Baseball Roundtable Looks at the Hall of Fame Golden Days Era Candidates

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The Baseball Hall of Fame recently announced its candidates for 2022 election by the Golden Days  Era (1950-69) and  the Early Baseball Era (pre-1950) Committees. Voting will take place December 5 for 2022 induction.   In this post, Baseball Roundtable will take a look at the Golden Days Era candidates,  sharing:

• What Baseball Roundtable’s Golden Days Era ballot would look (if I had one); and
• Bios, comments and Roundtable rankings for all ten candidates;
• A thought on what the Golden Days Era Committee might do.

In the coming days, I will do the same for the slate of Early Baseball ERA candidates.

Selecting from among the Golden Days Era candidates proved particularly challenging for several reasons:

• Since the candidates were pre-screened by an Historical Overview Committee, they all could boast some deserving achievements and attributes;
• Since I grew up in the Golden Era, I was able to see all the nominated players on the field – and find my choices mixing emotion with reason; and
• The members of the committee are only allowed to vote for a maximum of four candidates and I limited myself to that same restriction.

The ERA Committees – Background

By way of background, the Hall of Fame Era Committees consider candidates passed over for election to the HOF in the annual Baseball Writers Association of America balloting. The current committees, which meet on a rotating basis are the: Early Baseball Era (prior to 1950);  Golden Days Era (1950-69); Modern Baseball Era (1970-87); and Today’s Game Era (1988 forward). Players to appear on each year’s ballot are selected by an Historical Overview Committee and then are considered by a 16-member Era Committee. Candidates must receive 75 percent support (12 votes) from Era Committee members to achieve election. Candidates whose careers overlap eras are considered on the basis of the time frame in which they made their most significant contributions to the national pastime.

Of the ten candidates  on this year’s Golden Days Era ballot – eight  are returnees from the 2014 Committee ballot (when no candidates were elected):  Dick Allen; Tony Oliva; Jim Kaat; Maury Wills; Minnie Minoso; Gil Hodges; Ken Boyer; and Billy Pierce. Newcomers to the ballot include: Roger Maris and Danny Murtaugh.

HOW BBRT WOULD VOTE IF I HAD A   BALLOT

Let me say, having been born in 1947, I grew up watching most of the candidates on the field.   I have fond memories of Tony Oliva’s knees bent-in stance – and ability to hit pretty much any pitch (in or out of the strike zone);  the drama of the Roger Maris/Mickey Mantle 1961 chase for Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record; the Go-Go White Sox, shaped in part by Minnie Minoso’s speed and never-waning hustle; Danny Murtaugh’s Pirates’  unexpected upset of the Yankees in the 1960 World Series; Maury Wills’ daring on the bases;  Dick Allen’s fierce presence and personality on and off the field; the ability of Gil Hodges and Ken Boyer to change a game with their bats or their gloves; and the way southpaws Jim Kaat and Billy Pierce filled the role of staff “ace” for the Twins and White Sox, respectively.   In rating all these candidates, I did my best to focus on exceptional performance in relation to their Golden Days Era peers – league leadership in key statistical categories, All Star selections, individual awards (Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, MVP, etc.).  I recognize that my selections, which I will present in priority order, may make me look like a bit of a “homer.” (My home base is  Minnesota and two of my top three selections are former Twins.) I do, however, think my reasoning will stand up to scrutiny – and those two candidates were among the top three cote-getters in 2014.

Now, let’s start with the three players, Baseball Roundtable considered no-brainers when deciding how I would vote if I was on the committee.

1. Jim Kaat (LHP, 1959-83)

Photo: Public Domain via Wiki Commons

Jim Kaat is at the top of my list of players not in the Hall of Fame who should be.  Consider, the southpaw took the big-league mound in 25 seasons; his 283 wins  (237 losses) are 31st all time; his 2,461 strikeouts 44th.   (More than 50 pitchers currently in the HOF have fewer career wins than Kaat.)

