Modeling Random Debut HOF on RL

[VanillaGorilla]

Timing has a lot to do with getting into the Hall, both here and IRL.

Why does a player get in when he does and another not get in at all? That's a question that will be asked as long as the RL Hall is structured as it is.

In this effort to simulate the sometimes perplexing output of the RL HOF selection process, the why answer is much simpler: timing.

A first balloter can gain eligibility but not get screened because there are no spots open that year, or there are others who take them, and he has to wait.

This year there were 3 pitchers that the computer inducted, but none get screened this year. There will be only 4 more pitchers entered between now and 2012, so it is very conceivable that a pitcher with First Ballot credentials will not get in at all. I will do a 2013 induction class once the RL class is announced in January (and this will be a VERY interesting RL class).

No hitters were inducted by the computer, this year, and none in the spread sheet met current Hall Standards. Two of those on the sheet did get in from the leader boards, and the third leader board selection came via the Way Back Machine.

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Curtis Granderson ranked the highest of any eligible player not in the HOF on the iether the VORP or WAR list. He is 65th on the WAR list. Next year other players above him will become eligible, with more coming into eligibility in following years. This was his window of opportunty to get in, and he got in.

A second rd draft pick by the White Sox in 1974, Granderson played through the 1990 season.

In his career he collected 1820 hits and 233 HRs in 6475 ABs and put up a slash of 282/367/464 for a npa OPS+ of 133.

He won a GG in CF and made 4 AS squads. In his 5th post season appearance, after a stop in Oakland, he led the Cubs to a WS win in 1985. He shared the victory cup with HOF teammates Sam Crawford and Willie Stargell.

He again won with the Cubs in 1989. So far he is the only member of that squad in the Hall.

Black Ink: 6
Gray Ink: 92
HOFm: 79
HOFs: 37

-----------------------------------------

81 years after retirement isn't the longest wait between retirement and HOF induction, and giving the speech accepting the induction at the age of 118 isn't the oldest to give the speech, but that is how long Cesar Cedeno waited and how old he is.

Cesar Cedeno was the highest ranking player on any leader board list, and that is how he gets in. There are players that had been ranked higher on the BA, OBP, and SLG lists, but current players pop in ahead of them and move them down. It was this dynamic that created this window of opportunity for Cedeno to get by virtue of being 13th on the All-Time Caught Stealing list.

To be fair to Cedeno, when he played (1899-1917) teams stole often, and runners were caught often. That he posted a SB success rate above 50% is noteworthy for this era. He stole 694 bases and was caught 669 times.

He was the 5th pick over all in 1898 and made the AS team as a rookie in 1899, the last year there was an ASG during his playing time. He stole a career high 87 bases in 1904.

His best season with the bat came in 1900 when he led the league in hits (206), doubles (36), and XBH (60) while slashing 354/390/503 for a npa OPS+ of 155.

For his career he posted a slash line of 279/329/369 for a npa OPS+ of 115.

He won WS with the Tigers in 1902, 1903, 1908, and 1910. He joins Stephen Drew and Braggo Roth in the HOF who were team mates on all 4 teams. HOF Ricky Nolasco pitched on the 1908 and 1910 squads.

Cedeno is a floor breaker.

Black: 8 (4)
Gray: 116 (70)
HOFm: 39 (42)
HOFs: 25 (28)

------------------------------

We have two Johnsons in the Hall, two Bakers, two Crawfords, and now we have two Drews. Not exactly the 4 names I would have guessed would have multiple entries.

J D Drew is also a timing entry. Going back to the VORP and WARL lists, his 66th position on the VORP list gets him in. Next year, he wouldn't have been the highest eligible player. But, once you are in you are in.

Drew was the 10th player taken in 1968. In a terribly unrealistic representation of RL, he didn't hold out.

In 1969 he hit .312 with 29 HRs and an OPS over 1.000 that led the league and a npa OPS+ of 184. That was good enough to win him ROY honors.

Playing through 1984, he collected 1816 hits and 262 HRs and posted a career slash line of 279/384/464 for HOF worthy npa OPS+ of 140.

3 times he led the league in OBP and RC.

He made his only post season appearance in 1970 as the Orioles fell to the Dodgers. He hit .302 with 3 HRs in 11 games that post season.

Drew, like his namesake before him, is a floor breaker.

Black: 0 (0)
Gray: 90 (11)
HOFm: 32 (20)
HOFs: 34 (26)

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RL HOFer Ryne Sandberg makes his league debut in 2000.

[dynaboyj]

Considering the 1993-drafted Babe Ruth will never get into the Hall before 2012, will you post how he does when you finish this?

[VanillaGorilla]

Unless he is shot by a mystery woman in 2005, he probably won't find his way to the HOF by 2012 (or 2013).

If there is a player of interest that deserves a special look that isn't going into the HOF, it would be Babe Ruth. And 2000 was a season of note for him.

So far:

Ruth was selected 9th in the 1992 draft by the Orioles. How cool is THAT?!? Playing in a new stadium built by his boyhood home. Killer.

Pitching in the AL, he got zero PAs during his first 4 season. He went 62-45 with an OOTP ERA of 4.03 (npa ERA+ 115), striking out 720 and walking 384 in 977 IP. He made his first All-Star appearance in 1996 as a pitcher.

