Bill James makes HOF case for Dwight Evans

But that's a case where they are getting the benefit of the doubt because they played on a good team. With Evans, the argument that a couple of people have put forward is that his presence in an outstanding outfield LESSENS his Hall of Fame credentials. I just don't think that argument holds up - and you don't, either, I'm gathering.

 

No, I don't buy that argument, you're correct. Can't see how the presence of Yaz and Rice has a whole lot of bearing on whether Evans was better than, say, Bernie Williams.

 

I find it interesting that so many people think Evans is deserving, but he lasted all of three years on the ballot, receiving something like 6 percent, 10 percent and 4 percent.

 

I know you aren't a stat guy, but this is a case right into the sweet spot where he was good at things that were undervalued back then (getting on base) and bad at things that were overvalued back then (namely, batting average and, until late in his career when his lineup situation presumably changed, RBIs).

 

Vlad needs to be higher.

And (ducking) ... wait until you see Bryce Harper's arm.

 

I don't know if he's HOF-worthy, but he's definitely one of those guys who I was surprised got so little support when he got on the ballot.

 

I think voters were really, really big on milestones back then. I bet with 15 more home runs he would have gotten a lot closer look (would have given him 400).

Today, milestones have been cheapened somewhat, and I think voters are more into looking at the player's productivity as a whole.

 

My uncle's favorite players when I was a kid were Evans and Fred Lynn and we would almost never miss a Red Sox game when they came to Oakland.

I'm not saying I have a problem with him not getting in. I don't know that I ever thought of him as being on the same level of the top guys from that era, but I've heard so many people over the years call him "The best eligible player not in Cooperstown." or something like that that I find it very surprising that he was so ignored by people who are usually pretty good at looking beyond the stats on guys like him.

I wonder if there are other players from the 1980s who have received similar treatment. I know it took Rice so long to get in because the writers were punishing him for being an asshole. Maybe the stat surge in the 1990s did them in. Evans did become eligible just as the steroid era was peaking...

 

A = Lynn
B = Rice
C = Evans

A and B are better than C

A is not in the HOF
B barely made it in the HOF

Where does that leave C? It leaves him out.

If he played in an outfield of Ruth and Ted Williams, then I would not be making the point. But he did not stand out on his own team, so why the hell should he be in the HOF?

 

Interesting that almost no one on this thread is using the James' 'win-share' argument - the thread's ostensible reason for being - to support their case for Evans.

 

This might fall under the Dick Whitman "not sure if I'm remembering this right" category, but one of the hardest-hit balls I ever saw was hit by (I think) Jerry Martin. It was an opposite-field home run against a strong wind blowing in from right field at Wrigley, and when the ball got to the stands (which didn't take very long), it was still going so fast the fans were running away from it rather than trying to catch it.

 

Lynn was better than Evans when they were teammates, but Evans had a better career.