Does this guy belong in the baseball hall of fame?

Question

http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/slaugen01.shtml

just check out his numbers..he's an old time player who was inducted in 85. but played in the 40's and 50s....sure doesn't look like he belongs to me...what were people thinking?

now think about it guys. he's no where near 3 thousand hits..these are way below average for this time....there's a reason why he wasn't put in the hall until..what 40 years later...makes one wonder why he got in so many years later...if he was so good when he played..why wasn't he let in RIGHT AWAY?

things to think about that's all.

aaaand to had..he never had 200 hits in a season. and i disagree pitching wasn't better.

jeffery..first off hitting 200 hits in a season back then WAS BEYOND COMMON..so please don't start with lies..second HITTING 300 WAS A STANDARD..there were on average..3 hitters up til the early 40's ..A YEAR WHO WOULD HIT 400....yes let me guess..hitters were just better back then (but then you are gonna add that pitching is weaker now? because of expansion? pleeeeease..)

i have considered the war issue (see my other question about the war and players combat duties i have up right now)...problem with that is..even if he hadn't missed time for the war he'd have only one major stat to look at. 3000 thousand hits. oh wow..a 300 hun average-albert belle can say the same i belive and so can kirby pucket-do they belong?

so the point is. he only has one decent stat to look at. you really gonna let a guy in the hall for being a singles and barely a doubles hitter?

that's pretty weak if you ask me.

read it reva. your points dont make any sense. i've spent more time than ALLOF YOU going through the players of that time's stats. slaughters weren't but average..if that.

but none of you are answering the question.

WHY DID HE GET IN SO LATE IF HE WAS SO GOOD?

i think that's all about politics right there. or a slow year for voting in 85

Answer 1

He didn't do anything exceptional.
Zero gold gloves
Zero batting titles
Zero MVP's
Batting .300 and all-star appearances don't make you worthy of the hall.

Don Mattingly is way more worthy than this guy and he's not in.

Answer 2

He would not come on the fringe of the former college benchmarks of three,000 occupation hits or 500 occupation residing house runs so that is secure to assert he made it depending upon pores and skin pigmentation. The logical end, then, is that he in all likelihood does no longer belong interior the Baseball corridor of attractiveness. Robinson is celebrated for being the first black significant leaguer besides the indisputable fact that it became a count number number of success that it really is the case. Robinson became obtainable and, extra importantly, branch Rickey felt he could administration him sufficient so as that he does no longer embarrass the Dodger employer, so he became the anointed one. Robinson became a ideal college athlete who had one astounding season in MLB and his induction as well as MLB's ridiculous mandate that his huge type be retired by technique of all golf equipment is a slap interior the face to gamers of different nationalities. That stated, it isn't surprising because the powers that be in MLB are notorious hypocrites, extraordinarily once you concentration on them interior the wake of the steroids scandal. Robinson could were a good participant yet he became no longer an elite participant. i have consistently been lower than the impact that the corridor of attractiveness is reserved for the game's elite...apparently, that isn't the case.

Answer 3

Yes, I do think Enos belongs in the HOF. While his numbers might not be mind blowing today it was a different era in the 1940's and 1950's. He didn't have outstanding stats, but he did have some pretty good ones. One also must remember that he gave his prime years (ages 27, 28, and 29) to WW2. Had he averaged what he did in his last season before the war (1942) and his first season after the war (1946), his career numbers would have been a little bit more impressive. His average line would have been: 600 AB, 100 R, 186 H, 31 2B, 13 3B, 16 HR, 114 RBI, 9 SB, 79 BB, 35 SO, a .314 avg, a .393 OBP, and a .480 SLG. Three years at those numbers would have given him the following career line: 9746 AB, 1547 R, 2941 H, 506 2B, 187 3B, 217 HR, 1646 RBI, 98 SB, 1255 BB, 643 SO, a .302 avg, a .385 OBP, and a .458 SLG. That looks a little bit more like a HOF career to me.

Answer 4

AND??????

The reality is that players are not selected for the HOF on only their raw numbers. The only formal criteria for selection is a minimum or 10 years of ML service, and having been retired for at least 5 years. (The retired for 5 years clause is waived if a player dies. That why Cory Lidle will be eligible on the ballot at the end of this year. That's why Darryl Kile was on the ballot just months after his untimely death.) There is a morals clause listed as a criterion, and of course, a former player is not eligible if he's under a lifetime suspension. That rule was there long before 1989.

However, in any given era, players are measured against their direct competition. A player who played primarily in the 40's and 50's is compared not with players of today but with players of the 40's and 50's. So, one "criterion" is having among the the best OF HIS TIME at his position. That was Enos Slaughter.

