1954 Best of Baseball Election

[jalbright]

This is our nineteenth election in this project. The entire rules follow.

This election will run through 11:59:59 PM EDT August 28, 2009.

The prior election, and the ballots of the 1953 voters, are in this thread (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=92432)

[jalbright]

Rules

1) All BBF users in good standing may participate. However, if there is more than one vote being cast from any one computer or IP, it must be cleared in advance. Should there be unannounced multiple votes from the same IP, I will investigate the circumstances, and all user names involved may be barred from this project as a result, and all but one of the multiple usernames permanently banned from the site. I only anticipate exceptions for family members living in the same home, but I will entertain requests on other bases. Please note that I and the other mods who participate in the project have the capability of determining the IP from which posts come, and I for one intend to monitor same. I have had to deal with a single user manipulating a project with multiple votes, and I don't intend to repeat the experience.

2) Elections will require a 10 voter quorum. If we do not get ten voters and there are candidate(s) who would be elected no matter what the voters needed to make a quorum did, those candidate(s) will be inducted. Otherwise, no one will be inducted. Further, if we fail to meet a quorum in two of any four consecutive elections, the project will end. If, for instance, we're doing fine on the player end but not the contributor end, I would drop the contributor end under this rule.

3) We will start in 1936, just as Cooperstown did. For the first election (1936), voters will rank their top 20, taking 10. After that we will go to having voters rank their top 12 players. Points awarded 12-11-10, etc. We will take the top five through 1940, then top three players per year elected until 2010, then two per year. If a voter does not number his selections, I will try to get him/her to do so. If they do not do so before the end of the election period, I may in my sole discretion invalidate the ballot. I have included this provision in order to ease the process of recording the votes. On another point, I know, the 1936 backlog is huge--but that was a historical issue they couldn't avoid, so neither will we.

4) We will also have a contributor ballot, which will elect one a year through 1985, then one every three (3) years. Contributors will be ranked 1 through 5, with points awarded 5-4-3-2-1. Voters may choose to participate in either one of the ballots or both.

5) It is permissible to vote for a candidate on both the contributor and player lists.

6) You are allowed to change your ballot at any time the ballot is open. However, if you change your ballot, you've got to notify me (jalbright) by PM or by a new post in the voting thread, or the changes likely will not be registered.

7) Players are eligible at the later of age 45 or the first year thereafter in which the player does not play. If the birthdate is not known, add five years to the first time the player misses a season and has less than 10 games the next season. There is an exception for early death, in which case the year of death plus two will be used if that yields an earlier date.

8) Contributors become eligible at age 65 or in the year of death plus two. whichever comes first.

9) Each election will run for approximately two weeks unless expressly altered by the project manager, contributors and players done simultaneously.

10) No one is excluded from being a candidate, regardless of the league they played in, except those elected in either the contributor or player ballots. At that point, they are removed from further consideration. If there are players who returned to the Negro Leagues or Japan after going to the majors, the departure from the majors will be their career end date for purposes of this project.

11) The standard for including a player on one's ballot is that the player must in the voter's opinion be among the very best eligible players (preferably the number voted on, but if a voter wishes to support someone they feel is 15th in a 12 person ballot instead of one of the top 12, it's too close for anyone to reasonably object. On the other hand, supporting the 25th best eligible candidate on a 12 person ballot is probably beyond the pale). I reserve the power to invalidate ballots which I do not feel are a reasonably knowledgeable, good faith effort to rank the players. One issue I am quite concerned about is that I do not want to see what clearly appear to be attempts to manipulate the ballot so as to elect a candidate. In isolation, I probably could live with this, but if it became a widely used tactic, the project would devolve into something I have no desire to be associated with. Moreover, I think that this position asks everyone else to cast legitimate votes so that you can manipulate the system to favor your pet candidates. I cannot accept that, as it strikes me as unfair to other voters. For example, you can't expect to favor even a legitimate HOF candidate like Bill Dahlen over Babe Ruth to get Dahlen elected without being asked to provide a reasonable justification for ranking Dahlen over Ruth. If you can provide a reasonable justification in that scenario, the ballot will stand. If not, you will be asked to make a change. Certainly, a reasonable justification does not indicate in essence simply that you want Dahlen elected. Furthermore, if I invalidate multiple ballots by the same individual as failing to meet this rule, that individual will forever lose the right to have his/her ballots counted. Voters are encouraged to consider character, sportsmanship, and compliance with the rules and spirit of baseball in their rankings of players.

12) I will post lists of eligible players and contributors before each election. If you have a question about the eligibility of a candidate, please ask. I will provide a list of future eligibility dates as well.

13) My eligibility lists come from all persons in the BBF HOF, BBTF Hall of Merit, and Cooperstown, plus all persons getting a vote in a BBF HOF election in the past year and a half or in a BBWAA election. This is a relatively comprehensive list, and thus I must request that if you want another candidate included, you provide some justification for why said candidate is worthy of getting a vote in this project. The main area I think this might come into play is if a voter supports a person who was eligible for the final selections from the recent pre WWII or Negro League committees but not on my master list. That fact alone would serve as ample justification for putting said candidate on the list. We may learn more about Cuban ball or what have you and thus include others after a case is made for them, however. The contributor list is undoubtedly not as comprehensive, and this fact will be taken into consideration.

14) Other than the sportsmanship and character issues, players are to be evaluated solely upon their play. I would prefer that if a player is qualified by his play standing alone that he be elected on that basis. However, a candidate may only be elected either as a contributor or a player, but not both. Contributors are the area where the entire body of work during his career in the sport, including his play, managing, scouting, executive, writing, broadcasting or other work in the sport is relevant. Contributors are to be ranked based on who the voter thinks is most worthy of induction into the Contributor group in this project.

