New 1969 Theme League - Now Drafting

[AllStarInc]

I'm a huge Richie Allen fan (having grown up in Philly in the 60's) and would love to see him in the Hall, but it's gotta be Pete Rose who needs to be there most (in my opinion).

1. franky35 - DD, Dick Allen
2. LMBombers - DD, Pete Rose
3. Rick Smith - DD, Jim Kaat
4. ehlekev - DD, Harmon Killebrew
5. AllStarInc- DD, Pete Rose
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

[LMBombers]

[quote:fe62a512c7="franky35"]Also, isn't that a picture of Jim Wynn rather than Dick Allen?[/quote:fe62a512c7]

[img:fe62a512c7]http://www.quicksprout.com/images/homerdoh.jpg[/img:fe62a512c7]

Yes that is Jimmy Wynn. For some reason I was thinking Wynn when I should have been thinking Dick Allen. I will change the pic.

[KEVINEHLE]

1. franky35 - DD, Dick Allen
2. LMBombers - DD, Pete Rose
3. Rick Smith - DD, Jim Kaat
4. ehlekev - DD, Tony Oliva
5. AllStarInc- DD, Pete Rose
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Sorry, I thought we were all picking one of the hall of famers. In that case, Tony Oliva is a no-brainer. He's a Twin! Of course, the fact that he was a 3-time batting champ, 8 time allstar, great fielder....etc plays into my decision.

Kev

[Paul_Long71]

1. franky35 - DD, Dick Allen
2. LMBombers - DD, Pete Rose
3. Rick Smith - DD, Jim Kaat
4. ehlekev - DD, Tony Oliva
5. AllStarInc- DD, Pete Rose
6. Paul_Long71- DD, Pete Rose
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

[franky35]

Pete Rose is in the lead with 3 votes, but I'm going to argue against him. Yeah, he is the all-time hits leader breaking Ty Cobb's record. But, there is his gambling on baseball. And his selfish and often stupid play. His stolen base percentage is poor; he didn't walk enough; and as player-manager in 85-86 he gave himself a huge number of AB despite being a liability for the team. He needed those ABs in 1985 to break the record in September 85, but the Reds finished only 5 games out of first, mostly leaving Gary Redus and Eric Davis on the bench. As a manager, he badly overworked the Red's best pitcher (Mario Soto) including the last game of the 1984 season, starting Soto on 3 days rest and leaving him in to face 39 batters, even though the Reds were 22 games out - probably so Rose could finish the season on a winning note with his bookie. Soto was never the same. So, yeah, Rose is the all-time hits leader, but his gambling deserves to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

[LMBombers]

[img:21b8b0a7f0]http://adamlucasdesign.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/tony-oliva.jpg[/img:21b8b0a7f0]

[LMBombers]

Here are some other good names that haven't been mentioned.....

Rusty Staub
Joe Torre (combining his playing days with his manager days seems a lock)
Al Oliver
Maury Wills

[Rjnewman]

1. franky35 - DD, Dick Allen
2. LMBombers - DD, Pete Rose
3. Rick Smith - DD, Jim Kaat
4. ehlekev - DD, Tony Oliva
5. AllStarInc- DD, Pete Rose
6. Paul_Long71- DD, Pete Rose
7. RJnewman-DD. Pete Rose
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

[Rick Smith]

Frankie is right on. Hall of Fame Rules For Election.

Rule 5. "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which he played."

Rule 6 (C). "Any person designated by the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball as ineligible shall not be an eligible candidate."

Pete Rose should never have a plaque hanging anywhere near the plaques of players like Lou Gehrig or Roberto Clemente. Players who gave something back to the game, and did not seek to exploit it.

Bob Feller said it all, "If they put that guy in, I'm not coming back."

In terms of longevity, I think Kaat is deserving. If Rusty Staub and Al Oliver had played another year or two they would have had 3,000 hits, then they would have made it. Three other players who could be considered are Maury Wills, Tony Oliva, and Tommy Davis. Good point about Joe Torre, he is the most deserving of all these guys.

In the 1970's the writers and announcers all talked about how Gil Hodges should be in there. He is not mentioned much anymore. The last 10 or 15 years they all talk about Ron Santo. I think both Hodges and Santo are like Staub and Oliver, not quite enough.

I think the Hall of Fame should have a statue of limitations. In 2008 former Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss got voted in. He died in 1932. The first election was 1936. That means it took 72 elections before he made it. If he is so deserving why didn't the writers who actually knew him, vote him in years ago?

Thanks for listening.

Rick

[franky35]

thanks Rick for making a better case than I could.

Joe Torre. Wow. He is a first ballot HOFer. A career .297 hitter with 1185 RBI and an MVP. Those are Hall of Fame numbers. Plus the 5th most wins for a manager all-time including 4 World Championships with the Yanks.