He was converted to an OFer in 1997, and has made all of his appearances in LF, though he has seen duty as a DH about 75% of the time.

In 4 seasons he has hit 283 HRs (68, 72, 62, 81).

After the 1998 season he became a Free Agent and signed with, who else but, the Yankees.

His 2000 season may be the best ever by anyone as he topped Shoeless Joe's long standing season bests in OPS and VORP from 1930. He had broken Joe's single season SLG% mark from 1930 in 1998, and he topped that 1998 best in 2000, also with a slash line of 349/525/842 for a npa OPS+ of 252. Ruth walked 192 times in 2000. 12 were IBB.

His 81 HRs in 2000 did not break the single season mark of 82 that had been held by Gorman Thomas (still active). I say "had been held" because another player hit 86 in 2000 over in the NL.

Ruth drove in 202 runs in 2000 which broke the old record of 188 set by Buck Freeman (Freeman probably won't retire to get into the HOF before 2013) the year before. However, the 86 HR hitter tallied 215. I will hold on to his name, for now, as I think this player will retire in time to get in.

After 2012, I will get into story lines I found interesting regarding non HOFers. I have tried to keep my postings to the point of the HOF and the entrants, but Ruth is a special case. I will update any record breaking news from him.

The current career HR mark is 885 (Willie Mays). If Ruth averages 50 HRs a season, he can top that by the end of 2012. There is another player that may break it soon and could keep it out of reach until after 2012. If THAT player doesn't retire in time to get into the HOF by 2013, I see Ruth not breaking the HR record prior to the end of the Mayan calender, and the end of this world.

ADD: With a slash line of 343/456/752 (npa OPS+ 210) Ruth would be the career leader in OBP and SLG (so it follows that he would lead in OPS, also) if he had the requisite 3000 PAs.

[VanillaGorilla]

RL HOFer Ron Santo enters the league in 2001.

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Ed Delahanty makes his speech for his induction into the HOF at the age of 48. Making the speech and making age 48 are two things he did not accomplish in RL.

Big Ed enters with the 12th most hits ever in the league, 3618. His 779 doubles are the third most in league history.

Delahanty was a late first rd pick in 1971 by the Baltimore Orioles. He was a gun for hire on the Free Agent market, playing for 6 different teams before retiring in 1995. His last big league action came in 1993. On his First Ballot screening, Delahanty enters the Hall.

A 7 time All Star, Delahanty hit .300 6 times in his career, and collected 200 hits in a season 4 times. His best season was in 1987 when he slashed 342/416/636 for the Twins. In the "juiced ball" season, this was good for a npa OPS+ of 173, and the league MVP.

For his career he slashed 287/342/426 for a npa OPS+ of 115 while hitting 261 HRs, driving in 1521 and scoring 1890 (15th). This 115 figure ranks as a huge shocker. Delahanty's RL OPS+ was 153. It is real hard to say that a player with 3600 hits markedly underperformed expectations based on RL, but his career % numbers are surprisingly low.

Delahanty made it to the play-offs 3 times, and helped his team to the WS each time. However, he was never able to capture a title. He hit .310 in 27 post season games.

Black Ink: 39 (59)
Gray Ink: 149 (231)
HOFm: 154 (234)
HOFs: 65 (65)

------------------------

Now there are two Williams in the HOF. That one of them is not named Ted is a shock in itself.

Ken Williams enters as a sort of Koufax of hitters. He was dominant for a 5 years stretch, then had recurring shoulder injuries that prematurely ended his career.

How dominant?

From 1982 to 1986 he led the AL in HRs each season. In 1984 he set the record for HRs in a season with 63. During this 5 year span, he scored and drove in at least 110 runs each season for the Red Sox who picked him 5th overall in 1980.

He won 3 MVP awards and was named to 6 All Star teams. He went to 6 post seasons, 3 WS, and won 2 titles.

He is the only HOFer from the 1982 Red Sox championship team. He was a newly signed Free Agent for the 1987 Dodgers who had also aquired Willie Stargell and Rogers Hornsby that off-season.

He retired following the 1995 season, having given the Dodgers one good year on a 7 year deal.

For his career he slashed 286/372/558 for a npa OPS+ of 160 (RL OPS+ 138). He hit 378 HRs in 5218 ABs. This is an off the chart ratio considering that 278 of these HRs came between 1981 and 1986 and that he only hit 7 HRs in 52 games during the 1981 season.

Williams Black/Gray ratio is the most extreme I have seen.

Black: 51 (11)
Gray: 84 (121)
HOFm: 173 (68)
HOFs: 36 (39)

---------------------------

Back to the Way Back Machine and the leader boards. Kenny Lofton enters at the age of 114, 77 years after retiring in 1924. Lofton was the highest ranking eligible player on any list. He holds the 14th spot on the triple list. Next year, this probably wouldn't have cut it, but the timing works for him.

Is placing 14th on the triple list Hall worthy? Well, in the RL Hall there are 3 players tied for the 15th spot. 2 are HOFers. Everyone above them on the list are in the RL HOF.

