All right boys and girls, a HOF question to discuss. It's about David Ortiz, and it's a two-parter:
1. Should Ortiz be elected to the HOF?
2. Will he be?
We've been treated to a bunch of articles debating just this all week in the wake of Big Papi's 500th home run, and I want to hear you guys weigh in. A few pieces to consider:
-The numbers. 500 HR, 1600+ RBI, 1300+ runs, 578 doubles, 2289 hits, .284/.378/.547 slash line, 50.0 WAR*
-The postseason. 3 Boston Red Sox world championships, an ALCS MVP and a World Series MVP, a .295/.409/.553 slash line.
-The position. Primarily a DH, and for good reason (including -20.4 dWAR.
-The test. Showed up on the anonymous survey testing from 2004, but without being definitively linked to steroids (we don't know what substance landed him on the list), without it being confirmed (apparently there were false positives), and without experiencing a dramatic decline after the steroid era.
I think he should get in, but I think Edgar Martinez should get there first. I think the Red Sox connection will get him in, and I think it will be after a brief wait but before Martinez.
*All stats from Baseball-Reference.
I will agree, I've been giving the whole DH thing a lot of thought lately. He has maintained his health and consistent numbers for a long period of time. He is a product of the AL and their implementing a teams ability to use a DH. With the amount of players that are linked to steroids he has loosely. There were hints at it when his numbers went down over a number of years but hey what 37 year old players' don't? I don't think he is a first ballot h.o.f. inductee, but a 2nd or 3rd. His numbers are all relative to other hall of fame players and to think he spent a number of years doing nothing for toronto. I think he will be voted in both for his numbers and the nostalgia that when he was a very large part of a team that hadn't won a world series for 86 years finally break through, he also had two of the biggest hits of that unforgettable series against the yankees. to this day, i think that red sox team is still the only team in baseball postseason history to win afrter being down 3-0.
ReplyDeletewe will be having the same discussion for the dude in the background (Beltre) in the next few years
He should be in before Martinez.
ReplyDeleteAnd Beltre is in, or I quit baseball
ReplyDeleteI think Beltre is in good shape. He'll have some nice round numbers, the huge defensive reputation, a couple of huge years, played on a few World Series teams, etc. Seattle years were kind of a dud, but not awful. It's a well-rounded resume that old-school and new-school voters should be able to agree on, if for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but that 3.90 Jack Morris ERA might keep Beltre off if there is only one spot left...
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