Besides, Bill Mazeroski very much belongs, and it took him 31 years to get there. That's not a measure of the baseball value of the man. It's only been in recent years that we have seen a preponderance of 1st-time eligible inductees.


You really do need to expand your knowledge of the history of the game.

Answer 5

Will Clark would run circles around this guy and yet he didn't even get the required 5% to stay on the ballot last year (2006 class). My guess is any time other then the time period Slaughter played and he is a normal player.

I guess a good name goes a long way.

EDIT: For John L

Travis Jackson was the SS that revolutionized the way SS was played and he was an awesome clutch hitter. He was the Giants team during the years he played....and he was awesome defensively. This was all in a deadball era when SS was still a defensive position.

Enos was none of this. Enos had other HOF'ers to back him up and protect him. Jackson was the NY Giants protection for other players.

Answer 6

No he should not be in. He had a bunch of slightly above average years coupled by a bunch of mediocre years. The rest of his career was unproductive.

There nothing convincing about his career stats in any way shape form or fashion that says he is worthy of such an honor.

Answer 7

A couple comments. One: Slaughter lost 4 years of his prime to WW2, and it's reasonable to estimate that he would've had 3000 hits had he not missed those years. Two: he was clearly respected by close observers of the game, as he made 10 All-Star teams and did well in the MVP vote. He didn't have a lot of pop, but he got on base a lot, played on five World Series teams and won 4 of 'em, and had decent speed early in his career.

Answer 8

Enos "Country" Slaughter, and yes he does belong in the Hall of Fame. He didn't have 3000 hits, but many players in the Hall don't. You also have to factor in that he played in the 40s, when many players served in WWII and lost years off of their careers. Slaughter lost three years of his career, which hurt his stats some. Hall of Famers like Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio didn't even get 3000 hits due to serving in the war. Slaughter was a great player known for his hustle, he should not have had to wait until 1985 to be voted in.

The Cardinals were GREAT during the 40s, and Slaughter was one of the main contributers. One of the great highlights was him scoring from first base on a SINGLE during the '46 series. Great player.

BTW, there are only 26 players in MBL history with 3000 hits. I will bet you that there are more than 26 hitters in the Hall. Ted Williams didn't get 3000 hits, nor did Joe DiMaggio. Come to think of it, neither did Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, shall I go on? As for never getting 200 hits in a season, that wasn't common then, they only played 154 games then so that limited them somewhat. There is no logical explanation for Slaughter having to wait for over 25 years, but he's in now, even if you don't think he should be.

Also, you still have not talked about the time he lost to the war. If you are going to preach statistics, then you have to mention that.

So by BEYOND COMMON, do you mean that most players had more than 200 hits every year? BEYOND COMMON is a player getting 100 hits, for you to suggest that getting 200 hits a year is BEYOND common is ludicrous. Don't call me a liar, get a clue.

Also, you seem to be crying for us to answer your question "What took him so long to be in the Hall of Fame". Need I remind you, your original question was "Does this guy belong in the baseball Hall of Fame", to which most of us answered yes, since most of us made good points you tried to throw a curve in there. You seem to think that 3000 hits is an absolute necessity to get in. Very few players in Major League history have reached 3000 hits. As for the singles and doubles crap, there are a lot of those guys in the Hall. If you spend as much time as you say you do studying this, I'm sure you can find a few. People answered your question, you didn't like the answers so you have to get all childish and start reaching to try to prove people wrong. And pitching WAS better before expansion, simple logic will tell you that with only 16 teams, there were fewer bad pitchers in the game, and it wasn't spread as thin. And as for what took him so long to get in, if you were the expert you claim to be, you'd know that Slaughter was long accused of being a racist and for nowtwanting to play against the Dodgers because of Jackie Robinson. He always disputed that.

And my name is spelled JEFFREY

Answer 9

I believe Country Slaughter belongs there. The overall pitching was better in those days and he ended up with a .300 average. He was never a long ball threat, but he hit line drives. He could run reasonably well. He had a good arm. He was smart.

Answer 10

Did you know?

Many consider Enos Slaughter to be the original "Charlie Hustle."

He played for 19 seasons in the Major Leagues.
He hit .300 or better in 10 of his 19 years.
He had a career batting average of .300.
He batted over .300 for five years in a row (1939-1946).
He led the league in hits and doubles in 1942 with 188 and 17.
He led the league in RBIs in 1946 with 130.
He ended his career with 2,383 hits.
He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.