[VanillaGorilla]

In case there is a first timer reading:


The Gorilla Composite is a metric I derived that measures the relative strength of a player's career to all others in the history of the game. The average HOF Gorilla Composite is a 4.0.


The GC posted on the players inducted here is in relation to the Real Life Hall of Fame. Once this league is complete, I will recalculate the scores based on the HOF population here.


I will sometimes comment on a player's RL career and whether or not it is Hall worthy, based on the algorithm in place, here.


Of the 2014 inductees, Greg Maddux is the only player that would have entered on the First Ballot standard that is in place, here. Thomas and Glavine are certainly Hall worthy, but I would have anticipated them taking longer than one year to get in.


I think the writers factored in that no one was elected last year, and with the withholding of votes from known/suspected juicers, many abstentions from the 2013 ballot became votes for Glavine and Thomas, this year, in order to make up for the 2013 result.


Greg Maddux has a 6.6 Gorilla Composite, which is comparable to the Inaugural Class, here.


Tom Glavine has a 3.8, which is certainly a solid HOF score, but not one typical of a First Ballot inductee.


Frank Thomas has a 4.6, which is above average, but still not what we typically get from a player entering on his first ballot. Thomas ranks 43rd out of 146 HOF batters. He ranks just behind George Sisler and just ahead of Billy Hamilton.


Sisler was elected the fourth year he was on the ballot.


Hamilton was inducted by the Vet Committee 60 years after he retired.


Glavine ranks 33 out of 66 pitchers, He is just ahead of Fergie Jenkins and just behind Early Wynn.


Jenkins was elected on his third ballot, Wynn on his fourth.


Greg Maddux ranks 7th on the list. He is one spot behind Lefty Grove and one spot ahead of Nolan Ryan.


Ryan was a first balloter. How Lefty Grove was not inducted long before he was in 1960 is completely mindless, imo.


In any case, the illustration is made. Maddux was a no brainer first balloter. Had the voters not decided to withhold votes from Clemens and Bonds and others, I do not think you would have seen Glavine and Thomas get in the HOF in 2014.