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The High Court |
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Deep Thinkers Only... |
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A Pitch for Cooperstown |
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Who Will Hear the Hall’s Call?
The members of the High Court have studied the evidence and are ready to tell you which of these 12 starting pitchers will someday hear the Hall of Fame calling.
The Voting Ground Rules
1) Vote for as many as you consider Hall-worthy 2) Only current pitchers were considered 3) The nominees must have at least 10 years of ML experience 4) Tell us who will get there – not just your opinion on a player. 5) Majority will rule (2/3 vote gets a player in)
The Nominees
Roger Clemens, BOS-TOR-NYY-HOU Kevin Brown, TEX-BAL-FLA-SD-LAD-NYY Tom Glavine, ATL-NYM Randy Johnson, MTL-SEA-HOU-ARZ-NYY Greg Maddux, CHC-ATL Pedro Martinez, LAD-MON-BOS-NYM Jamie Moyer, CHC-TEX-STL-BAL-BOS-SEA Mike Mussina, BAL-NYY Andy Pettitte, NYY-HOU Kenny Rogers, TEX-NYY-OAK-NYM-MIN Curt Schilling, BAL-HOU-PHI-ARZ-BOS John Smoltz, ATL David Wells, TOR-DET-CIN-BAL-NYY-CHW-SD-BOS
Career Statistics (courtesy www.baseball-almanac.com)
W-L ERA IP K / BB
For more detailed statistics, check out the High Court briefing papers.
Who’s In?/Who’s Out? Votes in parenthesis Note: Players were ranked in order of most deserving. The rankings were then assigned a point value 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Get The Plaque Ready Roger Clemens (30) – The Rocket was the undisputed # 1 selection of all three justices. The only question about Clemens and the Hall is if he will ever stop pitching long enough to swing by Cooperstown for enshrinement.
Greg Maddux (27) – The meticulous Maddux garnered 2nd place votes from each member of the High Court. Master of the change-up, Mad Dog will likely get his day in the sun five years after retirement. Wouldn’t surprise me to see Clemens, Maddux and Johnson step to the podium in succession in the summer of 2012.
Randy Johnson (24) – At his advanced age and with a bad back, The Big Unit could be headed to upstate New York sooner rather than later. Easily in a short discussion for greatest lefty of all-time with Steve Carlton and Warren Spahn.
Pedro Martinez (20) – Pedro appears to have found a second wind for the back end of his remarkable career. If his shoulder can hold up, it should be at least a decade before he is joins the great Latino pitcher Juan Marichal in Cooperstown.
Tom Glavine (17) – The steady, unflappable Glavine is trying to hang on and win 300 games to ensure his election to the Hall. We think he’ll make it either way, but another 30 wins or so would make him a lock sooner rather than later.
John Smoltz (15) – Despite occasional elbow trouble, Smoltz has carved out a Hall-worthy career by doing whatever it takes to win. If John reaches 200 wins to go with his 154 saves, and outstanding postseason history you can count on seeing his bust in the Hall shortly after retirement.
Curt Schilling (13) – Curt will probably have to wait a while to get his Hall Pass. The wins are going to be relatively low and he will be a victim of the success of his peers listed above. Postseason heroics will help move him past some other pitchers with more wins, but it will take time.
Give ‘Em A Tour Mike Mussina (4) – The justices weren’t ready to commit to The Moose. If he stays around long enough to touch 300 wins, he might punch his own ticket to the Hall.
Andy Pettitte (2) – Despite his postseason resume, Pettitte has never been dominant enough to merit selection by our committee. If he stays healthy, Andy might have numbers similar to Schilling’s and that might be enough someday, but not soon.
Kevin Brown (1) – His numbers are pretty good, and he has had some nice postseason efforts. His overall resume is lacking in terms of years as one of the game’s best, and at this point of his career, his career stats will probably only worsen.
Jamie Moyer (0) – Moyer got going too late, and has never been on a team that experienced postseason success. A very nice career compiled mainly in the hitter-friendly American League won’t be enough to get Digger Phelps’ son-in-law into the Hall.
Kenny Rogers (0) – The Gambler will likely finish up with 200+ wins and a reputation for hating cameras. No need to worry about all those nosey reporters in Cooperstown, Kenny. You’ve had a nice career, but you’ll have to buy a ticket to get inside.
David Wells (0) – Boomer is a throwback to the Gashouse Gang of the 1930’s. And while he has put together a very solid career among several teams, David will have to settle for having his perfect game displayed in the Hall.
Voting Results
Tell The Wig who you think belongs in the Hall. You can email him at powderedwig@thehighcourtofsports.com.
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No pitcher in the last 40 years has won as many games as the Rocket. His astounding excellence at an advanced age will give him a tremendous opportunity to surpass the 350 win plateau. (mlb.com) |
