Quote:
Originally Posted by CBL-Commish
It's not their fault there weren't any major leagues until they were relatively old. They were likely still among the best players in the world, there just wasn't a highly organized professional league for them to play in. I'd like to see guys like Barnes, Creighton, Long Levi Meyerle and others given more consideration by the Hall.
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Your point is made with Creighton and Dickey Pearce (who you didn't mention but I will), but again, that's not Barnes. I thought he was one of those mid-career guys as well but in fact he was born just in time to have a long big-league career. The fact that he didn't is due in large part to the fact that his game was predicated on a loophole that was closed the first chance the association turned into a league and was able to hammer things out. Take away the fair-foul hit, Barnes is just an average player. He's worth a plaque but not a seat.