Lofton interestingly hit 213 doubles....the same number of triples that he hit.

His 578 SBs puts him 38th on that list.

He was selected 14th overall by Brooklyn in 1908.

For his career he slashed 271/341/388 for a npa OPS+ of 115...the same as Delahanty....another shock.

In his swan song season of 1924, he won a WS with the Yankees joining team mates Eddie Collins and Lance Blankenship in the HOF.

Lofton is a floor breaker.

Black: 7 (15)
Gray: 80 (62)
HOFm: 13.5 (91)
HOFs: 25 (42)

[VanillaGorilla]

The averages have stablized, due to the number of entrants. The current composite average is 4.9 and the standard deviation is 2.9. The modal composite score (rounded to whole number) is now 3. The median score remains securely as a 4.

Plot 183 is interesting. At 3.1, Joe Mauer is technically a floor breaking entrant, but his composite score is better classified as part of the floor. The reason he is a floor breaker is because his Ink composite was below the Veteran Standard. However his HOFm number was just a hair below the Hall average, at the time of his induction, and his HOFs number was well above.

[VanillaGorilla]

Sometimes things work out easy. One player enters in 2002, and I had one batter entered by the computer. That batter was Mickey Mantle...enough said, there. Mickey Mantle posts an 11.9 composite score to become the 14th "once in a decade" player to break a 10. 123 seasons in the books, this looks like a nice standard.

Mickey Mantle was the 5th player taken in the 1974 draft by what was to become the powerhouse Cleveland Indians. In 1975 he hit 36 HRs and drove in 106 to win ROY at the age of 18.

By the time he was done playing, in 1996, he had won 5 MVPs and been named to 18 All-Star teams. He batted .301 for his career and tallied 3700 hits, on the nose.

Among those 3700 hits were 856 HRs, the second most in league history, at the time of his induction. He drove in 2359 runs (6th) and scored 2447. He is second to only Rogers Hornsby (2561) in career runs scored.

Mantle drew more bases on balls than any player in league history, 2368. His 2651 strikeouts are also the most ever by a player in the league.

He took his team to the post season an amazing 15 times. He was on 3 WS winners in Cleveland and picked up a fourth as a Baltimore Oriole.

HOF team mates in Cleveland for '76, '77, and '79: Willie Stargell (all), Andy Van Slyke ('77 & 79), and Rogers Hornsby & Larry Doyle('79).

So, in 1979 the Cleveland Indians had THREE once in a decade players plus a 4th and 5th* HOFer. In '79 Hornsby, Mantle, and Stargell hit 35, 46, and 60 HRs, respectively. Doyle pitched in 24 and Van Slyke 7. Oh, and throw in a BTW 42 from Dick McCauliffe and the Indians hit a record 260 HRs that stood until bioenhancers hit the scene on a grand scale.

The 1979 Indians scored 1083 runs, slugged .511, logged 5895 ABs, and cracked 1817 hits. These are all records that still stand as AL bests going into the 2002 season.

In 1978 the Indians won 117 games vs 45 losses and won the AL East by 25 games. They were knocked out in the LCS in 4 games by the second year Seattle Mariners. 117 wins is the most ever by a team in either league.

Mantle became a Free Agent and in 1981 played for the Cubs. In three seasons he never saw the post season in Wrigley. Shocking. In 1981 he did post his best npa OPS+ (anyone here old enough to remember when Wrigley was a hitter's park?) season of 207 as he hit 41 HRs and drove in AND scored 118 while slashing 342/468/601.

He signed with Baltimore and in 1990 won another WS. No other player from that team is in the Hall, yet.

For his career he slashed 301/412/558 for a npa OPS+ of one-freaking-68.

How has the introduction or modern, uhhhhh, training methods affected the books? Mantle's 558 slg is 23rd best, all-time. Two HOFers, Griffey and Ken Williams, are ahead of him on the list. All of the others are currently active. Enough said, there.

The HOF now contains Willie, Mickey and the Duke. The universe is in harmony.

Black Ink: 76 (62)
Gray Ink: 351 (272)
HOFm: 493 (300)
HOFs: 85 (65)

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RL HOFers Rube Waddell and Enos Slaughter, along with no brainer HOFer Craig Biggio, enter the league for the 2002 season.

[jaysdailydose]

I just noticed that very few people have commented on your project here, and I felt that was a shame.

I just wanted to take the time to say that I've read every post here over the past week or so, and take time to send a big THANK YOU for sharing your project with us. Not only is it extremely entertaining, and written very well -- but it has also been very informative as well.

So, again, THANK YOU!

[VanillaGorilla]

Originally Posted by jaysdailydose

I just noticed that very few people have commented on your project here, and I felt that was a shame.

I just wanted to take the time to say that I've read every post here over the past week or so, and take time to send a big THANK YOU for sharing your project with us. Not only is it extremely entertaining, and written very well -- but it has also been very informative as well.

So, again, THANK YOU!

Thank you for your kind words. I don't take the fact that comments have been minimal to mean others aren't reading and getting some form of interest and enjoyment. I haven't presented items for discussion and I haven't sought responses here, in this thread. Lurkers are welcome here. No one needs to feel obligated to give me a thumbs up if they like something.

