Yesterday, ESPN came out with their Hall of 100, a neat idea where they basically try to name the 100 best player in baseball history. It was an update from one they did last year, so maybe that’s why I didn’t see quite the fanfare this time. But I still love the idea, and this kind of thing is just made for debate and criticism.
Last night I went through the list and made some comments on Twitter. I didn’t make a comment on all of the players, but here’s what struck me at the time:
Gut feeling: Eckersley, #117, doesn't belong on list. Also, just call it Hall of 125. Obsession with round numbers is BBWAA-esque #hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#115: George Sisler. What an incredibly forgotten great player. .340 career average, much of it in the deadball era. 2x over .400
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#114: Bill Dickey. Calling him a "second-tier star" is a travesty. Top 5-10 catcher ever.
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#114: Roy Halladay. With 90.4% to go, I doubt I'll see a better photo than this one
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
(Obviously a typo here – Halladay was #113)
#111: Pud Galvin. Patron saint of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#106: Whitey Ford. I don't care with this list, JAWS or WAR says, Ford was better than this. Just ask my Dad.
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#98: Joe Cronin. Led the DC baseball to its most recent WS appearance. In 1933. Long enough already! #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#96: Tim Raines. JAWS has him as the 8th best LFer. That's since ever. Underrated here #Hallof100
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#91 Craig Biggio. I have some trouble with this one. Deserves to be one of the 300-ish in the HoF, don't think he's top 100 #Hallof100
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#89 Cap Anson. His HOF plaque should mention his key role in segregation. More important to mention than Clemens/Bonds PED use #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#86 Manny Ramirez. I know, steroids and all that, but how good of a hitter was he? .323/.419/.615 over EIGHT seasons (97-04) #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#76 John Smoltz. Was he really THIS great? Remarkable career/story but another guy who I think is a HOFer, but not quite top 100. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#72 Ivan Rodriguez. Under rate. Sick arm plus absolutely incredible offense for his position. Only C I'd rank higher is Bench #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#61 Bob Feller. "Sorry I had 105 Ws by age 23 (yup) then lost 3.5 years fighting the war in the Pacific. Guess that hurt my WAR" #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
Feller’s numbers were hurt, like many others of his time, by having to leave the game for 3 1/2 years. In Feller’s case, the 3 seasons prior to shipping off, he won 24, 27 and 25 games, respectively. The two years after: 26 and 20. Probably missed about 1200 IP in his absolute prime, possible 90 wins.
#60 Robin Yount. Imagine if Derek Jeter had moved to CF in 2003. More pop and less AVG and that's basically Yount. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#58 Yogi Berra. Thanks ESPN for using this forum to expose the world to Yogi-isms isn't of talking about his career. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
Typo here as well, shoulda been “instead isn’t of talking about his career”. So, joke ruined! Athankew
#54. Jackie Robinson. This feels low, but it's probably right. He was a great 2B, but maybe not top 5, and that's where we are #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#51 Pete Alexander. Why are we calling him this? I grew up learning about Grover Cleveland Alexander. That's a name you remember #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
Seriously, can someone tell me when this happened? I didn’t even know who Pete Alexander was when I saw his name. Grover Cleveland Alexander, I’ve known that name since I was 6. But Pete?
#48 Lefty Grove. This is an underrate. More dominant in his time than some of the others that will probably be named later #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
Lefty Grove here is perhaps biggest lowball of the whole thing.
#42 Eddie Collins. Best 2B behind the untouchable Hornsby. Why are almost all great 2B pre-WWII? Get on that, Rendon. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#41 Pedro Martinez. Love Pedro. Peak was incredible. Definite HOFer. Not better than Lefty Grove. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#36 Nolan Ryan. Walked SO MANY guys and such an up and down pitcher. But when he was on… extra credit for 7 No Nos #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#28 Jimmie Foxx. .332/.438/.634 over THIRTEEN seasons (29-41). Inspiration for Hanks character in League of Their Own #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#27 Johnny Bench. Catchers get a raw deal. 27 is too low for the best one ever, and if another C ranks higher, they screwed up #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#23 Randy Johnson. THE dominant SP for 4-5 yrs. Prepare to hear how historically good, next HOF vote. You're lucky you saw him. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#20 Joe Morgan. This is a miss, he's 3rd best 2B behind Collins. More HRs in a much more hitter-friendly era, nothing else better #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#16 Albert Pujols. I think his reputation will improve, as last 3 yrs are making many forget how dominant he was for 1st 10 #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#15 Rogers Hornsby. This smells like an underrate. How can he be out of the top 10? Starter on the all time top 9 #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#12 Walter Johnson. No, this is wrong. Best SP ever, better than Clemens. Better peak. longer career, more dominant in his time #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#11 Lou Gehrig. An insult to a legend and a Columbia alum. Starting 9 all time. Probably top 5 for me #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#10 Honus Wagner. Another underrate? Best player ever at most important position. 8 batting titles and 6 SLUGGING titles #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#9 Mickey Mantle. Good spot for maybe the most talented player ever. A switch hitting, faster (initially) @Bharper3407 #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#8 Stan Musial. Underappreciated, to the point of being overrated (here). Top 20 player EVER, but doesn't beat Honus or Hornsby #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#7 Roger Clemens. As previously stated, I don't think he quite belongs here. At least not ahead of WJ. Top 20, just not 7 #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#5 Hank Aaron. I'd probably move Aaron down a bit here as well. Gets extra credit for the HR record. More like top 10/12 to me. #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#3 Barry Bonds. We know he had help, but my god, those numbers from 2001-2004. And 1990-1998 for that matter #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#2 Willie Mays. Yup. Greatest real life player ever. Did everything well #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
#1 Babe Ruth. Greatest fictional player ever. Nobody could've REALLY been a top 10 SP, then been the best hitter for 13 season #Hallof100
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
From 1919-1932, Ruth hit .354/.487/.726. In those 14 seasons, he lead the league in OBP 10x, SLG 12x, and had an OBP over .500 5x.
— Nationals Review (@nationalsreview) January 11, 2014
Babe Ruth was good. No way that was a real person.
Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux, and Rickey Henderson are all too high