Sports Reference Blog

2015 Hall of Fame Features

Posted by Mike Lynch on January 6, 2015

With the announcement of the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame class this afternoon, here are some useful links from around the site:

Please enjoy these features as you debate with your friends today.

13 Responses to “2015 Hall of Fame Features”

  1. Tim Pea Says:

    Pedro Martinez gets in on his first try? No way he deserved that!

  2. Dan Gould Says:

    Pedro Martinez is an incredibly deserving pitcher. His dominance in his own time is similar to Koufax.

    Keep the Steroids out of the Hall!

    Bud Selig worst commissioner in the history of sports. He knew how much steroid action was going on in MLB (& Minor LB?) and he just fiddled while Rome burned. 20 years later he was just shocked about...What baloney.

    Hammerin Hank.......Roger from North Dakota......The Mighty Babe...
    They are the true Home run Kings

  3. brian Says:

    Unfortunately the writers have lowered the bar once again with the election of Smoltz. John had a fabulous career,however the measure of worthiness is always your contribution in comparison with your peers. Curt Schilling, and Mike Mussina have better records than John as a starter. The fact Smoltz worked out of the bullpen for 4 years doesn't alter the equation. Kevin Brown also had a greater career value, and he is no longer on the ballot,...shame

    Of course arguably the best starting pitcher of all time remains on the sidelines....gracious me!

  4. Chris S Says:

    Smoltz gets in over Mussina by a landslide? Who is the better pitcher here. . . Maybe we need to look at who's voting. Do these writers even understand the game? The results of the voting tell me that they do not. I'm not a Mussina fan but something is wrong and that's just one example. The system for Hall of Fame voting is just a touch better than the voters. I'm bummed out about this.

  5. Dan Gould Says:

    Chris S,

    Smoltz has a seriously monumental lifetime Post Season record. This was done in front of the entire nation. I pretty much only watch the Yankees and I still saw Smoltz pitch at least 50 times in my life and I thought he was damn impressive. All else being equal if I was making out the lineup card and I had to win todays game and I had an equal choice between Smoltz and Mussina, I was personally more impressed with Smoltz. Of course if I could start Mussina and bring in Smoltz later that would be epic. Smoltz had that special something.

  6. rick Says:

    I am happy to see Johnson, Martinez, and Biggio made it in their stats and career speak for themselves. yes others deserved to be put in but time will tell, but come on who couldn't have seen it coming I mean really last year Glavine and Maddux went in so who where they missing.....Smoltz of course. I really think people like Trammell and Mattingly should go in not only for their numbers but also when you play your entire career for one team these days that's very rare with players moving teams constantly. and on another note for the love of baseball would they just let in Pete Rose and Roger Maris and others of that era that are deserving.....for now i'll rest my case till next years balloting

  7. brian Says:

    Glavine gets to the hall on counting stats. His individual contribution is even less than Smoltz. Tom just played longer and accumulated 300 wins on a very good team, and the rest is history. Until the Hall recognizes the individual contribution that players make to their team wins, the HOF will continue to reward longevity over excellence. In the meantime the most deserving reside on the sidelines.

  8. Chris S Says:

    Dan,
    I agree Smoltz was a great clutch pitcher if there is such a thing. You're right. I'm just looking for a consistent system for voting. It seems post season achievements only help a player when it's convenient for the voter. They really didn't do much for Bernie Williams. Bernie was a likable, clean guy in an era of many cheats and I didn't expect him to get in to the Hall but he crush it in the playoffs in New York. I figured it might be worth a respectable percentage of the vote. No biggie thanks for replying!! Maybe I need to not like the Yankees so much and then I might see things more objectively!!!!!

  9. brian Says:

    Randy Johnson is among the top ten starters of all time. Pedro was very close. If not for injuries, Pedro may have had the opportunity to extend his incredible peak value into an amazing career value,...that would have stopped any talk of Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove or even Clemens as the greatest starting pitcher of all time

  10. Jesse Says:

    Brian,

    Glavine had a better W-L than Smoltz. They played for the SAME team for most of their careers. How is Smoltz more valuable? Because he had more K's? If W's are a team stat, how does Glavine win 20 or more 5 different times, but Smoltz only does it once? You can't say that the lineup protected Glavine 5 or 6 times more EVERY season than they did Smoltz. Smoltz is the most overrated HOF to date. He should be in the Hall of Very Good. He was very good. Just not elite.

  11. Matthew Cornwell Says:

    Not only did Glacine beat Smoltz pretty bad in traditional stats, he beats him 82 WAR to 70 and 47 WAA to 40. The postseason gap isn't big enough to cancel that out.

    And LOL at the idea that Glavine with 47 WAA is a HOF because of 300 wins, longevity and nothing else.

    Smoltz is a fine selection. He wasn't as good as Mussina or Schilling. Okay, we all get it. But he is still deserving. We got four deserving guys in. 2 years after BBWAA Crapfest13. Maybe we didn't get the Perfect 4 in - but 4 deserving none-the-less. Now there is even lesss backlog for guys like Schilling and Mussina. This was all a good thing.

  12. Rick Fizdale Says:

    Why isn't there a sabermetric hall of fame? Not something started by a stat head who publishes a list of mathematically justifiable former players, but an initiative undertaken by broad group composed of sluggers like John Thorn and Bill James and everybody they. A new beginning with new rules, new elections, new hall of famers, including, I hope, Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens would shame the private business that passes as a shrine.

  13. RicketyCat Says:

    You want new rules and new inductees without justifying them? Huh? A Sabermetric non-stahead hall? Again, what?

    How about trying that statement without the rhetorical nullification. Or try reading http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/hall_of_merit/discussion/hall_of_merit_ballot_discussion_and_results_thread (Basbeball Think Factory - online chapter of SABR)