A three-time All Star, Kaat won 20 or more games in three-seasons, leading the AL in wins with 25 in 1966.  Kaat also is among MLB’s top 25 hurlers in games started (625, 17th), innings pitched (4,530 1/3, 25th). Then, of course, there are his 16 Gold Gloves (tied with 3B Brooks Robinson) and second only to Greg Maddux for the most Gold Gloves all time. Further, Jim Kaat and Brooks Robinson share the record for consecutive Gold Gloves at 16.

One of the criticisms of Kaat raised during regular BBWAA balloting was that he his win total was inflated by the length of his career (Kaat average 11.3 wins per season over 25 seasons).  From a different perspective, BBRT believes the fact the Kaat had the skills and determination to compete on the major league level from age 20 to age 44 contributes to his Hall of Fame credentials.

In the 2014 Era Committee balloting, Kaat got ten of the necessary 12 votes for election. This should be his year.

Breaking the String – A Piece of Jim Kaat Trivia

From 1972 through 1986,  Steve Carlton started 14 of the 15 Phillies’ Opening Day games. The one year he missed (1976) cost him the record for consecutive Opening Day starts and consecutive opening Day starts for the same team. The pitcher who interrupted the streak was Jim Kaat – a three-time 20-game winner, and a 20-game winner and All Star the year before (for the White Sox). Carlton started the second game of the season.

Jim Kaat played for the: Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1959-73); Chicago White Sox (1973-75); Philadelphia Phillies (1976-79); New York Yankees (1979-1980); Saint Louis Cardinals (1980-83).

Jim Kaat’s Best Season: 1966 Twins … A league-leading 25 wins (13 losses), with a 2.75 ERA. That season, Kaat also led the AL in starts (41) and complete games (19). Kaat might have that all-important Cy Young Award on his HOF resume, except for the fact that MLB gave out only one CYA in 1966 (the move to a CYA for each league came the following year) and it went to National Leaguer Sandy Koufax (27-9, 1.73 for the Dodgers).

2. Minnie Minoso (OF/3B, 1946-49, 1951-64, 1976, 1980)*

*Minoso made brief publicity-focused appearances for the White Sox in 1976 and 1980 – which allowed him to appear in MLB in five different decades.

Photo: Bowman Gum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In his first full American League  season (split between the Indians and the White Sox), the 25-year-old Minoso hit .326, leading the AL in triples (14), stolen bases (31) and hit by pitch (16) – finishing second to Yankees’ infielder  Gil McDougald in the Rookie of the Year balloting. Minoso had previously played three seasons in the Negro Leagues (111) games, averaging .313, with nine home runs, 66 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He was the starting 3B in the 1948 and 1948 Negro Leagues East-West All Star Games, before joining the Indians in 1949.

Minoso enjoyed  a 20-season MLB career in which he made nine All Star squads (two Negro League, seven American League), earned three Gold Gloves, led the AL in hits once, doubles once, triples three times, stolen bases three times, total bases once and hit by pitch an MLB-record ten times. He finished with 2,110 hits and a .299 average (topping .300 ten times), 195 home runs (hitting 20+ in a season four times), 1,225 runs (scoring more than 100 runs in a season four times), 1,093 RBI (besting 100 four times) and 216 stolen bases. In addition to those offensive marks, Minoso also led AL left fielders in assists six times, putouts four times and double plays four times.  Minoso was well into his career when the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were established in 1957; yet he still earned Gold Gloves 1957, 1959 and 1960.

Adding to Minoso’s Hall of Fame resume is the fact that he was a groundbreaking “Black Latino” in major league baseball; bringing additional pressure and significance to his on- and off-field performance and persona.  Minoso was the first player of color for the Chicago White Sox (and quickly won over ChiSox fans with his constant hustle), the first Black Cuban to play in the major leagues and the first Cuban to play in the AL/NL All Star game.  His baseball legacy is further enhanced by the fact that he also  played and starred in the Cuban League. He is a member of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame; the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame; the Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame;  The Baseball Reliquary Shrine of the Eternals; and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award.