At the same time, it was nice to log in this morning and see the ones you offered. Thank you for that. It was, and is, appreciated.

---------------

I took over a horrible Cincinnati Reds team to start the 2002 season. This probably means they will be even more horrible, due to my arrival. I will play some games and sim some games...play some, sim some....so, until I get fired there will be more down time between posts.

How horrible are they? My best player is a 26 y/o Phil Garner. Garner was a solid player for a long time...and a winner....one of those guys you want on your team as opposed to on the other team. But he is a guy you want as a strong supporting cast member, not as your superstar. I drafted Wade Boggs, but he wouldn't sign with me.... I didn't mention him in the 2002 HOF post because he didn't sign and, therefore, did not join the league (that was a very strong draft pool, btw). Don Sutton also chose not to sign with his drafting team, so maybe I can get a HOFer next draft.

[dynaboyj]

I know this is an experiment focused on the players and the HoF, but could you please post a league and team history at the end of the 2012 season or whenever you plan to finish?

[jaysdailydose]

Originally Posted by dynaboyj

I know this is an experiment focused on the players and the HoF, but could you please post a league and team history at the end of the 2012 season or whenever you plan to finish?

As detailed as he's been, I'm sure there's no doubt you'll get this.

Good luck with your Reds team, VanillaGorilla, I know I'd like to see you get a championship with how cruel the game has been to you in the few times you've played a few seasons with an organization.

[VanillaGorilla]

I got fired with a record of 26-38...throw out the 15 game losing streak and I was 3 games over .500! They finished 69-93, so it's not like the team record was MY fault. I dumped some salary and got a couple prospects (to keep the integrity of the experiment, I only trade players when they say they are unhappy. Since the team was rebuilding I would get the player with the most potential, according to my scouts, at a position of need when I shopped the unhappy player).

The Reds AI took Willie McCovey one pick after Wade Boggs came off the board. Other HOFers entering the league in 2003 are: Don Sutton, George Brett, and Richie Ashburn.

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Miguel Cabrera was the taken by the Giants as the 13th pick overall in the 1974 draft. He wore uniforms of the Twins, Red Sox, Dodgers, Reds, Pirates, Angels and Cubs before returning to Minnesota and retiring as a Twin in 1997.

He played in 3153 games (11th), collected 3489 hits (16th), 542 doubles (32nd), scored 1865 runs (18th), hit 510 HRs (25th) and drove in 1929 runs (13th).

He had a career slash line of 299/375/485, good for a npa OPS+ of 141.

He won 3 batting titles. He hit .391 with 41 HRs in Candlestick Park in 1977 that was good for a npa OPS+ of 191....an actual OPS+ would probably have broken 200.

He was named to 9 All Star teams and appeared in 8 post seasons. He played in 3 WS, but never won a title. He won 1 GG.

Canrera was a computer selection and enters the Hall in his first year of eligibility on the First Ballot screening.

Black Ink: 36
Gray Ink: 209
HOFm: 238.5
HOFs: 61

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And the Johnsons take the lead! There are now 3 Johnsons in the HOF as Cliff joins distant relatives Walter and Randy in the Shrine.......

Cliff Johnson hit 441 HRs in a career that spanned from 1982-1997. 431 of those HRs were as a catcher, which ranks him 6th on that positional list. No player eligible for the HOF has hit more HRs as a catcher.

Taken as the 10th overall selection in 1981 by the Cardinals, Johns hit 35 HRs and drove in 100 in 1982 as he won the Rookie of the Year. In 1985 he took home the league MVP as he hit 49 HRs and 113 RBI as he slashed 311/407/621 (npa OPS+ 189) in Busch Stadium.

He started 1942 games at catcher, the 19th most at the time of his induction. Only 3 eligible players have started more games and are not in the HOF.

For his career he collected 1924 hits and slashed 255/339/476 for a npa OPS+ of 125.

He appeared in just one post season (1994) and never saw a WS.

Johnson enter the Hall in his first year of eligibility by virtue of his HOFs number being above the Hall average.

Black: 3 (0)
Gray: 85 (4)
HOFm: 144.5 (2)
HOFs: 50 (17)

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With Deacon White getting inducted by the Vet Committee IRL, that now makes for 5 pitchers to get into this HOF (I will do 2013 inductions, even though this alternative world will actually end on Dec 22, 2012). It is POSSIBLE that the 2013 class here could contain a (living) RL player entered in 2013.

Babe Ruth became a free agent and signed with the Mariners. He hit 64 HRs in Safeco Field to lead the league for the 5th straight season. I would REALLY like to have park adjusted OPS here....Safeco had modifiers of 0.94 and Ruth's npa OPS+ in 2002 was 186.

Willie Mays is no longer the All Time HR king. The mark is now 911. The player that broke it retired after the season and will be a HOFer. I am laying 2:1 that 911 will not be the HR mark when that player enters the HOF.

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ADD: How cool is it that in the year where RL players Eddie Murray and Gary Carter were inducted we get a 1Bman (ok, Cabrera actually played more in LF, but not by much) who had 3,000 hits and 500 HRs and a power hitting catcher entered here? I think that is really freaking cool. Tipping my hat to The Kid on the other side. Respect.

