Al Oliver ... Hall of Famer?

Posada is borderline. I lovedTed Simmons but he's also borderline. If I had to pick, I'd chose Simmons.

 

None of those players are in Al Oliver's league.
Stay on topic.

 

To paraphrase Liebling, 'he was as good as a ballplayer can be without being a hell of a ballplayer.'

 

Oliver's body of work is also sabermetric-friendly and passes muster where that is concerned.
But they don't want to give his case a second look.
It would require they admit to a mistake.
The BBWAA is too proud a bunch for that.

 

If Simmons merits more consideration and Posada is borderline, did Lance Parrish get screwed by not getting more consideration, at least based on traditional measurements? 8-time All Star. 6 Silver Sluggers. Multiple GGs. Played on a dominant World Series winner. 324 career HRs spending his career almost entirely behind home plate. Career comps are most similar to Gary Carter (though I'd never say he was as good as Carter). Yet only got named on 1.5% of the ballots in his only year of eligibility.

Admittedly, I'm a Tiger shill and I don't really think Parrish is a Hall of Famer. Struck out a ton and didn't walk much. Not a great OBP guy (in a time when that wasn't really valued as much). But I still wonder why Parrish is never even in the discussion, especially when people talk about Posada as a HOF guy.

 

Who will speak up for Mike Greenwell?

 

I wouldn't even begin to know how to judge a catcher's HOF credentials if he's not an obvious pick like Bench, Fisk, maybe I-Rod or Piazza depending on how much alleged steroid use is used against them.

I don't dispute that Carter should be in, but Carter made it in on the sixth ballot and Ted Simmons didn't even make the second ballot.

Which one of these made the Hall and which got 3.7 percent when on the ballot?

2472 hits, 248 HR, 1389 RBI, .285 avg, 3 top 10 MVP, eight all-star selections

2092 hits, 324 HR, 1225 RBI, .262 average, 10 all-star selections, 4 top 10 MVP.

I think Carter was the better fielder, and a better overall player, but not by that much...

 

Carter caught 150+ games five seasons.
Unheard of today.
It didn't shorten his career, but it limited his extended productivity.

 

I once helped Lance Parrish and his family with directions when they were sightseeing in downtown Toronto during a Tigers visit.

 

Lake. Ontario Place. CN Tower. Hotel. Swiss Chalet How hard could it have been?

 

They were standing outside the College St. subway station and wanted to know how to get to the Eaton Centre.