All of this would earn Minoso Baseball Roundtable’s vote for the Hall – plus I’d like to see his full name Saturnino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) Minoso on that HOF plaque.  Minoso got eight votes in the ERA Committee 2014 balloting.

Minnie Minoso played for: New York Cubans (1946-48); Cleveland Indians (1949, 1951, 1958-59); Chicago White Sox (1951-57, 1961, 1964, 1976, 1980); Saint Louis Cardinals (1962); Washington Senators (1963).

Minnie Minoso’s Best Season:  1954 Chicago White Sox … 153 games, .320 average, 182 hits, 29 doubles, 18 triples (league-leading), 19 home runs, 119 runs scored, 116 RBI, 18 stolen bases.

3. Tony Oliva (OF-DH, 1962-76)

Photo: Public Domain via Wiki Commons

Okay, having two former Twins on my ballot may make me look like a “homer,” but hear me out.  First, it’s ironic that Jim Kaat’s HOF qualifications have been criticized in the past because his career was too long (283 wins over 25 seasons), while Oliva’s HOF credentials have been criticized because – due to injury – his productive career was too short (only 11 seasons out of 15  in which he played at least 125 games, only seven of 140 games or more).

Oliva gets BBRT’s vote because, when he played, he was simply one of the best. In his first eight seasons full seasons (1964-71), he made the All Star team every year.  During that span he produced an annual average of 182 hits (.313 batting average), 22 home runs, 89 runs scored, 90 RBI and ten stolen bases.  During those seasons, Oliva won three batting titles and led the AL in hits  five times. Over his last five seasons, he was hampered by bad knees (eight knee operations) – averaging 96 games per season, with a .278 batting average.

As noted,  Oliva won three batting titles. He led the American League in hits in his first three full seasons and a total of five times. He also led the AL in doubles four times, and topped the AL one time each in runs scored, slugging percentage, total bases and intentional walks.   Tony-O also showed speed on the bases, finishing in double-digits in steals six times, with a high of 19 in 1965.  In his first eight seasons, he received MVP votes every year, finishing in the top six four times. Between 1964 and 1971, He also lead AL right fielders in putouts five times, in assists  twice and in double plays (three times).

Oliva also was a “’plus” defender with a rifle arm in right field, capturing a Gold Glove in 1966.

Oliva played in 15 major-league seasons, retiring with a .304 career average, 1,917 hits, 220 home runs, 870 runs scored and 947 RBI.  He received 11 of the needed 12 votes in the 2014 Era Committee balloting.

While critics might point to the fact that (again due to injury), Oliva’s career included  just 11 seasons in which he played 100+ games and just eight All Star campaigns, Baseball Roundtable would note that the Hall has acknowledge players whose career totals were also impacted by injury issues such as Ralph Kiner  (ten career seasons, six-time All Star) and Sandy Koufax (12 career seasons, six-time All Star.) I believe Oliva’s peak years, three batting titles and five season leading the AL in bits have earned him this vote.)

Tony Oliva played for:  Minnesota Twins (1962-76)

Tony Oliva’s Best Season:  In 1964, 25-year-old rookie, Tony Oliva led the AL in batting average (.323); hits (217); run scored (109); doubles (43); and total bases (374). His nine triples were third in the AL; his 32 home runs sixth; his 94 RBI ninth. He also led AL rightfielder in putouts. He finished fourth in the AL MVP voting. Oliva did not fall prey to the “sophomore jinx.” The following season, he again led the AL in hits and batting average, led the league’s right fielders  in putouts and was second in assists.

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I debated on exercising a fourth vote (as allowed to Era Committee members – and once I decided there were additional worthy candidates, I was able to limit my consideration to two – Dick Allen and Gil Hodges.  It was close, but I would give my fourth vote to Allen.

