Lon Warneke
12. Dixie Walker
13. Wally Berger
14. Lloyd Waner

[Paul Wendt]

I am close on Charlie Keller and would like to hear more about him.
(This won't help much.)

He played 17 and 29 games as a pinch-hitter in 1948-49 with the Yankees, 44 and 46 games in 1950-51 with the Tigers. (Here I presume that he never played as a pinch-runner.) It seems that he was successful enough to continue in that role.

Certainly there was some effect on his batting, although it might be primarily via effect on his running. That he batted fairly well and almost stopped playing in the field suggests to me that the back condition did hurt his running primarily.

By the way, I wonder how commonly anyone played 40-50 games as a pinch-hitter. Were other teams using anyone so heavily?

[JDD]

I don't see a whole lot of "war credit" being given to Cecil Travis.

Dude hit .350 before he left (his age 27 year) and .250 when he came back.

from the net:

Travis entered the Army in the winter of 1941-42, and spent most of World War II in the States, playing on military baseball teams. Sent to Europe in late 1944 while serving in the 76th Infantry Division, he suffered a bad case of frostbite (two toes on his left foot) after the Battle of the Bulge, necessitating an operation to prevent amputation of his feet. Travis received a Bronze Star for his military service. Although only 31 years old when he returned to baseball, he was not the same player as he had been before the war, and hit .241 in late 1945 and .252 in 1946. He retired after batting .216 in 74 games in 1947. One month before his final game, he was honored with "Cecil Travis Night" at Griffith Stadium, with General Dwight D. Eisenhower in attendance.

[nerfan]

I'm a big Keller fan, so I'm giving him a vote based on peak value, though I probably shouldn't've.

[mwiggins]

Some interesting Cecil Travis factioids...

-- Travis had two celebrated at bats vs. Satchel Paige in 1942, while on leave from the Army to play in a benefit game at Griffith Stadium for Dizzy Dean's All-Stars against the Homestead Grays, who had borrowed Paige for the game. Travis was the only real major league player on Dean's team, and the Paige/Travis matchup was the highlight and big draw of the event. In his first at bat, Travis lined a curveball up the middle for a single. In his 2nd at bat, Travis worked the count to 3-1, before Paige bore down and struck him out with 2 inside fastballs. The large Washington DC crowd who had come out to see Paige square off against the Senators best player roared their approval.

-- Ted Williams and Bob Feller, among others, have called for Travis' induction into the Hall of Fame.

-- His off year in 1939 was mostly the result of two bouts of the flu during the offseason, which resulted in severe weight loss and caused him to be hospitalized in March of that year. Other than that year, he hit at least .317 every season after taking over as the Senator's starting third basemen in 1934.

-- During 1939 and 1940 there were persistent trade talks with Detroit. Originally it was going to be Travis for Rudy York, and Detroit apparently came close to agreeing to a deal, but they ended up rejecting the trade in June of that year. Then, after the 1939 season, the Senators offered Travis for Hank Greenberg. Despite issues between Greenberg and the Tigers, the deal never went through. Later in that offseason, the Travis for York trade talks heated up again, but talks cooled as the Red Sox began attempting to trade for York.

-- Travis developed trenchfoot - frostbitten feet that turned black - while holding defensive positions with the 76th Infantry in Luxenberg in Jan 1945. Two of his toes developed frostbite and he was forced to spend 3 weeks in a hospital because doctors feared his toes would become gangrenous. He would struggle with tenderness and poor circulation in his feet when he returned to baseball. Most noticably his speed was greatly diminished and he struggled to handle the shortstop position. Washington sports columnist Shirley Povich noted in 1946 "The Nats are a lumbering outfit, with Cecil Travis's slowness on the bases somewhat shocking."

-- In 1993, Ted Williams, when asked if he saw any of his swing in Jon Olerud (who was making a run at .400 that year), said no, Olerud as a hitter instead reminded him of Cecil Travis. "Travis was a great hitter, used to play for the Senators - second in the league in hitting in '41, you know, ahead of DiMaggio. Contact hitter, like Olerud, they both ran faster than I did. He got hurt in the war and never played as well again."

-- Bob Feller called Travis one of the best hitters he ever faced.