[VanillaGorilla]

In the RL HOF a no brainer 3000 hit guy entered along with a pitcher who showed flashes of brilliance early in his career and materialized into a legitimate HOFer, much to the surprise of the teams that let him go, thinking he was done.

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Zack Wheat is a no brainer First Ballot inductee. Chosen 14th in the 1976 draft, he played in the bigs through the 1996 season, retiring in 1998. In 1996 he made 161 PAs, hit .307 and posted a respectable 100 npa OPS+. He hit 1 HR in that final season. That put his career total at 400.

Along the way to, and including, that final season, he picked up 3634 hits, stole 354 bases, slashed 322/372/507 for a npa OPS+ of 145. In a rarity for the age, he played his entire career with the Phillies, winning 3 World Series titles with them.

In his rookie 1977 season, he hit .371 rapping out 244 hits (career best, 32nd All Time) to win ROY honors. Only 16 other players have ever had more in a season (lots of repeaters, as one would expect).

In 9 of his first 10 seasons he managed to get 200 or more hits. He won 2 MVPs in that span. However, his best statistical seasons, 1980-81, he did not win the MVP. In 1980 he hit a career high .381. In 1981 he hit a career high 40 HRs. His npa OPS+ for those two seasons was 189 and 187.

Wheat made 10 All-Star games and won 2 GGs in LF.

He was a team mate with previous HOF inductee Hank Thompson on all three WS winning teams in 1978, 1983, and 1988. HOFer Rogers Hornsby was on the 1983 squad.

Wheat's numbers in each metric exceeded the Hall average.

Black Ink: 61 (8)
Gray Ink: 228 (227)
HOFm: 341 (98)
HOFs: 68 (48)

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Jair Jurrjens has been felled by injuries in the real world. I guess there they use "realistic" settings. Here, he put up a GREAT career, and it is good to see him find entry into the Hall.

Jurrjens won 366 games in his career, which ties him for 7th place with Greg Maddux. He lost 296. That gives him a .553 win%. He notched 3344 strikeouts while posting an OOTP ERA of 3.44 which is a npa ERA+ of 109.

He was selected with the 4th pick by the Phillies in 1965. He was traded to the Cardinals before the arrival of classmate Zack Wheat, and did not win a WS with the Phillies, though he appeared in 2 post seasons with them.

In 1987, at the age of 41, he won 23 games for the Los Angles Dodgers to win the Cy Young Award. He posted a 2.92 OOTP ERA in the year of the Juiced Ball. That was good for a npa ERA+ of 138.

In the post season he went 3-0 in 4 starts, winning 2 WS games to capture his only ring. He was a team mate of HOFers Rogers Hornsby, Willie Stargell, and Ken Williams.

He retired following the 1989 season.

That Jurrjens did not get in on his First Ballot screening as a 300/3000 pitcher was stunning. The Ink numbers are very scarce in the expansion era, and Jurrjens did not have enough of them to get the FB call.

Jurrjens enters with both of his HOF numbers above the Hall average.

Black: 9
Gray: 134
HOFm: 184
HOFs: 58

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ADD: Babe Ruth won his 6th consecutive HR title in 2003. He hit 74 and posted a 213 npa OPS+ with Safeco as his home field. In 7 complete seasons since being converted from a pitcher, Ruth has hit 487 HRs. What George Herman Ruth could have done with body armor and the cream....

ADD: RL HOFers Bert Blyleven, Cal Ripken, and Eddie Murray join the league in 2004.

[VanillaGorilla]

Babe Ruth hit 56 HRs and finished 3rd in the AL HR race. This is his lowest total and this is his lowest placement (he finished 2nd his first year as a hitter) since being converted from a pitcher. In 8 seasons as a hitter he has 543 HRs.

RL HOFer Eddie Plank joins the league in 2005.

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Don Buford was selected by the Red Sox as the 5th player taken in the 1981 draft. He also played for the Dodgers, Tigers, angels, and finished his career with the A's in 1998.

As a rookie he picked up 200 hits, stole 31 bases and scored 135 times while posting a npa OPS+ of 130. He experienced the joy of winning the WS with fellow HOF team mates Bobby Murcer and Ken Williams. He played his first 6 seasons in Boston. In 5 of those seasons he picked up at least 200 hits. He had 1199 hits as a Red Sox.

He didn't win another WS until 1998, his final season. He was a veteran presence who didn't see much playing time, then. He is the first player from that A's squad to be inducted.

For his career he appeared in 7 All Star games and picked up a GG at second base. He picked up 2371 hits in his career. He walked 1234 times as he posted a slash line of 285/381/414 for a npa OPS+ of 122.

He stole 374 bases.

Buford enters the Hall by virtue of his HOFs number being above the Hall average.



Black Ink: 22 (4)
Gray Ink: 89 (59)
HOFm: 132.5 (10)
HOFs: 51 (18)

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Ron Blomberg was selected 4th over-all by the Royals in 1979. Like Buford, he won Rookie of the Year Honors. Blomberg slashed 318/365/472 for a npa OPS+ of 138 in the pitcher's haven of Royals Stadium.