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4. Dick Allen (1B/3B, 1963-77)

Dick Allen’s traditional HOF candidacy suffered from a combination of career-shortening injuries and career-complicating controversy.  The fact is, Allen had a fierce presence and demeanor both on and off the field.  It is his on-the-field performance – specifically his at-the-plate performance – that earns Allen BBRT’s Golden Days vote. It is generally agreed that none of his peers hit the ball as consistently hard as Allen did in the pitching-dominated 1960s.

Allen came on with a bang, as a 22-year-old,  in his first full MLB season, leading the NL in runs scored (125), triples (13) and total bases (352), while hitting .318 with 29 home runs and 91 RBI.  His performance earned him the Rookie of the Year Award.  He went on to a 15-year MLB career, during which he was a seven-time All Star and collected 1,848 hits, 351 home runs and 1,119 RBI.  His career batting average was .292, and he topped .300 seven times.  He led the NL in home runs twice (hitting 30+ HRs six times), RBI once (besting 100 three times), walks once, on-base percentage twice, slugging percentage three times and total bases once. I would have liked to see a few more benchmark numbers (400 home runs, 1,500 RBI, .300 career average) or a few more instance of leading his league in key categories, but that was offset by his Rookie of the Year and 1972 AL MVP Award.

Allen fell one vote short in the 2014 Committee balloting.

Dick Allen played for: Philadelphia Phillies (1963-1969; 1975-76); Los Angeles Dodgers (1971); Chicago White Sox (1972-74); Oakland A’s (1977).

Dick Allen’ Best Season:  1972 Chicago White Sox … Played in 148 games, hitting .308, while leading the AL in home runs (37), RBI (113), walks (99), on-base percentage (.420) and slugging percentage (.603) – winning the AL MVP Award.

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So, there are my four votes:  Now, for the remainder of the ballot (in BBRT ranking order).

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5. Gil Hodges (1B, 1943-63 – military service 1944-45)

Gil Hodges was a slick-fielding first baseman. (Rawlings launched the Gold Glove Award in 1957 and Hodges, already in his 12th MLB season at age 33, began a streak of three consecutive Gold Gloves at first base.) Hodges was also a potent offensive force – an RBI machine.  For the seven seasons from 1949 to 1955, he topped 100 RBI every year – averaging 112 runs driven in per campaign.   He also logged 11 consecutive seasons of 20+ home runs (1949-59), with a high of 42 in 1954.

Gil Hodges is one of only 18 MLB (NL/AL) players to hit four home runs in one game.

In 18 MLB seasons, Hodges was selected for eight All-Star teams, and helped his Dodgers capture seven NL pennants and two World Series championships.  In post-season play, he is remembered his 21 hitless at bats in 1952, but in his other six World Series, he hit .318, with five home runs and 21 RBI in 32 games.

Hodges’ put up a career average of .273, with 370 home runs, 1,274 RBI and 1,105 runs scored.  Without losing those two years to military service, he may well have exceeded the 400 home runs and 1,500 RBI marks. Hodges’ chances for the Hall are diminished a bit by the fact that he never led the league in any of the key offensive categories. After his playing days, he also managed the Washington Senators (1963-67) and New York Mets (1968-71), leading the “Miracle Mets” to the World Championship in 1969.

Gil Hodges – Respected Leader

Gil Hodges was a respected leader in the clubhouse and on the field.  Hall of Famer and Hodges’ teammate Pee Wee Reese once said of him, “If you had a son, it would be a great thing to have him grow up to be just like Gil Hodges.”

Gil Hodges played for: Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1943-61); New York Mets (1962-63).

Gil Hodges’ Best Season:  1954 Dodgers … Hodges played in all 154 games that season, providing sparkling defense along with a .304 average, 42 home runs, 130 RBI and 106 runs scored.

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Choosing Between Dick Allen and Gil Hodges

For, Baseball Roundtable, deciding on my  fourth vote – between Dick Allen and Gil Hodges – was a close call. Hodges .273 average worked against him, as did the fact that he never led his league in any of the key offensive categories (average, home runs, RBI, runs scored). His seven consecutive years with 100 of more RBI, his reputation for respected and respectful leadership and his status as a  plus defender worked in his favor, but could no outweigh Allen’s ROY and MVP Awards – and Allen’s .292 career average. How close were these two?  I did a little math, determining each player’s average output over 150 games (pretty much the definition  of a full-time, full season). Allen averaged out at .292-30-96, with 94 runs scored –  Hodges at  .272-27-92, with 80 runs scored.  