Sources: Cecil Travis SABR Bio & Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators by Rob Kirkpatrick

[Jsquared83]

Johnson
Lazzeri
Lombardi
Manush

[jjpm74]

Here is Charlie Keller's unadjusted win shares by season:

22-24-32-34-36-11-31-10-8-5-3-2-0 223 career

Important to note is that his 36-11-31 came in his 1943-1945-1946 seasons where he missed all of 1944 and most of 1945 to war service. Assuming a conservative peak, he would have had 34-36-25-25-31 which is a HOF peak. The problem here is that he has no padding and that he also only has a C+ in DWS which means he was an average outfielder. If he were a better than average defensive player, I could see voting for him. As it stands, he was not a great defensive player (unless someone could prove otherwise). While he had a nice HOF arc during his peak, even if one has to give him credit for his missed time and assume that his injury was the main reason for his decline, that adds up to too many if's for me to vote for Keller.

Edit: On the other hand, Keller's best 3 is 36-34-32 with no wartime credit and the 31-24 for best 5 gives him at least 1 more MVP level season again with no credit. His WARP3 gives him only 6 All-Star seasons, but 5 of those are MVP level seasons (again with him missing 1.5 seasons to WWII service) and 3 of those, 1941, 1942, 1943 are all-time great seasons and only 1943 would be in a war depleted league. Impressive. Maybe he will be on my ballot next year. Either way, more input is appreciated. Should he be the best player left on the outside looking in, or does he fit our standard? IMO, he is certainly one of the most debatable candidates we have seen to date.

[Freakshow]

Here's Adjusted Win shares for Keller (schedule adjusted to 162-game seasons and discounted for play during war time seasons)

1939 23.6
1940 25.2
1941 33.7
1942 34.7
1943 34.8
1944 32.0
1945 30.2
1946 32.6
1947 10.5
1948 8.4
1949 5.3
1950 3.2
1951 2.1

Total 276.3

[DoubleX]

With just 2 years left, supporters of Tony Lazzeri might want to make his case. I still don't see him as that different than Larry Doyle.

[RyanExpress30]

1 Johnson
2 Cuyler
3 Manush
4 Berger
5 Lazzeri
6 Keller
7 Henrich
8 Klein
9 Bridges
10 Gomez

[Senor Octobre]

Boudreau down to 87.50

[jalbright]

Boudreau down to 87.50

not a big worry. He can go 0 for his next 4 and still have 75%. If we get 36 votes, more than the project has ever had, he only needs 7 of those 12 uncast ballots. He is likely still alright.

[KCGHOST]

Boudreau
Bridges
Gomez

[Ace Venom]

I made a mistake on the poll. I apparently copy and pasted someone else's career years and year of eligibility over Bucky Walters. The information in the table is correct.

[Fielding Marshall]

Wally Berger
Lou Boudreau
Tommy Bridges
Kiki Cuyler
Lefty Gomez
Tommy Henrich
Tommy Holmes
Bob Johnson
Charlie Keller
Tony Lazzeri
Buddy Myer
Cecil Travis
Hal Trosky
Bucky Walters
Lon Warneke

[DoubleX]

How can we go about getting Lefty Gomez over the hump? I see him as having a similar case to Dizzy Dean (relatively short career, high peak), except better. Granted, he doesn't have Dean's notoriety, but Gomez was an ace of 5 World Series winners (and pitched rather well on the whole in the World Series).

[SavoyBG]

How can we go about getting Lefty Gomez over the hump? I see him as having a similar case to Dizzy Dean (relatively short career, high peak), except better. Granted, he doesn't have Dean's notoriety, but Gomez was an ace of 5 World Series winners (and pitched rather well on the whole in the World Series).


Let's try this.

CAREER WIN SHARES
Dean - 181
Gomez - 185

BEST THREE SEASONS
Dean - 37, 31, 31
Gomez - 31, 29, 20


WS PER SEASON
Dean - 34.08
Gomez - 28.35

WARP3
Dean - 54,8
Gomez - 51.4

I think that Gomez belongs myself, but I can't see any way to conclude that he was better than Dean. AT BEST, Gomez is about as good as Dean, but certainly not better.


Dean compares very well to koufax:

CAREER WIN SHARES
Koufax - 194
Dean - 181
Gomez - 185

BEST THREE SEASONS
Koufax - 35, 33, 32
Dean - 37, 31, 31
Gomez - 31, 29, 20


WS PER SEASON
Koufax - 31.85
Dean - 34.08
Gomez - 28.35

Dean is pretty even with Koufax, and both are clearly a notch above Gomez, although Lefty certainly belongs in this hall. He was a key guy on the greatest dynasty ever (1936-1939 Yankees), and his all star game assignments are a good indication of his standing in the league at the time.