15) Any ballot with two (2) or more spots unfilled with eligible candidates is invalid. In the event of the listing of ineligible names, I will try to notify the voter so that he/she can correct the ballot before the end of the voting period. If the change is made timely, it will count. If not, and there are two or more invalid names, the ballot will not be considered valid. If there is only one, the ineligible name will be stricken and all names after it on the affected ballot will be moved up one spot.

16) Any players listed beyond the 12th place for any ballot but the first (in which case it is 20th place) will be ignored. If more than one person is listed as tied for the last available place and the ballot is oversize, all names will be dropped, which may lead to the invalidation of the ballot.

17) Ties are not permitted in ballot listings. I reserve the right to invalidate ballots for use of ties in the rankings, be it within a single ballot or over the course of several ballots. If the voter does not correct such a listing voluntarily, except in the case of an oversize ballot tie for the last eligible place, if do not invalidate the ballot, I will choose the placement of the two "tied" candidates, generally preferring the candidate preferred by the other voters.

18) For any ties between candidates straddling the in/out line of selections, the first thing considered is the ranking of the candidates by the ballots cast. If there are more than two candidates tied, use a 3-2-1 or whatever is appropriate system. Once one person separates from the tied group, restart with the remaining candidates until there are only as many candidates as the rules call for being elected. If they remain tied after this process, the candidate with the most votes received wins. If it is still tied after that, those with the most #1 votes as the next step, then the most #2 votes and so on to see if that breaks the tie. If not, we will induct all candidates who remain tied at that point.

19) One thing we're going to have to be aware of is the timeline in the case of at least a few contributors. Two which jump out at me are Buck O'Neill, 1976, and Branch Rickey, 1946. I intend to eventually vote for both men, but in 1946, Jackie Robinson was still in Montreal. Really, Branch should wait until at least 1947 after Jackie's success in the majors to get credit for that move. If you think Rickey belongs in the top 5 in 1946 without his role in breaking the color line, that's fine--but he shouldn't get credit for that important success until it actually happened. Buck O'Neill did some important things up until 1976, but after that he was in Ken Burns' Baseball and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame (both occurred in or around 1994). If you think he belongs based on accomplishments before those two things, that's perfectly acceptable, but please don't credit him with them before they actually happened.

20) I reserve the right to hold a Negro League special election in 2000 if we don't have a sufficient number in that category by then. These elections probably will be limited to voters I feel are appropriately versed on the group of players to be considered. I do wish to only use this as a last resort, however, and only to ensure that this group received what I regard as at least adequate bare minimum representation. I do not plan on sharing with you what I consider to meet those bare minimum standards, but I think that the number I am thinking of are well below the number of candidates that well informed observers believe are well qualified candidates from that group.

21) I will maintain a thread of the project's history and rules which will provide a listing of all elected candidates.

22) Feel free to ask questions by either sending jalbright a PM, or by posting a question in voting thread

[jalbright]

The players who become eligible in 1954 are:


Allen , Johnny
Hack , Stan
Harder , Mel
Herman , Billy
Higgins , Mike
Lee , Bill
Leonard , Emil (Dutch)
Newsom , Bobo
Ott , Mel
Paige , Satchel
Vaughan , Arky
Walters , Bucky
Warneke , Lon


On the contributor side, Gus Greenlee joins the list of eligibles.

[jalbright]

The 1953 player candidates who were not elected had these results in the that election:


Player…………….. votes points
Brown, Ray 10 65
Wheat , Zack 10 65
Radbourn , C 8 58
Jackson , Joe 6 57
Bell, Cool Papa 9 54
Lyons , Ted 9 49
Keeler , Willie 4 39
Waddell , Rube 7 37
Start , Joe 4 29
Foster, Willie 5 26
Johnson , HR 6 24
Ruffing , Red 4 23
Traynor , Pie 4 22
Bennett , C 2 19
Terry , Bill 3 17
Stovey , Harry 3 16
Sutton , Ezra 2 16
Coveleski , S 3 15
Groh , Heinie 3 15
Klein, Chuck 2 14
Mackey, Biz 2 14
McPhee , Bid 3 14
Flick , Elmer 3 13
Thompson , S 2 13
Joss , Addie 1 11
Caruthers , B 1 10
Grant , Frank 2 10
Gore , George 1 7
Maranville , R 1 7
Carey , Max 1 5
Ferrell, Wes 3 5
Smith, Hilton 1 5
Hill , Pete….. 1 4
Berger , Wally 1 3
Duffy , Hugh 1 3
Faber , Red 1 3
Galvin , Pud 1 2
Averill, Earl 1 1
Glasscock , J 1 1
Jennings , H 1 1


The 1953 contributor candidates who were not elected had these results in the that election:


Contributors………. votes points
Landis , K 7 28
Commiskey , C 7 19
Spink, Alfred 4 14
Posey, Cum 5 13
Taylor , C. I. 2 10
Spink, JGT 2 7
Pearce, Dickey 2 6
Shoriki, M 1 5
Doubleday , A 1 4
Huggins , M 3 4
Selee , Frank 2 4
Bolden, Ed 1 3
Chance , Frank 1 3
Conlan , C 1 1
Connolly , Tom 1 1


I strongly suggest that you pay attention to this list, as the leaders of the holdovers are likely to join any strong newcomer candidates as the leaders for winning induction.

