The Baines Factor. List your retired players who should NOW be in the HOF.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Baines' admission was a joke. Changed the threshold for entry. I'll list 3 ez ones:

*Dwight Evans. Great ALL-AROUND player. Above avg in every category. Top20 all-time in Walks + great defensive player (8 GG + top 15 all-time in Outfield assists).

*Will Clark. I always thought he would be just short. But he was MUCH better than Baines. Played a defensive position + maintained OBA close to 400 right to end of his career.

*Fred McGriff. Almost got to 500 home runs. Good player for two franchises.

[mjsuax13]

Lou Whitaker

Played for Detroit Tigers 77-95.
Career: .276 BA, .363 OBP, .426 SLG, 244 HR, 1,084 RBI, 2,369 Hits
Career: 117 OPS+, 75.1 WAR
4th most DPs turned for 2B in MLB history
1978 A.L. Rookie of the Year
5-time All-Star
3-time Gold Glove Award Winner
4-time Silver Slugger

Total joke he’s not in.

[jtoler]

guess for baines they weighed longevity heavily. playing 22 yrs the numbers arnt wow but hitting .289 over 22 yrs in the majors isnt easy, also 136 hits shy of 3,000 he's 46th on the all time hits list still seems like a stretch

[EasyCover]

Obviously Bonds,Rose , Clemens ,McGwire, Palmiero, Sosa, and McGwire. Shoeless Joe Jackson too. Other than the steroid babies, I agree with the Crime dog.Loved that guy.

One that doesn't get mentioned much is Dave Parker. He gets the shaft because of his bad media relations and cocaine use, but he was awesome and could do it all.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Lou Whitaker

Played for Detroit Tigers 77-95.
Career: .276 BA, .363 OBP, .426 SLG, 244 HR, 1,084 RBI, 2,369 Hits
Career: 117 OPS+, 75.1 WAR
4th most DPs turned for 2B in MLB history
1978 A.L. Rookie of the Year
5-time All-Star
3-time Gold Glove Award Winner
4-time Silver Slugger

Total joke he’s not in.

Good one. I was just reviewing his numbers. Not sure why he didn't get the appreciation, I don't recall him being a big talker.

He actually has a 10% higher WAR than Sandberg, who was his contemporary + got in easily. I liked Lou. More power than u think + good defensive player.

[moronist]

When the all-time hits leader, Pete Rose is not in the Hall of Fame, then it has NO credibility, similar to when Rush was left out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for so long.

The Hall of Fame should be about your excellent accomplishments in baseball, and if they are looking for saintly people, then no one should be in.

Also, Pete Rose was an arrogant ass for not immediately coming out and admitting that he bet on baseball, but he should have been in the Hall of Fame long ago, with an asterisk next to his name, saying that he was banned from baseball for betting on it while he was a player/manager.

The same can be said for Shoeless Joe Jackson, regarding his transgressions in MLB. Put him in the Hall of Fame as well, and put an asterisk next to his name, saying he was banned for throwing games.

Also, I would allow players during the steroid era in the Hall as well, like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, and A-Rod, but just let people know that these players shattered records while using the juice, with the blessing of Bud Selig and MLB, who needed to bring excitement and fans back to the game after the 1994 strike.

And I never understood how a player is not good enough to make it into the Hall on the first try, like Harold Baines, but magically gets better after his playing career is long over, and then eventually makes it in.