What player deserves to be in the Hall of Fame but isn't?

Question

I'm talking about retired players, of course.

Answer 1

Don Mattingly
Dave Parker
Jim Rice
Dwight Evans
Gil Hodges
Lee Smith
Bert Blyleven
Roger Maris
Thruman Munson
Alan Trammill
Lou Whittaker
Tommy John
Amos Odus
Ron Santo
Andre Dawson
Bill Buckner
Joe Torre (as a player)

and about 15 or 20 more

Answer 2

There's many viable people listed above. Just wanted to throw in my two cents on a couple of comments I read.

- Pete Rose: Great player, Hall of Fame caliber player. No question about that. But he broke the cardinal rule of the sport. It doesn't matter that he was a manager when he did it, it doesn't matter that he bet on his team and not against it. If you are an employee of MLB betting on baseball is not tolerated. You do it, you get caught, you're banned. It's crystal clear. Look at it this way: If a doctor gets disbared do you then turn around and give him the AMA Lifetime Achievement Award? Sorry Pete, you were a helluva player, but you are not above the rules.

- Someone said the Hall of Fame should only be reserved for the greats. Not argument there, but the Hall has inducted people for decades who can not be classified as "great". Does that mean we should continue to fill it with players who were just merely very good? I don't know. However, I do know this. It's tough to justify not electing Alan Trammel when you've got Phil Rizzuto hanging on the wall. What the HOF (more accurately, the BBWAA) should be looking for are the very best eligible players not already honored. At least from this point forward we can then hope the right players get honored.

- Being bumped off the eligibility list after 15 years is a joke. They should trash that rule.

Just my thoughts. :-)

Answer 3

Pete Rose. Someone else said he should have been honest with Giamatti, but the guy died a week after the press conference. In 1989, Pete couldn't even be honest with himself. Its called humble pie, and Pete's had a bite of it everyday since then.
If OJ is still in the football HOF, and Mays and Mantle (who were working for casino's in the 80's and banned because of it) were welcomed back in, Pete needs to be welcomed in as well. Right now its a sham. Pete's banned for life, but Kenny Rogers can openly cheat during the world series and not even be reprimanded. There was definite lying going on after Game 2, so when people say "Pete broke the rules and then lied about it..." isn't that what Kenny did? It may not be the HOF, but there is a definite double standard within MLB and its shameful.

Answer 4

Ron Santo
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson
Pete Rose
Alan Trammell
Jack Morris
Buck O'Neil

Answer 5

Two that I would NEVER vote for are Pete Rose and Joe Jackson. Both are deserving if you look at their achievements, but they also both knowingly broke the rules.

As for players who actually deserve to be there, my first choice would be Bert Blyleven. Why he's not already in, I have no idea. Great numbers, many put up for lousy teams. I'd also probably consider Jim Rice and Ron Santo. Both are borderline, but you could make a case for each of them, especially Santo. He was a great player for many years at a tough position.

Personally, I think the HOF standards are already too loose when guys like Gary Carter and Tony Perez. Good players should be commended, but the HOF should be reserved for the greats.

Answer 6

I love baseball and the only part I don't love about it is the Dictator called the Commissioner, Pete Rose first and foremost has earned the right to be in the Hall and for a Commissioner and Self righteous Sportswriters most of whom never put on a uniform keep him out of it, which will never sit well with me and many others. Who cares if he bet or not on baseball the guy proved on the field day in and day out that he was all about winning. They allow drug addicts, wife beaters, drunks and cheaters in the hall, so why not Pete, because he did not kiss anyone's ***.Whoever put it in writing that the Hall was for choirboys, they let in Cobb and Ruth it does not get any worse than that.

Answer 7

I think Pete Rose is the scum of the earth but his numbers don't lie even if he does.

Ron Santo - Baseball should be ashamed of itself to leave this incredible 3rd baseball out of Cooperstown.

Don Mattingly - Injury shorten career but a great, great player and if they can put Kirby Puckett in the Hall then they dam well better put Donnie Baseball in there too!!!!!

Somebody on that hall of fame committee better pull their heads out of their collective asses and make things right.

Answer 8

1. joe jackson
2. pete rose - he broke the rules as a manager not a player
3. ron santo - one of the greatest 3rd basemen ever
4. jack morris - winningest pitcher of the 80's 3 world series rings
5. bert blyleven - look at his number
6. hawk dawson
7. lou whittaker - when he retired he was 2nd all time in homers for a 2nd basemen
8. buck oneal - i still don't know why he wasn't put in last year.
9. roger marris
10. alan trammell - he's a stretch, but i'm a homer

Answer 9

Dawson
Hodges
Parker
Rice
Santo

Answer 10

Shoeless Joe anmd Pete Rose