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      6. Ken Boyer (3B/1B/CF … 1955-69)

Ken Boyer was a Gold Glove fielder at third base.  In fact, he won five Gold Gloves in a six-season span (1958 to 1963).  He led all NL third baseman in assists twice, putouts once and double plays five times. And I guess he was able to console himself for losing the 1964 Gold Glove to the Cubs’ Ron Santo with the fact that Boyer was voted the NL MVP that season.

You may have heard about (or witnessed) Boyer’s defensive skills at the hot corner, but did you know his MLB career also included time in centerfield (111 games), as well as at first base (65 games) and shortstop (31 games)? In fact, in 1957 – with the Cardinals wanting to develop infield prospect Eddie Kasko and facing a gap in centerfield – Boyer agreed to move to the center of the outfield. In 105 games there, he made just one error and led NL outfielders with a .993 fielding average.  A combination of an injury to Kasko and the Cardinals acquisition of outfielder Curt Flood sent Boyer back to third base in 1958 (and he began a streak of four consecutive Gold Gloves).

In his fifteen-year MLB career, Boyer became known not just as a fine defensive player, but also as a consistent, quality hitter. He retired with 2,143 hits, a .287 average, 282 home runs, 1,104 runs scored and 1,141 RBI – topping .300 five times (with a high of .329 in 1961), hitting 20 or more home runs eight times (with a high of 32 in 1960), driving in 90 or more runs eight times (with a league-leading high of 119 in 1964) and scoring 90 or more runs five times (with a high of 109 in 1961).  The quality of Boyer’s play – in the field and at the plate – earned him seven All Star selections.  He’s held back in the voting by the fact that his offensive numbers are overshadowed by others at 3B – traditionally a power position.

Ken Boyer played for: Cardinals (1955-65); Mets (1966-67); White Sox (1967-68); Dodgers (1968-69).

Ken Boyer’s Best Season: In 1964, Boyer hit .295, with 24 home runs, a league -topping 119 RBI and 100 runs scored – and won the NL MP Award.

7. Maury Wills (SS/3B, 1959-72)

Maury Wills, in 1962, not only became the first player in the modern era (post-1900) to steal 100 bases in a season (104), he topped the next highest player’s total by 72 swiped bags – and the Dodger shortstop actually stole more bases than every other MLB team.

In 14 MLB seasons, Wills hit .281, with 20 home runs and 458 RBI. However, he was a table-setter, not a middle of the lineup power source.  He scored 1,067 runs and stole 586 bases (20^th all time). Wills was  an All Star in five seasons, a two-time Gold Glover and the 1962 National League MVP.  He led the NL in stolen bases six consecutive seasons (1960-65). He also won a pair of Gold Gloves (1961-62).

Wills played for the Dodgers (1959-66, 1969-72); Pirates (1967-68); Expos (1969).

Maury Wills’ Best Season: In 1962, Wills played in an MLB -leading 165 games, hit .299 with 208 hits, led the NL with 13 triples, stole an MLB-leading 104 bases and scored 130 runs. – capturing the NL MVP Award.

8. Roger Maris , OF (1957-1968)

Roger Maris didn’t put up spectacular career numbers (.260-275-850 in 12 MLB seasons), but he put up some spectacular seasons – winning the American League MVP Award in 1960 and 1961. Maris, of course, is best known for breaking Babe Ruth’s’ single-season home run record, when Maris hit 61 long balls for the 1961 Yankees. He finished that season with a .269 average and leading the league in RBI (141) and runs scored (132). Maris was a four-time All Star and one-time Gold Glover and led the AL in home runs twice, runs scored once, RBI once, slugging percentage once, and total bases once.  He hit 20 or more home runs in six seasons, had 100 or more RBI in three.