[jalbright]

Members of the Best of Baseball Hall. Last election's inductees are in red.

Players


Pete Alexander
Cap Anson
Luke Appling
Frank Baker
Ross Barnes
Dan Brouthers
Mordecai Brown
Jesse Burkett
Oscar Charleston
Fred Clarke
John Clarkson
Ty Cobb
Mickey Cochrane
Eddie Collins
Jimmy Collins
Jim O'Rourke
Roger Connor
Sam Crawford
Joe Cronin
Bill Dahlen
George Davis
Ed Delahanty
Bill Dickey
Martin Dihigo
Buck Ewing
Jimmie Foxx
Frankie Frisch
Lou Gehrig
Charlie Gehringer
Josh Gibson
Goose Goslin
Lefty Grove
Billy Hamilton
Gabby Hartnett
Harry Heilmann
Paul Hines
Rogers Hornsby
Carl Hubbell
Walter Johnson
Tim Keefe
King Kelly
Nap LaJoie
Buck Leonard
Pop Lloyd
Sherry Magee
Christy Mathewson
Kid Nichols
Jim O'Rourke
Eddie Plank
Bullet Joe Rogan
Amos Rusie
Babe Ruth
Louis Santop
Al Simmons
George Sisler
Tris Speaker
Turkey Stearnes
Mule Suttles
Cristobal Torriente
Dazzy Vance
Honus Wagner
Ed Walsh
Paul Waner
John M. Ward
Willie Wells
Deacon White
Smoky Joe Williams
Jud Wilson
George Wright
Cy Young


Contributors

Doc Adams
Ed Barrow
Alexander Cartwright
Henry Chadwick
Jim Creighton
Rube Foster
Ned Hanlon
William Hulbert
Ban Johnson
Bill Klem
Connie Mack
Joe McCarthy
John McGraw
A. J. Reach
Francis Richter
Branch Rickey
Al Spalding
Harry Wright

[jalbright]

The complete list of eligible players:


