Bill James makes HOF case for Dwight Evans

[Mizzougrad96]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7555836/an-open-letter-mlb-hall-fame-dwight-evans-rightful-place-cooperstown

Interesting...

 

[93Devil]

No. It's insane.

Unless he shows his work, or his spreadsheets, I won't go fo a "win share" at all.

How the F does a player only earn two "loss shares" over the course of a season? And what about making crappy plays even though your team wins? Does that count against you?

Dewey was a good player. A very good player, but he was the third-best outfielder on his own team for many seasons, which is another way to say he was first-worst.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Dwight Evans belongs in the Hall of Fame.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I believe I have posted this before, but back in the '80s at the old Eliot Lounge, we came up with a bar game where you had to pick active players who'd be elected to the Hall by the Veterans Committee. Evans was the first name everyone came up with.

 

[LongTimeListener]

That guy has become the silverest of silver foxes. I vote yea.

 

[Gehrig]

It isn't Bill James making the argument, it's someone using his Win and (unpublished as to methodology) Loss shares. Arguing for Dewey by comparing him to his peers assumes that said group contains a deserving HOFer beyond Dave Winfield, which isn't clearly so. Dewey wouldn't be the worst induction, but whether he belongs among the best 240 in the game is at best debatable. He certainly isn't the best candidate on the outside of the Hall.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I respected Dwight Evans when I was a kid (I was a Yankees fan). And he is damned close using whatever smell test I have for the HOF. Sorta close, just not quite there is the way I would put it. It's not the stats, even though I think his stats fall short. It's just who he was relative to the rest of the league. He was never a star among stars.

Now if you want to argue Graig Nettles HOF credentials! :)

 

[bigpern23]

**** Dewey Evans. Let's see him make a case for Ricky Williams!

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'm sure one of the seamheads on here will tell me how wrong I am, but Evans had the best arm I've ever seen.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Mizzou, in Evans' first years, I was a right field bleacher regular at Fenway. He had an amazing arm, although I do believe Clemente's was better. Accuracy and strength.

 

[Gehrig]

This list was put together quickly, and I could change the order if I gave more thought behind it.

1. Barfield
2. Bob Meusel
3. Ichiro
4. Clemente
5. Evans
6. Guerrero
7. Andruw
8. Shoeless
9. Mays
10. Ruth
11. Mondesi
12. Parker
13. Winfield
14. Hooper
15. Cravath
16. Ott
17. Speaker

Obviously, there's some players on that list that I didn't see play, but I've read a lot about them.

 

[93Devil]

I'm sure one of the seamheads on here will tell me how wrong I am, but Evans had the best arm I've ever seen.

Bo Jackson's was not that had. I head Elway's baseball arm was decent as well.

 

[1HPGrad]

Jose Guillen belongs on that list, near the top.

 

[Gillette237]

To heck with the Hall, give Dewey an Oscar for his excellent work in "Hall Pass."

 

[Azrael]

The engine that drives statistical analysis of baseball players is wins. What we are really asking, in evaluating any athlete, is, "How many games did he win for his team?"

 

[Versatile]

Dwight Evans is widely regarded as one of the two or three best defensive right fielders in major league history, and he was clearly a significantly better hitter than Bill Mazeroski, who got in because he is widely regarded as one of the two or three best defensive second basemen in major league history.

I'm not saying he should be in. (I'm definitely not saying Mazeroski should be in.) But I would have no problem with Evans making it. He was better than Jim Rice.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Dwight Evans is widely regarded as one of the two or three best defensive right fielders in major league history, and he was clearly a significantly better hitter than Bill Mazeroski, who got in because he is widely regarded as one of the two or three best defensive second basemen in major league history.

I'm not saying he should be in. (I'm definitely not saying Mazeroski should be in.) But I would have no problem with Evans making it. He was better than Jim Rice.

Mazeroski got in because some people on the old Veterans Committee were absent from their annual meeting and Joe Brown, the old Pirates GM, was able to take advantage of that, call in favors and get him enough votes.

Mazeroski was a fine defensive player, but he has no business in the Hall of Fame.

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

He and Dave Parker had two of the best arms for a right fielder in the late 70s. I still can see Evans taking his long stride before throwing a bullet. I remember people were upset when the Sox gave Manny No. 24, because many feel his number should have been retired.

And not to threadjack, but I loved watching the brute strength of Parker. Remember his two outfield assists in the '79 All-Star game? He owned that season.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Not before Olerud

 

[buckweaver]

This list was put together quickly, and I could change the order if I gave more thought behind it.

1. Barfield
2. Bob Meusel
3. Ichiro
4. Clemente
5. Evans
6. Guerrero
7. Andruw
8. Shoeless
9. Mays
10. Ruth
11. Mondesi
12. Parker
13. Winfield
14. Hooper
15. Cravath
16. Ott
17. Speaker

Obviously, there's some players on that list that I didn't see play, but I've read a lot about them.

I mistakenly thought at first this was best right field arms. Wow, that tripped me up for a while.

That's just a bit too high, but Barfield had a freaking cannon.

Anyway, spitballing here:

1. Clemente
2. Bo Jackson
3. Barfield
4. Parker
5. Mays
6. Winfield
7. Mondesi
8. J. Guillen
9. Evans
T-10. Ichiro, Vlad, Ellis Valentine, Carl Furillo, Larry Walker