Making A Case For Bernie
May 6th 2008 19:53
Being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame is perhaps the most prestigious honor an organization can ever bestow upon a player. Hundreds of players have outstanding stellar careers and are not elected into the elite group. In fact, presently, there are only 199 Major League Players in the Hall of Fame.
Is the selection too hard? How can members of the Hall of Fame Committee compare modern players to players from 50 years ago? How will steroids, player’s physical conditioning, smaller ballparks, vamped up bullpens and inflated contracts affect voting? I think the Hall is still trying to figure that out. However, the basic facts remain the same. A player must play at least ten seasons of Major League Baseball, be retired 5 years and receive 75% of the votes.
If you ask most analysts, fans and writers about whether Bernie Williams should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the quick answer would probably be no or perhaps a borderline maybe. He was never even really considered the greatest player on his team of superstars. However, in baseball, stats are king. So based upon stats, one would need to take a closer look at Bernie’s all-time numbers.
First, the man was clutch. He won 4 World Series Championships. His 22 homers, 82 runs scored and 80 RBI’s are all post-season records. Yes, he had a ton of at bats to produce those numbers, but that shouldn’t take away from the achievement of the records.
Some quick facts:
- 5 Gold Gloves
- 5 Time All-Star
- 1996 ALCS MVP
- Won the Silver Slugger in 2002
- He finished with: 2,336 hits, 287 homeruns, 1,257 RBIs, .297 BA, 147 Stolen Bases and 1,366 runs.
- In 1998, he hit .339. He is the only player in Major League history to win a batting title, gold glove and World Series Ring in the same year
- He is 9th among all players in doubles and 10th in runs scored
For a better understanding of the numbers, I’ve decided to compare Bernie Williams with 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Kirby Puckett. They both played in about the same era and played the same position, center field. Some of Kirby’s numbers:
- 6 Gold Gloves
- 10 Time All-Star
- Kirby’s final stats: 2,304 hits, 207 homers, 1,085 RBIs, .318 BA, 1,071 runs
- 6 Time Silver Slugger
- 1991 ALCS MVP
- Two Time World Series Champ
Bernie amassed two more complete seasons than Puckett whose career was cut short due to eye issues. However, when Bernie “retired” he was still a productive hitter. If he played on a team other than The Yankees, he could still have had an everyday job. Also, he refused to play anywhere other than The Bronx.
Kirby and Bernie are about the same in gold gloves and hits. However, Bernie has more homers, about 200 more RBIs, almost 300 more runs scored and was always a threat to steal. The huge difference with Puckett is that he won the Silver Slugger Award (the best offensive player at each position) 6 times to Bernie’s lone win. That means Puckett was widely considered the best offensive center fielder for over half of his career. Puckett was also considered the team leader, the face of The Twins and perhaps the most popular Twin player ever.
Despite Bernie’s incredible numbers and postseason heroics, there were always bigger stars: Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Paul O’Neill to name a few. He was a quiet man who was very popular and well-liked among fans and teammates but never became “the face” of the team. Also, in his 13 or so years as a regular everyday type player, he was only considered the BEST centerfielder in the game one time.
Bernie is eligible for The Hall in 2012. He will certainly not truly be considered for election until perhaps 2014. Hopefully, the writers will take a look at his entire career and compare the incredible numbers that he posted year after year.
And one more thing, Bernie we miss you. I heard Old Timers Game 2008 could use a centerfielder.
Is the selection too hard? How can members of the Hall of Fame Committee compare modern players to players from 50 years ago? How will steroids, player’s physical conditioning, smaller ballparks, vamped up bullpens and inflated contracts affect voting? I think the Hall is still trying to figure that out. However, the basic facts remain the same. A player must play at least ten seasons of Major League Baseball, be retired 5 years and receive 75% of the votes.
If you ask most analysts, fans and writers about whether Bernie Williams should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the quick answer would probably be no or perhaps a borderline maybe. He was never even really considered the greatest player on his team of superstars. However, in baseball, stats are king. So based upon stats, one would need to take a closer look at Bernie’s all-time numbers.
First, the man was clutch. He won 4 World Series Championships. His 22 homers, 82 runs scored and 80 RBI’s are all post-season records. Yes, he had a ton of at bats to produce those numbers, but that shouldn’t take away from the achievement of the records.
Some quick facts:
- 5 Time All-Star
- 1996 ALCS MVP
- Won the Silver Slugger in 2002
- He finished with: 2,336 hits, 287 homeruns, 1,257 RBIs, .297 BA, 147 Stolen Bases and 1,366 runs.
- In 1998, he hit .339. He is the only player in Major League history to win a batting title, gold glove and World Series Ring in the same year
- He is 9th among all players in doubles and 10th in runs scored
For a better understanding of the numbers, I’ve decided to compare Bernie Williams with 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Kirby Puckett. They both played in about the same era and played the same position, center field. Some of Kirby’s numbers:
- 6 Gold Gloves
- 10 Time All-Star
- Kirby’s final stats: 2,304 hits, 207 homers, 1,085 RBIs, .318 BA, 1,071 runs
- 6 Time Silver Slugger
- 1991 ALCS MVP
- Two Time World Series Champ
Bernie amassed two more complete seasons than Puckett whose career was cut short due to eye issues. However, when Bernie “retired” he was still a productive hitter. If he played on a team other than The Yankees, he could still have had an everyday job. Also, he refused to play anywhere other than The Bronx.
Kirby and Bernie are about the same in gold gloves and hits. However, Bernie has more homers, about 200 more RBIs, almost 300 more runs scored and was always a threat to steal. The huge difference with Puckett is that he won the Silver Slugger Award (the best offensive player at each position) 6 times to Bernie’s lone win. That means Puckett was widely considered the best offensive center fielder for over half of his career. Puckett was also considered the team leader, the face of The Twins and perhaps the most popular Twin player ever.
Despite Bernie’s incredible numbers and postseason heroics, there were always bigger stars: Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Paul O’Neill to name a few. He was a quiet man who was very popular and well-liked among fans and teammates but never became “the face” of the team. Also, in his 13 or so years as a regular everyday type player, he was only considered the BEST centerfielder in the game one time.
Bernie is eligible for The Hall in 2012. He will certainly not truly be considered for election until perhaps 2014. Hopefully, the writers will take a look at his entire career and compare the incredible numbers that he posted year after year.
And one more thing, Bernie we miss you. I heard Old Timers Game 2008 could use a centerfielder.
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