[mwiggins]

How can we go about getting Lefty Gomez over the hump? I see him as having a similar case to Dizzy Dean (relatively short career, high peak), except better. Granted, he doesn't have Dean's notoriety, but Gomez was an ace of 5 World Series winners (and pitched rather well on the whole in the World Series).

I don't. I think he's REALLY, REALLY hurt by the fact that his best years are not consecutive like Dean's are. Those '35 & '36 seasons were he struggled with arm problems really kill the idea of him as a great peak guy. His two triple crown seasons were both better than any season's Dean had, IMO, and his 1931 season was very comparable with all of Dean's peak years other than his 1934 season.

That, and the idea that his success was mostly a product of pitching for great teams.

And I don't see how we can elect Ruffing and not Gomez.

[Domenic]

SavoyBG made several good points - and I'm glad that I refreshed the page prior to posting essentially the same thing. I would like to add, though, that it took Dean three elections to make the cut (at only 80.77%). I believe that much of his case was based upon his aforementioned notoriety and character in general.

[leecemark]

How can we go about getting Lefty Gomez over the hump? I see him as having a similar case to Dizzy Dean (relatively short career, high peak), except better. Granted, he doesn't have Dean's notoriety, but Gomez was an ace of 5 World Series winners (and pitched rather well on the whole in the World Series).

--I see Tommy Bridges as a better pitcher than Gomez. I'm voting Gomez in part for because I expect that if Gomez joins Ferrell in our Hall there would be no justification for keeping Bridges - who had a better pitching career than either - out.

[Fielding Marshall]

On the Leaderboards:

ERA: top 10 7 times, top 5 6 times, and 2 times #1

WHIP: top 10 5 times, top 5 4 times, and 1 time #1

H/9: top 10 9 times, top 5 7 times, and 2 times #1

BB/9: top 10 once

K/9: top 10 10 times, top 5 8 times, top 3 7 times, and 2 times #1

IP: top 10 6 times, top 5 3 times, and 1 time #1

K: top 10 9 times, top 5 7 times, top 3 6 times, and 3 times #1

CG: top 10 6 times, top 5 4 times, and 1 time #1

SHO: top 10 7 times, top 5 5 times, and 3 times #1

K/BB: top 10 8 times, top 5 6 times, top 2 4 times, and 2 times #1

HR/9: top 10 5 times, top 3 4 times, and 1 time #1

Adjusted ERA+: top 10 7 times, top 5 4 times, and 1 time #1
Gomez also had 2 Triple Crowns and started 5 All-Star games.

Critics in the past have pointed out how Gomez was probably helped by his outfield, which is probably true. Yet Gomez was a frequent leader in H/9 and strikeouts, suggesting that his pitching ability was real. It also helps that he, at one point or another, led the league at least once in every major pitching category.

Gomez may not have been as good as Grove or any of the top pitchers in our Hall, but it looks like he fits in comfortably with the others.

[jjpm74]

I was wondering how people feel about Dom DiMaggio and Harry Brecheen? Both will be on next year's ballot.

Dom DiMaggio:


Missed 3 full seasons to WWII service.
7 Time All Star
All time great defensive CF with an A+ DWS.
Best 3: 28 26 26
Best 5: 28 26 26 24 21
1942 Had 28 win shares. Had 26 win shares on his return in 1946 suggesting his 3 missed seasons probably give him 75 additional win shares and 295 for his career.
WARP3 gives him 7 all star level seasons not counting the 3 seasons he missed. Giving him a modest adjustment for those 3 missed years gives him a career WARP3 of around 70. He also had 2 seasons (1942 and 1946) that were bordering on MVP level seasons.


Factoring in WWII service, Dom DiMaggio was a 10 time all star with a good enough peak and excellent defensive ability. These factors are good enough for him to become a permanent fixture on my ballot next year despite his 111 OPS+.

Harry Brecheen:


Had an all-time great 1948 season with a 182 ERA+.
133 ERA+ for his career.
WARP3 gives him 8 all star level seaons, including an all time great MVP season in 1948 and a 54.4 for his career.


Despite a short career, Brecheen was a dominating pitcher. Win Shares and WARP seem to disagree on his career. More discussion and analysis is needed, but he appears to have a career worth considering and despite a short career, deserves some support (Hippo Vaughn, Addie Joss and Smoky Joe Wood all enjoyed support with similar careers).

