[Syd Thrift]

Yeah, that's a really high, gaudy average to be sure but the 3 AS appearances indicates to me that he had a *very* short peak. I'm generally a big peak guy but 3 seasons is stretching it. If those were extremely good seasons I guess that would be one thing - like, Barry Bonds if Bonds had only played from 1995-2003 is still a HOFer (in an alternate fantasy universe where he put up those numbers without taking PEDs). The fact that the guy didn't win an MVP for any of them indicates that they were not.

I was trying to think of comparable players but I'm really hard-pressed to. Certainly there have been guys who captured lightning in a bottle for a season or two and were never quite as good otherwise (although I think a bunch of those guys, Roger Maris and Norm Cash immediately come to mind, were a bit better in their non-lightning years than they're given credit for). The only players I can think of off-hand who actually retired that good were a couple pitchers and guys who were members of the early National Association, when the game was just a lot different. That last group has in it Ross Barnes, who has a very gaudy average as well (many fewer ABs of course because they didn't play very many games back then) which was based off of his ability to execute the "fair-foul hit", which, as you might guess, involved hitting the ball with a bunch of backspin so that it would first land in fair territory and then bloop foul.

There's also Addie Joss, who is in the Hall of Fame but who did technically get into games in a total of 10 seasons so he does qualify, and JR Richard, who also got into 10 seasons and really isn't considered a HOFer by anyone, as tragically as his career ended (he also only made 1 AS game in his final season).

Oh, and Lyman Bostock, who was murdered after 4 seasons. He didn't make any AS games and nobody associates him with the Hall of Fame in spite of a .311 batting average.

I would say keep him out myself, although I'd approach it maybe differently than just looking at milestones, etc. Bill James' book on the Hall of Fame has a HOF checklist you can go through, called the Keltner List (named after Ken Keltner, who he runs through the list to evaluate):

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball?
2. Was he the best player on his team?
3. Was he the best player in baseball (or in the league) at his position?
4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races?
5. Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime?
6. Is he the very best player in baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame? (Remember, this was written before the heart of the PED era)
7. Are most players who have comparable career statistics in the Hall of Fame?
8. Do the players numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? (“Hall of Fame standards” are another James invention, the results are listed on every player page on Baseball Reference, you can see what the numbers are by which James calculates those “standards” by visiting Baseball Reference here)
9. Is there evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?
10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in?
11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?
12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the other players who played in this many go into the Hall of Fame?
13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant?
14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?
15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

14 and 15 are unlikely to apply to OOTP leagues but... I feel like you can probably go down this list for this player otherwise and make this decision for yourself. You can also see that other peoples' questions/concerns factor in as well, plus there are a few other factors that could tip the scales for you. Like, if this guy's team was in the World Series for 6 straight years and he was an integral part of all of that, like he won multiple WS MVPs or something, in spite of his lack of playing time you might make an exception...