Adams , Babe
Adams , Sparky
Allen , Johnny
Altrock , Nick
Archer , Jimmy
Arlett , Buzz
Austin , Jimmy
Averill , Earl
Bancroft , Dave
Barry , Jack
Bartell , Dick
Battin , Joe
Beaumont , Ginger
Beckley , Jake
Beckwith , John
Bell , Cool Papa
Bender , Chief
Bennett , Charlie
Benton , Larry
Berg , Moe
Bergen , Marty
Berger , Wally
Berry , Charlie
Bigbee , Carson
Bishop , Max
Blades , Ray
Blue , Lu
Bluege , Ossie
Bodie , Ping
Boley , Joe
Bond , Tommy
Bottomley , Jim
Bradley , Bill
Breitenstein , Ted
Bresnahan , Roger
Bridges , Tommy
Brown , Ray
Browning , Pete
Burns , George J.
Bush , Joe
Bush , Donie
Bush , Guy
Cadore , Leon
Camilli , Dolph
Camnitz , Howie
Carey , Max
Carrigan , Bill
Caruthers , Bob
Cepeda , Perucho
Chance , Frank
Chandler , Spud
Chapman , Ben
Chapman , Ray
Chase , Hal
Chesbro , Jack
Childs , Cupid
Cicotte , Eddie
Cissell , Bill
Clark , Watty
Coakley , Andy
Collins , Shano
Combs , Earle
Conroy , Wid
Coombs , Jack
Cooper , Andy
Cooper , Wilbur
Coveleski , Stan
Crandall , Doc
Cravath , Gavvy
Creighton , Jim
Criger , Lou
Critz , Hughie
Cross , Lave
Crowder , Al
Cruise , Walt
Cuccinello , Tony
Cummings , Candy
Cuyler , Kiki
Daubert , Jake
Davis , Curt
Davis , Harry
Davis , Spud
Derringer , Paul
Dinneen , Bill
Doak , Bill
Donlin , Mike
Donovan , Bill
Dooin , Red
Doyle , Jack
Doyle , Larry
Duffy , Hugh
Dugan , Joe
Dunlap , Fred
Dykes , Jimmy
Earnshaw , George
Ehmke , Howard
Elberfeld , Kid
Elliott , Jumbo
Ens , Jewel
Evers , Johnny
Faber , Red
Falkenberg , Cy
Ferrell , Rick
Ferrell , Wes
Fitzsimmons , Freddie
Fletcher , Art
Flick , Elmer
Fonseca , Lew
Foster , Eddie
Foster , Willie
Fraser , Chick
Galvin , Pud
Gelbert , Charlie
Glasscock , Jack
Gleason , Kid
Gomez , Lefty
Gonzalez , Mike
Gore , George
Gowdy , Hank
Grant , Eddie
Grant , Frank
Grantham , George
Griffith , Clark
Grimes , Burleigh
Grimm , Charlie
Groh , Heinie
Haas , Mule
Hack , Stan
Hafey , Chick
Hahn , Noodles
Haines , Jesse
Hallahan , Bill
Harder , Mel
Hargrave , Bubbles
Harris , Bucky
Harris , Vic
Herman , Babe
Herman , Billy
Herzog , Buck
Higgins , Mike
Hill , Pete
Hinchman , Bill
Hooper , Harry
Hoyt , Waite
Huggins , Miller
Irwin , Charlie
Jackman , Will
Jackson , Joe
Jennings , Hughie
Johnson , Bob
Johnson , Home Run
Johnson , Judy
Jones , Charley
Jones , Fielder
Jones , Sam P.
Jordan , Tim
Joss , Addie
Judge , Joe
Jurges , Billy
Kamm , Willie
Keeler , Willie
Kelley , Joe
Kerr , Dickie
Killefer , Bill
Kilroy , Matt
Klein , Chuck
Kling , Johnny
Knabe , Otto
Kremer , Ray
Kress , Red
Kuhel , Joe
Lange , Bill
Larkin , Henry
Latham , Arlie
Lazzeri , Tony
Leach , Freddy
Leach , Tommy
Lee , Bill
Leever , Sam
Leonard , Emil (Dutch)
Lewis , Duffy
Lindstrom , Freddie
Lobert , Hans
Lombardi , Ernie
Long , Herman
Lopez , Al
Lowe , Bobby
Lucas , Red
Lundy , Dick
Luque , Dolf
Lyons , Denny
Lyons , Ted
Mackey , Biz
Mancuso , Gus
Manush , Heinie
Maranville , Rabbit
Marberry , Firpo
Marquard , Rube
Martin , Pepper
Mathews , Bobby
Mays , Carl
McAleer , Jimmy
McCarthy , Tommy
McCormick , Jim
McGinnity , Joe
McGowan , Bill
McInnis , Stuffy
McLean , Larry
McManus , Marty
McPhee , Bid
McVey , Cal
Meadows , Lee
Mendez , Jose
Meusel , Bob
Milan , Clyde
Miller , Bing
Miller , Dots
Miller , Hack
Monroe , Bill
Moore , Dobie
Moore , Jo-Jo
Moran , Pat
Mostil , Johnny
Mullane , Tony
Murphy , Danny
Murray , Red
Myer , Buddy
Nehf , Art
Newsom , Bobo
O'Doul , Lefty
Oeschger , Joe
O'Farrell , Bob
O'Leary , Charlie
Oms , Alejandro
O'Neill , Steve
O'Neill , Tip
Orr , Dave
Ott , Mel
Pabor , Charlie
Paige , Satchel
Paskert , Dode
Pearce , Dickey
Pearson , Monte
Peckinpaugh , Roger
Peitz , Heinie
Pennock , Herb
Perdue , Hub
Perkins , Cy
Phillippe , Deacon
Pike , Lip
Pipp , Wally
Poles , Spotswood
Pruett , Hub
Quinn , Jack
Radbourn , Charlie
Raymond , Bugs
Redding , Dick
Remsen , Jack
Rice , Sam
Richardson , Hardy
Ring , Jimmy
Ritchey , Claude
Rixey , Eppa
Robertson , Dave
Rolfe , Red
Rommel , Eddie
Root , Charlie
Roush , Edd
Rucker , Nap
Rudolph , Dick
Ruel , Muddy
Ruffing , Red
Ryan , Jimmy
Schacht , Al
Schaefer , Germany
Schalk , Ray
Schang , Wally
Schreckengost , Ossie
Schulte , Frank
Scott , Everett
Scott , Jack
Selkirk , George
Severeid , Hank
Sewell , Joe
Sewell , Luke
Sewell , Rip
Seymour , Cy
Sheckard , Jimmy
Sherdel , Bill
Shocker , Urban
Smith , Earl
Smith , Hilton
Smith , Sherry
Sparks , Tully
Stahl , Jake
Start , Joe
Steinfeldt , Harry
Stephenson , Riggs
Stovey , Harry
Street , Gabby
Suhr , Gus
Sukeforth , Clyde
Sutton , Ezra
Sweeney , Bill
Tannehill , Jesse
Taylor , Ben
Tenney , Fred
Terry , Bill
Thevenow , Tommy
Thomas , Ira
Thompson , Sam
Tiernan , Mike
Tinker , Joe
Toney , Fred
Traynor , Pie
Turner , Terry
Uhle , George
Van Haltren , George
Vaughan , Arky
Veach , Bobby
Waddell , Rube
Walberg , Rube
Wallace , Bobby
Walters , Bucky
Wambsganss , Bill
Waner , Lloyd
Warfield , Frank
Warneke , Lon
Welch , Mickey
Werber , Billy
West , Sam
Wheat , Zack
White , Sol
White , Will
Whitehill , Earl
Williams , Cy
Williams , Ken
Williamson , Ned
Willis , Vic
Wilson , Hack
Wilson , Jimmie
Witt , Whitey
Wood , Joe
Wright , Glenn
Wyatt , Whit
Yerkes , Steve
Young , Pep
Youngs , Ross
Zachary , Tom
Zimmer , Chief


The complete list of eligible contributors:

Abe , Iso
Bancroft , Frank
Bolden, Ed
Bulkely , Morgan
Carrigan, Bill
Caylor , O. P.
Chance , Frank
Commiskey , Charlie
Conlan , Charles
Connolly , Tom
Cooper , Andy
Cummings , Candy
Dinneen , Bill
Doubleday , Abner
Dreyfuss , Barney
Dunn , Jack
Elias , Al Munro
Evans, Billy
Foster , John B.
Fullerton , Hugh
Gleason , Kid
Greenlee, Gus
Griffith , Clark
Harridge, Willie
Hillerich , John
Huggins , Miller
Jennings , Hughie
Krichell, Paul
Landis , Kenesaw
Lardner , Ring
Leavitt, Jr. , Charles W.
McCarthy , Tommy
McKechnie, Bill
Mendez , Jose
Mills , A. G.
Moran , Pat
Mutrie , Jim
Navin , Frank
Norworth, Jack
Osborn , Frank
Posey, Cum
Reach , A. J.
Rice, Grantland
Robinson , Wilbert
Ruppert , Jacob
Selee , Frank
Shibe , Ben
Shoriki, Matsutaro
Spin, J. G. Taylor
Spink, Alfred
Stallings , George
Street, Gabby
Taylor , C. I.
Thayer , Ernest
Tyson, Ty
Warfield , Frank
White , Sol
Wilkinson , J. L.
Wilson , Horace