[Fielding Marshall]

I was wondering how people feel about Dom DiMaggio and Harry Brecheen? Both will be on next year's ballot.

Dom DiMaggio:


Missed 3 full seasons to WWII service.
7 Time All Star
All time great defensive CF with an A+ DWS.
Best 3: 28 26 26
Best 5: 28 26 26 24 21
1942 Had 28 win shares. Had 26 win shares on his return in 1946 suggesting his 3 missed seasons probably give him 75 additional win shares and 295 for his career.
WARP3 gives him 7 all star level seasons not counting the 3 seasons he missed. Giving him a modest adjustment for those 3 missed years gives him a career WARP3 of around 70. He also had 2 seasons (1942 and 1946) that were bordering on MVP level seasons.


Factoring in WWII service, Dom DiMaggio was a 10 time all star with a good enough peak and excellent defensive ability. These factors are good enough for him to become a permanent fixture on my ballot next year despite his 111 OPS+.

Harry Brecheen:


Had an all-time great 1948 season with a 182 ERA+.
133 ERA+ for his career.
WARP3 gives him 8 all star level seaons, including an all time great MVP season in 1948 and a 54.4 for his career.


Despite a short career, Brecheen was a dominating pitcher. Win Shares and WARP seem to disagree on his career. More discussion and analysis is needed, but he appears to have a career worth considering and despite a short career, deserves some support (Hippo Vaughn, Addie Joss and Smoky Joe Wood all enjoyed support with similar careers).

I'm considering voting for both of them.

[mwiggins]

I'll be voting for DiMaggio. Not sure about Brecheen. I'm open to voting for him, though.

[dgarza]

Harry Brecheen:


Had an all-time great 1948 season with a 182 ERA+.
133 ERA+ for his career.
WARP3 gives him 8 all star level seaons, including an all time great MVP season in 1948 and a 54.4 for his career.


Despite a short career, Brecheen was a dominating pitcher. Win Shares and WARP seem to disagree on his career. More discussion and analysis is needed, but he appears to have a career worth considering and despite a short career, deserves some support (Hippo Vaughn, Addie Joss and Smoky Joe Wood all enjoyed support with similar careers).Nice peak, but short career (see Noodles Hahn). Of his best 5 ERA+ seasons, 3 were done on short innings (<200).
What is the story about his early career? He didn't really get going until he was 28.

[jjpm74]

Nice peak, but short career (see Noodles Hahn). Of his best 5 ERA+ seasons, 3 were done on short innings (<200).
What is the story about his early career? He didn't really get going until he was 28.

I think he was just a late bloomer. I've never seen any mention of him being held back for any reason. He was exempt from WWII service due to a spinal malformation. Maybe that also delayed his career?

[mwiggins]

I think he was just a late bloomer. I've never seen any mention of him being held back for any reason. He was exempt from WWII service due to a spinal malformation. Maybe that also delayed his career?

If you look at his minor league career, he seems to have been way to successful for someone who spent 8 years in the minors. He was 13-10 with a 3.06 ERA in Houston (Texas League) in 1938, yet he pitched there again in 1939, going 18-7 with a 2.51 ERA.

Then he pitches great for Columbus (American Association) in 1940 - 16-9 with a 2.75 ERA - and gets a 3 inning cup of coffee in the bigs. Yet he returns to Columbus for two more years, going 16-9 with a 3.64 ERA and 19-9 with a 2.09 ERA, before cracking the Cards roster in 1943.

The Cardinals were loaded in terms of pitching in those years, maybe he just simply didn't impress them enough to beat out the likes of Cooper, Beazley, and Warneke. He was primarily a junkballer who relied on control and his screwball, so as effective as he was, he might not have seemed to have the potential that a harder throwing prospect would.

[PVNICK]

Was Breechen just caught up in the numbers game in St. Louis? Didn't they have like a bazillion farm/minor league teams? It seems to me that in the 40s at least they were popping in guys especially pitchers every other year that would be good to great for a few years only to disappear and be replaced by someone else.

[mwiggins]

Was Breechen just caught up in the numbers game in St. Louis? Didn't they have like a bazillion farm/minor league teams? It seems to me that in the 40s at least they were popping in guys especially pitchers every other year that would be good to great for a few years only to disappear and be replaced by someone else.

That's about the only reason I've been able to find, that they just didn't have room for him in their rotation until '43. Beazley went into the Air Force after the '42 season, and they had sold Warneke to the Cubs during the '42 season. That probably cleared room for him to get a real chance in '43, and he certainly made the most of it.