In his career he collected 3085 hits, 444 HRs, 1682 RBI and 1500 runs scored. He slashed 303/366/492 to finish up with a npa OPS+ equal to his ROY season's 138.

Blomberg was named to AS teams, and he won 2 GGs at first base.

He hit .294 with 11 HRs in 56 post season games. He won a WS with the '88 Phillies. He joins team mates Hank Thompson and Zack Wheat in the Hall. He also won a WS in 1996 with the Dodgers. He is the first player in the Hall from that team.

ADD: Blomberg enters the Hall in his first year of eligibility. He did not enter on the First Ballot screening, but made it when his name cycled back to the top and his HOFm and HOFs numbers were both better than the Hall averages.

Black: 10
Gray: 139
HOFm: 183.5
HOFs: 54

[VanillaGorilla]

Records are made to be broken. At the spritely age of 143, Ervin Santana becomes the oldest player to be inducted into the HOF. The 99 year wait since his retirement is the longest of any inductee.

He entered the league as a 21 year-old rookie in 1883 after being the 8th player taken in the 1882 draft. He paid immediate dividends for the Chicago White Stockings as he won 21 games to pick up Rookie of the Year honors. He retired at the age of 45 in 1907 having won 299 games vs 245 defeats. His career OOTP ERA of 2.72 was good for a npa ERA+ of 105.

He pitched 411 CGs in 547 starts. He turned in 25 shut outs.

His best season, by ERA+, was in 1884 when he went 35-18 with a 1.63 OOTP ERA. That was good for a npa ERA+ of 130. He notched a career high, and league best, 296 strikeouts in 464 2/3 IP that season. He followed up in 1885 with 33 wins.

He received 3 WS rings. In 1893 and 1894 he found himself on the outside looking in as an odd man out for a stocked Phillies staff. He made no appearances in those years, but picked up a ring for the Phillies 1893 WS win.

By the time 1898 rolled around, he had firmly established himself in a rotation that also featured HOFers Hippo Vaughn and David Wells. He won 21 and 22 games those seasons, leading the league in shut outs each year (4 each) as the Phillies won back to back titles. HOFers Tris Speaker, Dan Brouthers, and Pablo Sandoval were key members on those winning teams.

Santana enters on the basis of his HOFm number being above the current Hall average.

Black Ink: 20
Gray Ink: 185
HOFm: 169.5
HOFs: 35

ADD: HOFer Luis Aparicio, HOFer Roger Connor, No-Brainer HOFer Ichiro, probable HOFer Gary Sheffield, and possible HOFer Andy Pettite all enter the league in 2006.

Babe Ruth hit 66 HRs to capture his 7th HR title in 9 seasons. He has 609 for his career.

[VanillaGorilla]

70 years ago the first Hall class was inducted. I hoped that my entrants would be similar to those in the RL HOF, according to the 4 metrics in use. I said the average composite score should be close to 4.0. That was an projection based on what is, perhaps, the errant assumption that the RL HOFm average is 100. When the 2012 class is inducted I will tabulate and chart the RL HOF entrants in this same manner.

Metric averages through 2006 (1.0 expected average for each):

Black Ink 1.1
Gray Ink 1.2
HOFm 1.6
HOFs 1.0

Composite Average 4.9
Composite Stand Dev 2.9
Composite Median 4
Composite Mode 3

The last 4 entrant's composite scores have all been 4s (rounded to nearest whole number). They are seen as the clump at the 4 line on the right most edge of the plotting diagram. Zack Wheat is the 8.6 plot just to the left of those.

If it turns out that the RL HOF composite is closer to 4.9 than it is to 4.0 I will be supremely geeked.

[VanillaGorilla]

Class of 2007: Daniels, Tresh


Since I am going to do a 2013 induction (after the end of the world) active players that do not retire in 2007 will not be inducted. I will post re leaders and notables following this season who will not be entered, but would, perhaps, in upcoming years. There will be one pitcher inducted in 2013, and I suspect there will be more than one entrant on the BBWA ballot that will precipitate more entries from here.

-----------------------------

Kal Daniels has been a player for me that enters the league with great ratings and signs a big contract after a good start to his career and then winds up retiring with a career that looks a lot like the career had by, well, Kal Daniels....

This time around he is a shoo-in HOFer.

Daniels was the 5th player selected in the 1978 draft, and he went to Montreal.

In 1979 he batted .334 with 28 HRs, 85 RB1, stole 34 bases and scored 107 runs while putting together an npa OPS+ of 166 to take the ROY award.

In 1980 and 1981 he respectively: batted .359 and .357(led league), hit 28 and 35 HRs, drove in 114 and 119, stole 53 and 46 bases, and slashed 359/4653/567 and 357/447/595 for npa OPS+ totals of 188 and 200. All of this calling that tomb of fly balls, Olympic Stadium, his home.

In his first three seasons he collected 648 base hits.

In 1982 he hit 48 HRs and drove in 133 to lead the league in both categories while hitting .309, but no MVP.