Roger Maris is one off just 13 players to win back-to-back MVP Awards. 

Maris played for the Indians (1957-58), Athletics (1958-59); Yankees (1960-66) and Cardinals (1967-68).

Roger Maris’ Best Season: In 1961,Maris went .269-61-141, leading the league in home runs and RBI.  He also led the league in runs scored and total bases.

9. Billy Pierce (LHP 1945, 1948-64)

Billy Pierce put up a 211-169 line in 18 MLB seasons.  The southpaw starter was an All Star in seven seasons and a two-time 20-game winner – leading the AL in wins (20) for the White Sox in 1957.  He led the AL in ERA (1.97 in 1955), in strikeouts (186) in 1953 and in complete games three consecutive seasons (1956-58). Pierce also led the league in strikeouts per nine innings in 1953 and 1954.

Home Cookin’

In 1962, Billy Pierce (traded to the San Francisco Giants in the off season), proved to really like home cooking – going 11-0 in eleven Candlestick starts, with  his overall 15-6 record helping the Giants tie the rival Dodgers for the pennant. Pierce started Game One of the three-game playoff and ran his 1962 home record to 12-0 (beating Sandy Koufax, tossing a three-hit shutout in an 8-0 win).

Billy Pierce played for the Tigers (1945, 1948); White Sox (1951-1961); and Giants (1962-64).

Billy Pierce’s Best Season: In 1956, Pierce went 20-12, 3.26 – leading the AL in wins, complete games (16)

10. Danny Murtaugh, Mgr. (1957-64, 1967, 19780-71, 1973-76)

An Historic First

Danny Murtaugh was the first manager to start an entire line up of players of color (September 1, 1971.)  That lineup  included Rennie Stennett, 2B; Gene Clines; Roberto Clemente, RF; Willie Stargell, LF;  Manny Sanguillen, C; Dave Cash, 3B; Al Oliver, 1B; Jackie Hernandez, SS; Dock Ellis, P. The Pirates won the contest 10-7 over the Phillies, with Clemente, Stargell and Sanguillen each collecting two hits and two RBI.

Danny Murtaugh managed in the major leagues for 15 seasons, delivering World Series titles to Pittsburgh in 1960 and 1971. His overall managerial record was 1,115-950 for a .540 winning percentage. His managerial career could have included considerably more victories were it not interrupted (more than once) due to health issues.   Murtaugh was selected The Sporting News Manager of the Year in 1960 and 1970.

As a player, Murtaugh was on the field in nine MLB seasons (1941-43 and 1946-51) going .254-8-219 in 767 games  (playing 2B, 3B and SS). In 1948, he led NL second basemen in putouts, assists and double plays.

Danny Murtaugh managed: Pirates (1957-64, 1967, 1970-71, 1973-76).

Danny Murtaugh played for: Phillies (1941-43, 1946). Braves (1947); Pirates (1948-51).

Danny Murtaugh’s Best Season:  Hard to judge a managers’ best season, but 1960 was Murtaugh’s most memorable. He managed the Pirates to the NL pennant with a 95-59 record and then took on the favored Yankees in the World Series – where Murtaugh and the Pirates prevailed four games-to-three, despite  being outhit (.338 to .256), out-homered (ten-to-four) and outscored (55-to-27).

WHAT WILL THE GOLDEN ERA COMMITTEE DO?

Wow! Tough call here, since that last time there was a slate of Golden Days candidates, it was similar to this year and no one got the necessary 12 votes.  I don’t think that will happen again.  If I had to make a call, I expect no more tan two candidates to make it – and, more likely, just one.  My guess,  only as good as yours, is that Kaat makes it.  I also think Oliva, Minoso and Allen have a chance, but will again fall short. If I had to rate their chances. I’d go: Minoso, Oliva, Allen.

Primary Resources:  Baseball-Reference.com; The Baseball Hall of Fame; MLB.com; the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

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