Besides his great pitching peak seasons, other reasons he might be a good candidate...

- He was considered an excellent fielder. In 6 of his 11 seasons where he pitched 100 or more innings he posted a 1.000 Fielding %. His career FP was .983, vs. a league average of .959.

- He was an exceptional post season pitcher. In 3 starts and 4 games pitched in relief, Hal posted a 4-1 record with a 0.83 ERA. He was particularly masterful in the '46 Series, when he went 3-0 and posted a 0.45 ERA.

- Despite his "short" career, he did show quite a bit of longevity and skill rentention. He was one of the 10 oldest players in the NL during his last 4 seasons, and an even at age 38 in his last year, he posted a 137 ERA+ in 117 IP. This despite pitching for a terrible Browns team that was one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

- Despite pitching only 1907 innings in his career, his career total PRAA do match up pretty favorably with a number of our current Hall of Famers and pitchers on this year's ballot who are getting significant support.

Career PRAA (Pitching Runs Saved Above Average):
Brecheen - 193
Gomez - 144
Bridges - 203
Walters - 133
Ruffing - 88
Dean - 211
Cooper - 22
Faber - 131
Rixey - 88
Lyons - 192

And those numbers are already discounting Brecheen's two seasons pitched during WW2.

[PVNICK]

PRAA is whose stat? Without being Captain Obvious it looks to (and by definition does) favor high peak guys. But still he's tied with Ted Lyons who's pretty much as solid a HOF as they come. Brecheen wasn't just a guy that was good in the war, he was good to great to his year in 48 each and every year he pitched.

[mwiggins]

PRAA is whose stat? Without being Captain Obvious it looks to (and by definition does) favor high peak guys. But still he's tied with Ted Lyons who's pretty much as solid a HOF as they come. Brecheen wasn't just a guy that was good in the war, he was good to great to his year in 48 each and every year he pitched.

It's from BP. It favors guys who had both big peak seasons, and those who were consistently above average. Brecheen was both of those. Though, unlike Dean, he did pitch out his decline into his late 30's. He wasn't a peak guy who's career was cut short suddenly and never had a decline. Brecheen pitched a long time, and was effective 'til the end.

A guy like Ruffing doesn't fare well in that stat, because he had a number of below average seasons that dragged his total down (1929 & 1931 most notably). They also have a Pitching Runs Above Replacement stat. Ruffing beats him out there - 661 to 458. Which isn't saying much for Ruffing, given that he pitched nearly 230% more innings than Brecheen.

BP does actually show Ruffing to have had just as good a peak as Brecheen, though. Brecheen's best year was 54 PRAA in 1948. Outside of that, his best were 23 and 20, while Ruffing had seasons of 34, 32, and 30.

Because Brecheen's 1948 season was so great, and his career IP total was pretty low, it screws stats like his career PRAA and ERA+. You take out that '48 season and his career ERA+ drops by about 6 points.

[Domenic]

Dom DiMaggio:


Missed 3 full seasons to WWII service.
7 Time All Star
All time great defensive CF with an A+ DWS.
Best 3: 28 26 26
Best 5: 28 26 26 24 21
1942 Had 28 win shares. Had 26 win shares on his return in 1946 suggesting his 3 missed seasons probably give him 75 additional win shares and 295 for his career.
WARP3 gives him 7 all star level seasons not counting the 3 seasons he missed. Giving him a modest adjustment for those 3 missed years gives him a career WARP3 of around 70. He also had 2 seasons (1942 and 1946) that were bordering on MVP level seasons.


Factoring in WWII service, Dom DiMaggio was a 10 time all star with a good enough peak and excellent defensive ability. These factors are good enough for him to become a permanent fixture on my ballot next year despite his 111 OPS+.

Considering that the PCL was all but a second major league in the 1930s, I believe that DiMaggio deserves some credit for his three full seasons there, as well:

473 G, 123 2B, 34 3B, 24 HR, .326 BA, .471 SLG

This should be re-posted for the next election, as it is very good information. I feel like Dom DiMaggio is criminally underrated, and I think that he should fit comfortably within our established levels.

[Ace Venom]

The discussion on Dom DiMaggio has been good enough for me to consider including him on my 1958 ballot.

[SavoyBG]

The discussion on Dom DiMaggio has been good enough for me to consider including him on my 1958 ballot.

Consider????