[jalbright]

My ballot:

Players
1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Ray Brown
5. Zack Wheat
6. Billy Herman
7. Ted Lyons
8. Cool Papa Bell
9. Red Ruffing
10. Rube Waddell
11. Willie Foster
12. Home Run Johnson


Contributors
1. Kennesaw Landis
2. Cum Posey
3. J. G. Taylor Spink
4. Charlie Commiskey
5. Miller Huggins

Miller Huggins returns to my contributor ballot. With the strong incoming group, I regret leaving off Stan Hack, but I already brought in four, namely my top three plus Billy Herman at number 6, and had to again drop Harry Stovey to make room.

[jalbright]

This thread is now open for business.

[leecemark]

1) Satchel Paige
2) Mel Ott
3) Arky Vaughan
4) Charlie Bennett
5) Charlie Radbourne
6) Rube Waddell
7) Ted Lyons
8) Zack Wheat
9) Willie Foster
10) Home Run Johnson
11) Ray Brown
12) Wes Ferrell

1) Dickey Pearce
2) Commissioner Landis
3) Charlie Commiskey
4) Cum Posey
5) JGT Spink

--The top 3 spots all get claimed by newcomers. It been hard for hold overs to move up or lesser new guys to even make the ballot lately. Charlie Bennet was my top holdover, but actually moves down from 3 to 4.

[Domenic]

01. Satchel Paige
02. Joe Jackson
03. Mel Ott
04. Arky Vaughan
05. Heinie Groh
06. Cool Papa Bell
07. Ray Brown
08. Zack Wheat
09. Rube Waddell
10. Wally Berger
11. Willie Foster
12. Stan Hack

01. C.I. Taylor
02. Kenesaw Landis
03. Cum Posey
04. Miller Huggins
05. J.G. Taylor Spink

[jjpm74]

Players:

1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Ezra Sutton
5. Joe Start
6. Red Ruffing
7. Charlie Bennett
8. Rabbit Maranville
9. Pie Traynor
10. Cool Papa Bell
11. Ted Lyons
12. Zach Wheat

Contributors:

1. Matsutaro Shoriki
2. Cum Posey
3. Charley Comiskey
4. Dickey Pearce
5. Alfred Spink

[Tiboreau]

1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Ray Brown
5. Ted Lyons
6. Elmer Flick
7. Willie Foster
8. Grant "Home Run" Johnson
9. Red Ruffing
10. Pete Hill
11. Wes Ferrell
12. Heinie Groh

[Dogdaze]

Players:

1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Zack Wheat
5. Willie Foster
6. Cool Papa Bell
7. Old Hoss Radbourn
8. Biz Mackey
9. Hilton Smith
10. Ray Brown
11. Frank Grant
12. Home Run Johnson

Contributors:

1. C. I. Taylor
2. Al Spink
3. Cum Posey
4. Charles Comiskey
5. Kennesaw Landis

[Captain Cold Nose]

1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Willie Keeler
5. Cool Papa Bell
6. Charles Radbourne
7. Zack Wheat
8. Ray Brown
9. Max Carey
10. Ted Lyons
11. Stan Coveleski
12. Rube Waddell

Contributors

1. Charles Comiskey
2. Frank Chance
3. Kenesaw Landis
4. Alfred Spink
5. Cum Posey

[jalbright]

It been hard for hold overs to move up or lesser new guys to even make the ballot lately.

Yes, it has. If we had only one side of the segregated parts of baseball represented in these ballots, they would have been strong classes--but, combined, they were powerhouses. On the Negro League side, in this election plus the past two, we've had Buck Leonard, Ray Brown, Willie Wells and Satchel Paige. In the same time frame from MLB, we've had Foxx, Dickey, Appling, Ott and Vaughan. And those are the leaders of those classes, not the entire classes. There's some quality beyond that as well.

That run of high quality incoming classes will slow. 1955 doesn't have much behind Dizzy Dean and the top candidate in 1957 is Quincy Trouppe, 1958's only surefire top of the ballot guy is Mize, and 1959's is Joe DiMaggio. There are others in 1958 and 1959 who might make it in time, but I'd be surprised if they don't need a few elections to rise to the top. Truth is, I don't know exactly when Dean and Trouppe will make my ballots, and I doubt I'm alone in that.

[dgarza]

Players

1. Mel Ott
2. Arky Vaughan
3. Sam Thompson
4. Joe Jackson
5. Satchel Paige
6. Willie Keeler
7. Chuck Klein
8. Charley Radbourn
9. Harry Stovey
10. Zack Wheat
11. Bill Terry
12. Billy Herman



Contributors

1. Kenesaw Landis
2. Abner Doubleday
3. Charles Commiskey
4. Al Spink
5. Charles Conlon

[PVNICK]

1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Ray Brown
5. Hoss Radbourne
6. Pie Traynor
7. Bob Caruthers
8. Willie Keeler
9. Stan Coveleski
10. Bill Terry
11. Zack Wheat
12. Joe Jackson

1. Albert Spink
2. Landis
3. Selee
4. Huggins
5. O.P. Caylor

a little reading of threads prompted me to move Ray Brown up and I was not goign to miss Satchel Paige's name twice.

