5 | filthy
ID: 212371616 Fri, Jan 13, 2017, 07:14
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Good to see this talk spark back up again. Sort of. I'll chime in.
I love to read about legendary Hall of Fame players, and that list above is about as good as it gets. But as a fan that fell in love with the game around 1990, my Hall of Fame is a little different.
Of all the legends on that list, I can't say I saw any of them play. To only let in new players of similar caliber stats, would only allow for one or two new inductees every few years, which would not allow for the level of hype that they are able to build currently.
My 10, as a fan that had coverage of Expos games in french for about 5 years, and coverage of Blue Jays games for as long as I recall. Plus the odd coverage of Mariners, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Mets on various channels, plus a growing obsession that started with Smallworld... also I'd probably be the type of jerk that wants to pick 12 players and leaves off the top 2 guys.
1- Ivan Rodriguez, winner everywhere and put up incredible stats in all areas as far as memory serves. No doubter. Slippery slope since he played in Texas with a lot of questionable characters....
2- Vlad Guerrero, my deep down Expos love makes this a no brainer, and the guy was a highlight reel for a long time.
3- Tim Raines, one of the first players I can remember liking, looking at the stats, there is a case, but I really only saw the end of his career to be honest.
4- Fred McGriff, definitely my first favourite player. Didn't last long but he was a key piece to making my early years as a fan some good years. Could've kept playing to hit some milestones and gotten more votes, but he is a proud man. Perfect role model type, deserves more credit for what he did in the era he did it.
5- Larry Walker, another one of my early favourites, always loved the guy as a Canadian MVP, and just dynamite force in the lineup. Loses credit for Coors effect, but he hit well as an Expo and didn't lose a beat as an injury prone vet at the end as a Cardinal. Still dominant then. Coors effect isn't quite the same without Walker by the way. I'm biased, but I'm sure Vinny Castilla and Andres Galarraga got a double boost from Coors and having Walker in the lineup around them.
6- Edgar Martinez, as professional as a hitter as it gets in that era. Right behind Tony Gwynn in my mind. Loses credit for DH but he was absolutely dominant, what does it matter. The Mariners got extra coverage in my area when they went on a run in 1995 and Griffey, Johnson and Edgar are all standouts to me, forever. Edgar helped Griffey get some better pitches for a long time, and was a key piece in a few pretty killer lineups along the way.
7- Jeff Bagwell, I didn't particularly like him or get much Astros coverage, but the stats are hard to ignore and the reputation and coverage I did get were quite impressive.
Already starting to get into questionable territory for me, but again, I'd be the type that wants to fill my ballot. I can't help myself, it's sort of an OCD thing. The asterisk crew is starting to look tempting here. I dunno about closers but they could fill the ballot if I want to continue ignoring the true Hall of Fame numbers out there. I already have some doubts concerning current members of the Hall so why not.
8- Barry Bonds, so good. Made Jeff Kent great in my mind. Should get credit for singlehandedly taking over the sport for a few years. I fully believe his contention that he was just trying to level the playing field. Got a bit carried away to say the least. Definitely proved his point. Might have backfired a bit. I will always remember the excitement around cutting to his every at bat as he chased records. Outshined McGwire and it's unfair to see McGwire get shunned but Bonds was better in every way, so it's not totally off base.
9- Roger Clemens, quite unlikeable, even when he was a Blue Jay, winning Cy Youngs and rubbing it in the Red Sox face, he didn't win me over enough to make this an easy pick. Definitely elite and memorable. Like Bonds. Pretty sure he proved the point that he wasn't done after Boston, but he kinda went overboard. All the comebacks, and getting better each time was quite ridiculous, but a sign of the times really. The stats can't be ignored and among the asterisk crowd, he still stood out, so that's worth a little in my mind I guess.
10- Trevor Hoffman, even to discredit the value of closers, it's hard to ignore Hoffman. Memorable for a long stretch.
Using more of Loki's logic, I could cut down to 5, maybe even 1. Pudge is a slam dunk to me. I'd have a hard time letting go of Walker, McGriff, Edgar & Vlad as well. 4 of my favourite players out of about 25 years worth. Not legendary by all time standards, but standouts based on coverage growing up in the Canadian Northwest.
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