3,000

Blyleven had 8 season with 200 K's - why isn't that comparable to Wade Boggs' 7 season with 200 hits? Sure Boggs had 3,000 hits but he had fewer total bases than either Dwight Evans or Jim Rice and almost 700 fewer bases that Andre Dawson yet Boggs is the guy in the Hall of Fame because of the magic 3,000 hits.

 

Not impressed with 3.31 ERA? I am.

 

The average ERA during Blyleven's career was 3.90. So his 3.21 is pretty decent. Consider that Robin Roberts had an ERA of 3.41 (when the league average for his career was 3.86) and Roberts is in the Hall of Fame with one fewer win and many, many fewer K's than Blyleven.

 

Numbers are nice for making cases between two players or as some benchmark, but they aren't the only criteria. Pedro will make the hall no matter how many wins and k's he ends up with because for a stretch he was the most dominant pitcher since Koufax. Like wicked said, when I think Mussina I don't think all-time great, but with Pedro I do, so no matter what the numbers say he'll be in Cooperstown when his career is over.

 

Well, technically, if you play every day, draw one walk in each game and come around to score every time you get on base, you'll score 162 runs without ever putting the bat on the ball.

Only 16 guys have ever scored 160 runs in one season. In the last 40 or so years, only two guys -- Ted Williams in 1949 and Jeff Bagwell in 2000 -- have even reached 150. That, to me, is far more impressive than any post-1995 home run mark.

 

I think Schilling's in based on his World Series performances, included in the fact that it got Arizona its only title and helped Boston win its first in 86 years -- historical stuff like that helps even more. If he can pitch at least one more double-digit win season and get to about 220 wins, he'll be as close to a lock as there can be.

Mussina has that consistentcy that will be rewarded because of his era. He's far from finished -- at least two more seasons in him. That could get him to close to 275 wins and in this era is definitely Hall of Fame worthy.

 

I don't see how anyone here who argues with me about Jack Morris can vouch for Curt Schilling.

 

A 3.90 ERA for his time frame is a real bugaboo for people.

In 16 full seasons as a starter, Morris' lowest three ERAs were 3.05, 3.27, 3.28

In 16 full seasons now as a starter, Schilling has had four seasons with a sub 3.00 ERA and eight lower than 3.28.

 

In his day, Jack Morris was the ultimate big-game piture. We have fresh memories of Curt Schilling's ankle, but equally memorable was the sight of an aging Morris pitching 10 shutout innings in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

 

Ahh yes it always comes back down to Wade Boggs, doesn't it?

I don't think Schilling is a lock, though I think I'd vote for him. In addition to his controversial nature, Schilling's candidacy will be hurt because he didn't do much at all until he turned 30. Through his age 29 season, he had just 52 wins and two seasons with 200 IP.

I'd bet he's had one of the all-time great careers between 30 and 39. He's been outstanding for a decade, even with two serious injuries, and only Pedro has a better mix of command and stuff (he and Schilling rank 2-3 all-time in K/BB ratio).

He says he's going to retire at the end of next year, but assuming he gets four more wins this year (and the Sox may not win four more games at this rate), he'll have 210 wins. He could get to 240 in two more seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if he sticks around another year or two because I think that would pretty much lock up his candidacy.

 

Five batting titles and a string of 100-plus runs scored seasons are why Boggs was a first ballot Hall of Famer, not 3.000 hits. That was a record that mattered to him, not the public.
The Morris fans here have a strong case. I have voted for him, possibly because I was at Game Seven of the 1991 Series, but he gets a lot of shrugs from other Hall voters, and I'm not quite sure why.

 

Every heartbeat of Morris' career was in the AL, with half the games played at either a) Tiger Stadium, b) The Skydome or c) the Metrodome (could he have pitched a three tighter bandboxes at the time?)

Schilling played the bulk of his career in the 7 1/2-batter NL, at the Vet and Astrodome.