26 players are on the ballot this year, so votes may be spread a little thinner. 13 are in their 1st year of eligibility.
Players Dropped
Six players were dropped off the ballot this year. They were-
P Sam Weaver- Sam was in his first year and split his career between the Philadelphia and Troy. He played from 1875-1887 and was lucky enough to be on the Philly team that won the Championship in his final season. Other than that, there were no real notable accomplishments for Sam. He only had a winning record in two seasons of his career and one of those was in his second to last season where he went 1-0 in just 6 innings. He unsurprisingly received no votes.
P Harry Salisbury- Harry only played from 1879-1888, for Troy and Philadelphia, and had less than 5 IP in 3 of those seasons. He did pitch 2 innings for the 1887 Philly team that won the championship (sound familiar?), but much like his teammate above, he did nothing else of note in his short career. He also received 0 votes in this, his 1st year of eligibility.
OF Tim Murnane- Tim broke into the league in 1872 and stayed until 1888. His first two seasons, he played for Middletown and Baltimore. Then he spent the rest of his career with Chicago. He won 2 Gold Gloves and 2 Silver Sluggers to go along with 1 World Championship back in 1877 with the White Stockings. That was about it for him. He got .7% of the vote. This was also his 1st year on the ballot.
OF "Big Jim" Clinton- Jim started his career in 1872 with Brooklyn, then after 3 years there, spent 6 with Keokuk and his last 8 with Detroit until 1888. He was a 3x Gold Glove winner and won a single Silver Slugger. Similar to those we've reviewed so far, he was in his first year and registered a very small share of the vote with just .7%.
OF George Hall- I covered him way back in my 1890 report. He was dropped after his 4th year with just 3% of the vote.
OF Orator Shafer- Dropped in his 2nd year with 3.3% of the vote, Orator played from 1874-1887. He started with Hartford and spent time with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Troy and Philadelphia. He won the Rookie of the Year in 1874 and led the league in HR....although it was with just 3. His defense kept him on the ballot the extra year, as he won 6 Gold Gloves....and was part of 3 championship teams.
Players Staying on the Ballot
C Scott Hastings- 5.6% in Year 6
P Frank Buttery- 8.6% in Year 1
P Ballplayer O'Rourke- 10.3 % in Year 6
P Ed Stratton- 10.6% in Year 1
P Jim Devlin- 12% in Year 3
OF Dick Higham- 13.6% in Year 1
P Joe Blong- 24.3% in Year 1
OF Tom York- 24.9% in Year 1
2B Jack Burdock- 24.9% in Year 1
C Pop Snyder- 28.2% in Year 2
OF Dave Eggler- 38.5% in Year 4
3B Davy Force- 39.2% in Year 3
P Jim Britt- 46.5% in Year 7
SS Chick Fulmer- 47.5% in Year 2
P Frank Fleet- 55.8% in Year 5
OF Cal McVey- 64.1% in Year 1
2B John Peters- 68.8% in Year 3
1B Lip Pike- 69.1% in Year 5
1894 Hall of Fame Inductees- That leaves 2 players left who were inducted into the Hall of Fame!
First up is
P Charles Witheroe. He is the 8th player inducted and the 7th pitcher. He received 92% of the vote and it was his 1st year of eligibility.
His career highlights include-
5x Player of the Week
5x Rookie of the Month
4x Gold Glove Award
As of his induction, his career rankings include-
#20 in Complete Games
Here's his career numbers....and if anyone can explain how he got elected, please let me know!
The next member of the Class of 1894 is
P John Greason. Greason is the 9th player and 8th pitcher elected. He was also in his 1st year on the ballot and got 98.3% of the vote.
His career highlights include-
11x Player of the Week
8x Pitcher of the Month
4x Rookie of the Month
1x Rookie of the Year
His career rankings at induction time were-
#12 in ERA
#18 in Wins
#12 in Saves
#16 in Complete Games
#18 in Shutouts
#13 in WHIP
Here's his career numbers-
John is definitely a better candidate than Charles, but I'm not sure either was worth 1st ballot induction. Of course that could be said about a number of real HOFers as well, so I guess I can't complain too much!