For his career he picked up 3015 hits (44th), 557 HRs (tied for 19th with Jose Canseco), 1836 (22nd), 1823 runs (24th) and 235 SBs. His 1796 wlks places him 8th on that career list. 204/410/518 is his career line which is good for an elite 158 npa OPS+.

In 2000 he celebrated his 42nd birthday. In this, his final season, he played in 144 games for the Rockies and hit 27 HRs while driving in 76 and slashing 278/415/500 for a Colorado juiced npa OPS+ of 136. This was his only season playing for Colorado. He picked up 115 hits to break the 3000 mark.

He made 12 All Star teams and won 4 WS, with 3 different teams, in 9 post season trips.

In 1982 he won a WS with the Expos and HOFer Barry Larkin.
In 1985 he won a WS with the Cubs and fellow HOFers Sam Crawford and Willie Stargell.
He is the only HOFer from the Cubs 1989 Championship team.
He is the only player to be inducted into the HOF from the 1993 WS winning Angels team.

Daniels hit .304 with 19 HRs in 78 post season games.

No pitchers entered in 2006, his first year of eligibility, so he is not an official first ballot entrant, but he does enter on the First Ballot screening with both his Ink and HOF composites above the Hall average.

Black Ink: 30 (0)
Gray Ink: 209 (19)
HOFm: 260.5 (2)
HOFs: 68 (18)

---------------------

Tom Tresh is a nice story here. He wasn't hit with a career shortening injury, and he got to play his entire career at SS. Welcome to the Cornfield!

Tresh was the third player taken in in the 1975 draft, by Pittsburgh.

Like his classmate, he won his league's ROY award. Tresh slashed 299/365/429 for a npa OPS+ of 131 in 1976.

Like his classmate, Daniels, Tresh celebrated his 42nd birthday in his final big league season, 1997. He collected 2745 hits, 471 HRs, 1559 RBI and 1607 runs scored. He slashed 264/354/456 for a npa OPS+ of 126 while logging the most games played of any player who's primary position was SS in league history, 2899.

Ass a shortstop he has the 8th most hits, 2nd most HRs (Bobby Murcer), 3rd most RBI (Murcer and Fregosi) and 3rd most runs scored (Murcer and a still active Joe Tinker). In 1984 he played 1484 innings at SS, the most ever in a season.

In 1982 Tresh signed as a Free Agent with the Orioles. He played with them until his retirement.

He never went to the post season with Pittsburgh, but as an Oriole we went 8 times between 1987 and 1995. In 1990 he, along with HOF team mate Mickey Mantle, brought the trophy to Baltimore.

In 1978 he slashed 307/406/526 to lead the NL in OPS. This line was good for a npa OPS+ of 167. He topped 40 HRs in 1979 and 1982, something that SSs just didn't do IRL during that era.

An 8 time All Star, Tresh enters by virtue of his HOFm/s both being above the Hall average.

Black: 7 (0)
Gray: 118 (47)
HOFm: 173.5 (21)
HOFs: 61 (15)

---------------------------

If I didn't already know that the reason my Reds sucked was not due to me, they finished with the worst record under AI control, in 2006. They needed pitching and selected Kris Benson with the first pick over-all. The AI must have considered an Anna Factor in its evaluation. Reds players are circling the first extended road trip on their calenders.

The Reds also picked up HOF Al Simmons with the 9th pick (the only HOFer entering the league in 2007, though Bill Dickey was drafted he did not sign), and also snagged Gary Gaetti in the late first rd and Oscar Gamble in the early second, and signed all of them. Nice haul.

Babe Ruth (still in Safeco) led the AL with 72 HRs. He now has 681 HRs in 10 seasons as a hitter.

[VanillaGorilla]

It's Dec 31, 2007. Players who have not yet retired will not be eligible for this HOF. Here are the leaders in various categories who are still active and their All-Time rank:

AVE: Tony Gwynn, .347, 4th
OBP: Babe Ruth, .437, 2nd
SLG: Babe Ruth, .708, 1st
OPS: Babe Ruth, 1.145, 1st
VORP: Barry Bonds, 1817.6, 1st
Games: Barry Bonds, 3057, 18th
AB: Stan Musial, 11642, 16th
Runs: Barry Bonds, 2495, 2nd
Hits: Stan Musial, 3961, 6th
TB: Stan Musial, 7165, 4th
Singles: George Davis, 2330, 19th
Doubles: Stan Musial, 825, 3rd
Triples: No active player in Top 100
Home Runs: Barry Bonds, 948, 1st
RBI: Barry Bonds, 2505, 4th
SB: George Davis, 1116, 1st
CS: George Davis, 398, 52nd
Walks: Barry Bonds, 2351, 2nd
Strikeouts: Johnny Bench, 2086, 5th
WAR: Dutch Zwilling, 202.27, 1st

Modeling RL, Barry Bonds became the HR king in 2007...I won't say that that is cool, but it is amazing. Hopefully RL will model this universe and Barry Bonds will not be elected to the HOF in 2013.

Who's mark did he top? Hank Aaron's. Aaron is eligible for the 2008 class, but no hitters are entering, so we will wait until 2009 to see him enter. Again, I don't think it is cool that Bonds broke Aaron's mark, here, but it is amazing. What would be truly amazing is if after 2012 the top 3 career HR leaders here replicate the RL list, in order.