[Freakshow]

1 Mel Ott
2 Satchel Paige
3 Arky Vaughan
4 Joe Jackson
5 Ray Brown
6 Zack Wheat
7 Joe Start
8 Ted Lyons
9 Bid McPhee
10 Billy Herman
11 Red Faber
12 Wes Ferrell

[jalbright]

We've reached a quorum on the player ballot, but need two more for a quorum on the contributor ballot as I post this.

[J W]

Players

1. Satchel Paige
2. Mel Ott
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Joe Jackson
5. Cool Papa Bell
6. Biz Mackey
7. Frank Grant
8. Rube Waddell
9. Stan Coveleski
10. Stan Hack
11. Billy Herman
12. Charley Radbourn



Contributors

1. Alfred Spink
2. Ed Bolden
3. Miller Huggins
5. Tom Connolly
5. Frank Selee

[J W]

This is the last uber-class for a while. Looks like we'll get a chance to clear out some of the "best of the rest".

I hope some of them will be pitchers. So far, we've elected 53 position players and 16 pitchers (primarily). I work off two separate lists for position players and pitchers, and I think I'm going to reshuffle the queue next "year" to help the pitching side.

[Paul Wendt]

So far, we've elected 53 position players and 16 pitchers (primarily). I work off two separate lists for position players and pitchers, and I think I'm going to reshuffle the queue next "year" to help the pitching side.
Among the twelve leading also-rans last year, or the current backlog, one of every two is a pitcher: ranks 1,3,6,8,10,12.

[Paul Wendt]

1 Paige
2 Ott
3 Vaughan
4 Brown R
5 Johnson G
6 Radbourn
7 Gore
8 Start
9 Lyons T
10 Groh
11 Flick
12 McPhee

another dozen
P : Caruthers Coveleski
C : Bennett
1b:
2b: Richardson Herman
ss: Glasscock
3b: Sutton Hack
CF: Hill Carey
of : Wheat Jackson

[jalbright]

Contributors

1. Alfred Spink
2. Ed Bolden
3. Miller Huggins
5. Tom Connolly
5. Frank Selee

I'll assume unless you advise to the contrary that Connolly is #4 and merely a cut and paste variety typo.

[jalbright]

We still do not have 10 voters in the contributor side (we're at 9), which means rule #2 is still in play for that ballot. Most significantly, if we fail to reach 10 in 2 out of any four consecutive elections on a side of the ballot, that side of the ballot will cease. Thus, if we fail to get a tenth voter, we'll have to make the quorum of ten three consecutive times to keep that side of the ballot alive.

[Brad Harris]

Rankings
1. Mel Ott
2. Satchel Paige
3. Arky Vaughan
4. Ray Brown
5. Zack Wheat
6. Ted Lyons
7. Joe Start
8. Rube Waddell
9. Red Ruffing
10. Cool Papa Bell
11. Billy Herman
12. Stan Hack

Contributors
1. J.G. Taylor Spink
2. Kenesaw M. Landis
3. Charles Comiskey
4. Frank Selee
5. Alfred H. Spink

[jalbright]

We have now reached a quorum on the contributor side.

[Paul Wendt]

1 Comiskey
2 Posey
3 Wilkinson
4 JGT Spink
5 Selee

[Paul Wendt]

Here is the current distribution of members by debut decade and grouped fielding position.

: 1860s-90s : 1900s-30s : decade

: 3 5 8 10 : 12 9 20 2 : number of players (69)

: 0 4 4 3 : 3 5 7 1 : lf-cf-rf-1b (27)
: 3 1 1 5 : 3 2 9 1 : c-3b-ss-2b (25)
: 0 0 3 2 : 6 2 4 0 : pitchers (17)

[jalbright]

The only voter from last election yet to vote in this one is jaxxr. If I haven't heard from him by Monday, I'll send him a PM.

Next year, I won't add anyone who is newly eligible. The best of the newbie players by far is Dizzy Dean, and I can wait to add him. I wanted to put in Stan Hack this year, but ran out of room, and I've yoyo-ed Harry Stovey enough. I think the third additon will be one of the great hitters of the Negro Leagues--John Beckwith. I'll post a piece on him below.

1955 has an unusually deep and talented class of contributors. Casey Stengel has a run of five consecutive World Series titles to his credit by that year, plus a sixth pennant. He'll move on to my contributor list despite the fact it looks like he'll rack up some more hardware with Ford, Mantle and Yogi on his side.

The new classes:

Players:

Crosetti , Frankie
Dean , Dizzy
Moses , Wally
Rowe , Schoolboy
Schumacher , Hal
Sullivan , Billy
Walker , Dixie
Whitehead , Burgess


Contributors:

Cambria , Joe
Gonzalez , Mike
Luque , Dolf
MacPhail , Larry
Pompez , Alex
Stengel , Casey

[jalbright]

John Beckwith

His list of accolades is short, which I would ascribe as largely due to his prickly personality:
1) Elected to Baseball Think Factory's "Hall of Merit";
2) Second team in the Pittsburgh Courier poll in a "utility" role;
3) finished 36th in the SABR poll ranking Negro League luminaries; and
4) Elected to the BBF HOF.

Everybody agrees the man could flat out hit. In 119 at bats against major leaguers, he hit .311. The Baseball Think Factory guys project that for his career he was a 333/387/522 hitter who would have amassed 2451 hits. There's no one who hit .300 for his career while slugging .500 for his career with over 2000 career hits who has failed to make Cooperstown. Big John bests those marks easily.

