Posted by MikeT23 on 7/30/2014 9:02:00 AM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 7/30/2014 7:54:00 AM (view original):
Posted by dahsdebater on 7/29/2014 3:28:00 PM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 7/29/2014 3:12:00 PM (view original):
Posted by stinenavy on 7/29/2014 3:11:00 PM (view original):
My point is that a long career that is mostly average with a few peak years does not a HOFer make.
Where is this written?
Two posts above yours. The one that you quoted.
Sorry, we didn't realize that you established the rules for what qualifies a player for the Hall of Fame. My understanding was that there were no explicit instructions for this, and it was at the discretion of each individual voter to determine what made a player worthy or unworthy.
Fortunately, most of them aren't stubborn enough that they'd rather say "maybe Sandy Koufax wasn't a Hall of Famer" than abandon their absurdly stupid original argument.
What argument have I abandoned?
My argument all along is the Beltre has had a very long but overall very average career. He's having some peak years right now, and has compiled a lot of numbers (hits and home runs) through longevity, But for the majority of his career he's been little more than a slightly above average player. The purpose of the HOF is not to honor slightly above average players.
I think his point was that you said "a reasonable case could be made for Koufax as a non-HOFer." He had a short career, with a limited number of peak seasons, but that's a losing argument.
I don't think he's followed the same path as Beltre:
2 partial seasons
3-4 league average(more or less)
1 stinker(1958)
5 best pitcher in baseball
Which 5 seasons was Beltre the best hitter in baseball? It's not the same argument.
That's not a requirement. Jeter has never once been the best hitter in baseball. I doubt he was ever the best shortstop.
Beltre has been dominant for the last 5 years (+2004) and above average for the rest of his career. He's clearly the best third baseman in baseball now.
The fact that he didn't have his dominant years during the same age-seasons that most players do doesn't exclude him from the Hall of Fame.