Dutch Swilling holds the single season marks in HRs (86), RBI (215), TB (536) and WAR (21.4), all from the 2000 season.

In 2000, Babe Ruth slugged .872, posted a 1.396 OPS, had a VORP of 176.1, scored 193 runs and walked 192 times. All of these are single season bests through 2007.

There are 5 players who have hit 80, or more HRs in a season. No one has done it twice.
Zwilling
Dave Kingman, 84 (2001)
Ben Paschal, 83 (2006)
Gorman Thomas, 82 (1994)
Ruth, 81 (2000)

All players that have ht 80+ HRs are still active, except for Gorman Thomas. Thomas becomes Hall eligible in 2009.

[VanillaGorilla]

ERA: No active player in Top 100
Wins: Nolan Ryan, 290, 50th
Losses: Bill Hawke, 227, 95th
Win %: Bill Walker, .662, 1st
Saves: Steve Howe, 470, 4th
Games: Gus McGinnis, 1126, 6th
GS: Cliff P Lee, 600, 59th
CG: No active player in Top 100
Shut outs: No active player in Top 100
IP: Nolan Ryan, 4529 2/3, 72nd
HA: No active player in Top 100
HRA: Bill Hawke, 479, 8th
K: Nolan Ryan, 5023, 2nd
BB: Nolan Ryan, 2702, 2nd
BB/9: Cliff P Lee, 1.797, 37th
HA/9: Rube Waddell, 6.952, 2nd
K/9: Rube Waddell, 11.71, 1st
VORP: Josh Johnson, 779.67, 36th
WHIP: Rube Waddell, 1.077, 3rd
OppAve: Rube Waddell, .210, 2nd
OppOBP: Rube Waddell, .280, 9th
OppSLG: No active player in Top 100
OppOPS: No active player in Top 100
WAR: Cliff P Lee, 86.78, 87th

Rube Waddell's placements on the lists is astounding when it is considered that he is pitching in a 21st century environment. Cliff Lee being an active pitcher in 2007 with over 17 years MLB experience and 37th on the BB/9 list is also amazing. However, Waddell's output is jaw dropping.

There haven't been any relievers entered into the Hall. It is tough for them to get the Ink numbers to get in on first ballot screening. There are relievers, not just the ones ahead of Howe on the save list, that will get in if their name happens to bubble to the top of the list. With about 300 pitchers on the list, and currently 4 spots left to fill, the chances of a relief specialist getting in before this experiment ends is probably less than 5%.

[VanillaGorilla]

RL HOFers Reggie Jackson, Frankie Frisch, Bill Dickey, and Jesse Burkett enter the league in 2008.

--------------

Mark Baldwin was the 11th over-all pick in 1985 by the SF Giants. He logged seasons with the White Sox and Dodgers before retiring as an Indian in 2002 after sticking them with a $14 million contract when his best days were behind him. A tip of the hat to Baldwin's agent.

He had put together an amazing resume, and Cleveland cannot be faulted to giving who was arguably the best pitcher in the 1990s a go.

Baldwin was dominant. As a ChiSox, he won the CYA in 1993, 1994, and 1995, winning the Triple Crown in '95. He posted a combined record of 63-29 over those three seasons. He won the CYA, again, in 1998, as a Dodger, going 19-8 with an OOTP ERA of 2.58 (npa ERA+ 168) while striking out 304 hitters.

In 1993 and 1995 he posted ERAs of 2.29 and 2.28 which produced eye popping ERA+s of 194 and 200, respectively. 5 times he led the league in strikeouts, and he also topped the 300 mark in 1996.

Baldwin was named to 5 AS teams.

For his career he had a record of 257-196 (he went 12-16 4.91 and 6-14 7.04 on his 2 year contract with Cleveland to finish his career) and a career OOTP ERA of 3.39 which made for a tremendous (especially considering his last two seasons were 92 and 65) career npa ERA+ of 135.

Baldwin went 4-3 with a 2.63 OOTP ERA in the post season, but he never pitched in a WS.

Baldwin gets in in his first year of eligibility on the First Ballot screening. All of his numbers, except for HOFs, exceed the current Hall averages.

Black Ink: 67
Gray Ink: 259
HOFm: 177.5
HOFs: 46

-------------------

Babe Ruth 'only' hit 60 HRs in 2007. He now has 741 for his career. At the start of the preseason he is an unsigned free agent. Barry Bonds is also unsigned, as is Dave Kingman who beat out Ruth for the AL HR title in 2007. All are asking for big money. Will be interesting to see if any of them sit out the season sticking to their price demands.

ADD: Bonds signs a 1 year $7 million contract with Oakland. That number is about half of what he was asking. Ruth and Kingman start the season unsigned. Bonds is 39 y/o, Ruth 33, Kingman 29.

[SpaceMonkey13]

Mickey Mantle's numbers jumped out at me:

>>>For his career he slashed 301/412/558 for a npa OPS+ of one-freaking-68.

IRL: 298/421/557 Park adjusted OPS+ of one-freaking-72
Not bad!

Did you do anything with age modifiers? There seem to be a lot of 20+ year careers.