The BTF guys translate those career marks to 315 career win shares, 136 in his best five consecutive seasons and a top three of 30, 28 and 27. I'd say those marks put him behind Brooks Robinson (355 career; 130 best 5 consecutive; and top three of 33, 27 and 25) and Stan Hack (318 career, 140 best 5 consecutive; and a top three of 34, 33 and 31). However, those marks easily best Pie Traynor's 271 career, 119 best five consecutive and a top three of 28, 26 and 26.

There are some other key points of evidence that I'd like to mention: John Holway named him an all-star five times in the days before a Negro League all-star game, and also named him an MVP once. In the Negro Leagues, he led in average and homers once each, and in the California Winter League, he led in homers twice.

William McNeil on page 95 of Cool Papas and Double Duties writes:
Beckwith was a big moody individual, standing 6' 3" tall and weighing in at a muscular 230 pounds, he was ready to fight at the slightest affront. he battled with his teammates, with players on other teams, and with umpires . . . . As a result, the powerful slugger moved around frequently, playing with no less tha 14 teams over a storied 23 year career . . . [Some, though] thought Beckwith's [reputation for a] bad attitude was a bum rap.


The fact he served as a manager would also seem to indicate his reputation was a bit overblown.

Riley on page 70 of his Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Leagues says:
During his prime, Beckwith was regarded as one ot the top players by his peers, and he possessed sufficient versatility afield to play almost any position. However he did not excel [defensively] at any position.

Beckwith was amazing with a bat in his hand. Listen to this from William McNeil's Baseball's Other Stars, page 59:
His .356 career batting average, one of the highest ever recorded in the Negro Leagues, included a league leading .430 om 1930. He also captured two home run crowns in '30 and '31. Beckwith's extra base output was awesome, averaging 33 doubles, eight triples and 30 home runs for every 550 at bats [in his career].

I'll also add this by AG2004:
1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball?

No.

2. Was he the best player on his team?

During his prime, with the exception of the Harrisburg Giants years (they had Oscar Charleston), he usually was. However, he played for the Chicago American Giants, Baltimore Black Sox, Harrisburg Giants, and Homestead Grays during a five-year period in his prime.

3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position?

Cobb’s projections indicate that Beckwith would have had more win shares than any major league 3B in 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929, and 1931, and would have finished second in 1921, 1922, and 1927. There were ten seasons when Beckwith’s win share projections would have ranked him higher than any AL third baseman (including 1928 and 1930). He was the best 3B in the Negro Leagues during the 1920s, and possibly the best in baseball as well.

4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races?

Not really.

5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime?

Yes.

6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

He is not the best player outside the BBFHOF.

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?

I’m using Chris Cobb’s partially regressed figures; in Cobb’s opinion, the fully regressed projections push the value of Beckwith’s best individual seasons down too far, although they don’t affect the value of his five best consecutive seasons.

Career win shares, 3B: Tommy Leach 329, Graig Nettles 322, Ron Santo 322, BECKWITH 318, Stan Hack 318, Home Run Baker 301, Buddy Bell 299. This is generally BBFHOF territory.

Best three seasons, 3B: Stan Hack 98, Sal Bando 96, Heinie Groh 95, BECKWITH 92, Bobby Bonilla 91, Paul Molitor 89, Darrell Evans 87, Tommy Leach 87, Howard Johnson 87, Ken Boyer 86, Brooks Robinson 85, Art Devlin 85. Beckwith is in the cutoff area.

Best five consecutive seasons, 3B: Sal Bando 143, Stan Hack 140, BECKWITH 136, Paul Molitor 133, Howard Johnson 133, Bobby Bonilla 132, Ken Boyer 131, Brooks Robinson 130, Jimmie Collins 129. Again, Beckwith is in good company.

8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?

We don’t have adequate information to answer this question. However, while he is not in Cooperstown, Beckwith is a member of the Hall of Merit.

9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?

Beckwith may have been a disruptive influence on his teams.

10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame?

One could make the argument that he is the best 3B outside the BBFHOF. Of the players at his position with at least 290 win shares (earned or, for Negro Leaguers, MLE equivalents), Beckwith easily has the best peak.

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?

He had two seasons which project to 30+ win shares. Holway lists him as his Eastern MVP for 1925.

12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame?

Holway lists Beckwith as an All-Star four times. However, Beckwith had nine seasons which project to 20+ win shares. Having nine such seasons is a good sign for Beckwith.

13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant?

At his prime, yes.

14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?

Not that I know of.

15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

Beckwith once punched out teammate Bill Holland after Holland criticized him for making an error.

On the other hand, Beckwith was generally the manager of his teams from 1924 to 1942, so Bill James’ and Riley’s assessments of his character is excessively negative. He did jump from team to team very often in the 1920s, probably because he wasn’t willing to accept poor treatment or a lower salary than he thought he was worth. Al Fennar, who knew Beckwith for 25 years, admitted that Beckwith had a temper and would jump all over slackers, but would help young players who worked hard.

CONCLUSION: If Beckwith’s character were really as bad as Bill James described, then there would be an argument for leaving him out despite his record. But James got his information secondhand, and, in this case, the information he received was very poor. Beckwith belongs in the BBFHOF.