With the number of guys that you usually vote for i figured that Dom was a lock to be on your ballot :-)

[PVNICK]

How does Dom compare to the Duffy, Ryan, Van Haltren triumverate that was so "controversial" way back when and should we still use them as OF litmus tests? I really don't b/c I think at the time they were among the best to date but with the passage of time they have slid down the pole.

[mwiggins]

How does Dom compare to the Duffy, Ryan, Van Haltren triumverate that was so "controversial" way back when and should we still use them as OF litmus tests? I really don't b/c I think at the time they were among the best to date but with the passage of time they have slid down the pole.

I would say he's cleary superior to all three of those guys, and he compares very favorably to Edd Roush.

Using jjpm74's war credit adjusted Win Shares total for Dom, he would have 295 vs. 314 for Roush. WARP 3 has Roush with 49.4 and Dom with 51.4. Assuming he'd have played at a similar rate to his '42 and '46 seasons during the years he lost, that would put him at an adjusted WARP3 score of around 70-75. That's more than Medwick (67), Rice (50.6), Duffy (55), Ryan (58.4), Van Haltren (52.3), Averill (49.8), Carey (59.1), Magee (59.4), and Goslin (61.8).

[Domenic]

As an off-topic aside, the attorneys in my office call me "DiMaggio," as I've been told that there's a striking resemblance and Paul was my Confirmation name. Further, everytime I see someone refer to him as only "Dom" here, I get somewhat confused until I realize that I'm not being compared to Duffy, Ryan, Van Haltren, and Roush...

[DoubleX]

--I see Tommy Bridges as a better pitcher than Gomez. I'm voting Gomez in part for because I expect that if Gomez joins Ferrell in our Hall there would be no justification for keeping Bridges - who had a better pitching career than either - out.

Good point on Bridges. I've been voting for him as well but see Gomez as having more of a shot worth focusing on at this point. Bridges was more consistent than Gomez but wasn't as good at peak. Bridges also wasn't much of an innings eater (though neither was Gomez particularly).

On the other hand, Bridges 126 ERA+ is impressive and he's one of just 9 20th Century pitchers to this point in time with at least 9 seasons with an ERA+ of 140 or higher (yes, picking 140 is a little arbitrary, but it's a good level to pick to demonstrate consistent high level effectiveness). The other 8 on that list are all in our Hall:

Lefty Grove: 13
Walter Johnson: 12
Christy Mathewson: 11
Pete Alexander: 7
Mordecai Brown: 7
Addie Joss: 7
Ted Lyons: 7
Ed Walsh: 7

For what it's worth, Lefty Gomez and Wes Ferrell did it 4 times (though Ferrell has other things going for him) and Dizzy Dean did it 3 times.

[SavoyBG]

There's been some good arguments made for Bridges, Brecheen and DiMaggio, but I can't vote for any of them. I believe in war credit when ranking players and trying to figure out how good a player was, but I don't think that war credit applies so much when deciding if a player is a hall of famer or not. Sometimes circumstances (injuries, illness, wars, personal problems, etc) are going to keep a player out of the hall of fame. It's not the "Hall of what should have been."

I rank DiMaggio in the area of Amos Otis, who I do not see as a hall of famer. I see Bridges as not being quite durable enough within each season. He needed to pitch two or three more full seasons for me to have voted for him, since he did not have the monstrous top seasons that Dean and Gomez had.

Brecheen was only a full time starter for 4 seasons, and even then he was not a workhorse, only starting 28 to 31 games in those 4 years. He only started 240 games in his entire career.

There's two paths to the hall for the borderline guys. You either have to have been very dominant for a few years, or you have to have been very, very good for a real long time. Perhaps if there was no WW2 Dom Dimag would have done enough to be a hall of famer, but then again, he may have gotten hit by a truck crossing the street in Boston if he wasn't in the army in 1943.

I also think that Doerr and Ted Williams are enough to represent a team that won one measley pennant in all of those years. What's going to be more interesting in the coming years is just how many hall of famers the Dodgers of the late 40s and 50s will have. They won 6 pennant in 10 seasons, and also were just barely beaten out in '50 and '51 in epic pennant races. I can see 5 or 6 hall of famers coming from those Brooklyn clubs.

[jjpm74]

Boudreau down to 87.50

90% at election. Not bad for a player who is not necessarily an all-time great.

[Senor Octobre]

90% at election. Not bad for a player who is not necessarily an all-time great.

He's not Honus Wagner, but he's a Slam Dunk HOFer IMHO.