When I did my MLB comps for Negro Leaguers, here's what I got for Beckwith:
John Beckwith

Big John hits so well that he needs an OF comp, and it's still not perfect, but it'll do. However, we can improve it by making Medwick an infielder and adding six hits, one of them a homer and another a double plus 20 walks to every 162 games in Medwick's career:


player…... hand pos PA avg obp slg years
Beckwith.. R IF 8010 333 387 522 19-35
Medwick.. R OF 8142 324 362 505 32-48
adjusted.. R IF 8387 334 389 522 -----------

[jalbright]

This is the last uber-class for a while.

By my reckoning, the next one isn't until 1963, when we get T. Williams, Feller, Reese and Doerr all at once. The other one before the 70's is 1966 with Spahn, Campanella and Newhouser.

[jalbright]

Bump to keep it on the first page.

[jaxxr]

1 Joe Jackson
2 Addie Joss
3 Mel Ott
4 Satchel Paige
5 Willie Keeler
6 Bid McPhee
7 Rube Waddell
8 Chuck Klien
9 Bill Terry
10 Pie Traynor
11 Cool Papa Bell
12 "Hoss' Radbourn

A bit difficult to be fully objective, on many negro league greats.
They certainly suffered by not being allowed to compete in the majors, and undoubtedly many would be superior ballplayers if given the chance.

It is, regardless, difficult to use exhibition games, spotty NL stats, legend, and anecdotes, in the absence of official MLB stats.

We may be critical of the 19th century men,, slightly different rules, find fault with great deadball pitchers, something of a pitcher's era, blast perceived marginal HOFers like Chuck Klien or Bill Terry, yet can overlook a lack of accurately recorded history, in making subjective opinions about fine negro league players.

I cant say what is proper for any one's personal choices, just noting how complex and diverse the voting/evaluations can be.

[jalbright]

A bit difficult to be fully objective, on many negro league greats.
They certainly suffered by not being allowed to compete in the majors, and undoubtedly many would be superior ballplayers if given the chance.

It is, regardless, difficult to use exhibition games, spotty NL stats, legend, and anecdotes, in the absence of official MLB stats.

We may be critical of the 19th century men,, slightly different rules, find fault with great deadball pitchers, something of a pitcher's era, blast perceived marginal HOFers like Chuck Klien or Bill Terry, yet can overlook a lack of accurately recorded history, in making subjective opinions about fine negro league players.

I cant say what is proper for any one's personal choices, just noting how complex and diverse the voting/evaluations can be.

I'm glad to see you add your perspective, but the bottom line for the project is that we rely on our collective rather than our individual wisdom for the outcomes. The hope is that our collective wisdom is better overall than the wisdom of any one of us, and I think we're doing pretty well. We have knowledgeable people who have greater interests in certain areas than others, and hopefully the communication of that knowledge leads us to better results. Sometimes, though, the group will disagree with you or me or someone else, and that's a price you pay to participate. We're not all going to agree all the time--but if we did, there wouldn't be much point to such a project, would there? :)

[jalbright]

Bumping this up with a tad over 64 hours to go as I post.

[dgarza]

Are there full results?

[jalbright]

Getting there with the full results after a busy day yesterday (personally, not the project). There were 14 player ballots, and we unsurprisingly elected Mel Ott, Satchel Paige and Arky Vaughan. The full results:


Player………….. votes pts
Paige, Satchel 14 159
Ott, Mel.. 14 155
Vaughan, Arky 13 130
Brown, Ray 10 69
Wheat , Zack 10 54
Jackson , Joe 6 51
Bell, Cool 8 43
Radbourn , C 8 43
Lyons , Ted 8 41
Waddell , Rube 7 31
Keeler , Willie 4 29
Start , Joe 4 25
Foster, Willie 5 22
Ruffing , Red 4 19
Johnson , HR 5 18
Bennett , C 2 15
Herman, Billy 5 15
Traynor , Pie 3 14
Groh , Heinie 3 12
Mackey, Biz 2 12
McPhee , Bid 3 12
Joss , Addie 1 11
Klein, Chuck 2 11
Coveleski , S 3 10
Thompson , S 1 10
Flick , Elmer 2 9
Sutton , Ezra 1 9
Terry , Bill 3 9
Grant , Frank 2 8
Caruthers , B 1 6
Gore , George 1 6
Hack, Stan 3 5
Maranville , R 1 5
Carey , Max 1 4
Ferrell, Wes 3 4
Smith, Hilton 1 4
Stovey , Harry 1 4
Berger , Wally 1 3
Hill , Pete……. 1 3
Faber , Red 1 2


The contributor ballot had 11 votes, and we elected Kenesaw Landis. The complete results:


Contributor…….. votes pts
Landis , K 8 30
Commiskey , C 8 26
Posey, Cum 7 21
Spink, Alfred 7 20
Spink, JGT 5 12
Taylor , C. I. 2 10
Huggins , Mi 4 8
Pearce, Dickey 2 7
Selee , Frank 4 7
Shoriki, M 1 5
Bolden, Ed 1 4
Chance , Frank 1 4
Doubleday , A 1 4
Wilkinson, JL 1 3
Connolly , Tom 1 2
Caylor , O. P. 1 1
Conlan , C 1 1

[dgarza]

Getting there with the full results after a busy day yesterday (personally, not the project). OK. Thanks. I saw 1955 up and was wondering...

[jalbright]

I keep running tallies of the voting, and, when we have precisely one vote in the last five or six days, I lose some of the sense of drama about things. That's even truer in a case where anyone taking even a cursory look at the ballots could easily notice how much Paige, Ott and Vaughan were dominating the competition. The only drama in this election was provided by the Contributor ballot.

Also, I've got a lot of information to carry over from one election to another, and sometimes I get caught up in dealing with that rather than posting results.