Why isn't Dwight (Dewey) Evans in the Hall of Fame? The long time Boston Red Sox spent 20 years in the?

Question

majors from 1972-1991 and had: 2,446 hits, 1,470 runs, 483 DB's, 73 3B's, 385 HR's, 1,382 RBI's, 1,391 BB's, 1,679 K's (ouch), and a respectable .272 lifetime BA. 3 time all-star and 7 time gold glove winner. He was a solid right fielder with a cannon for an arm at Fenway Park. I think he should get in, he played the majority of his career before the juiced ball/steroid era, etc. However, I feel that Andre Dawson, Jim Rice and Dave Parker should all get in before him. How do you feel about this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Evans

http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/evansdw01.shtml

Answer 1

I'm with you. Evans had the best arm of any right fielder I ever saw. Even Roberto Clemente would have been impressed. I saw him catch a fly ball in Anaheim and hold Rod Carew on third. God, what a throw. Add that to his longevity and offensive totals and he's in. People, especially the hapless writers, forget that arm. He should be in.

Answer 2

Respectable numbers, yes. Excellent player, yes. But would you rank him as one of the all-time greats to have played the game? It's hard to rank him at that level. Look at the stats you cite: apart from the strikeouts and the walks, none are particularly striking - particularly for a corner outfielder. Even looking at the baseball-reference page you cite, only 2 of the top 10 most similar players (Al Kaline and Billy Williams) are in the Hall, and both have more hits, more home runs, and a higher average than Evans did.

Answer 3

Stats are decent but not great. He didn't get the magic # of hits (3,000) or # of HR's (500). There were quite a few players with decent stats in the 70's & 80's that didn't make HOF, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Dave Parker to name a few.

Answer 4

I don't consider Dewey to have been a Hall-class player (though it'd be fun seeing him get the plaque). But his vote returns were so piddling -- he was relegated after two or three ballots, and he deserved better than that, especially when lesser stars like Garvey hung around the ballot basement for the full 15 years. The writers were harsher than need be.

Answer 5

If Don Mattingly's not in the hall, than Evans, Andre Dawson, Jim Rice and Dave Parker should not be either.

Answer 6

respectable, but not a great player... although there are less deserving guys than him already in there... look at it this way... less than 2500 hits, less than 1500 runs, less than 400 home runs, less than 1400 RBIs, a few times as an AllStar... while I think deservedly that guys from the "juiced" era will have to have good numbers to be considered for the HOF, that doesn't automatically mean that guys from before the "juiced" era should receive any more consideration simply because they didn't play in that era...

Answer 7

the magic number is 3,000 hits or 500 hundred homers.

i think dawson should get in regardless. he is one of 2 or 3 players with ( i forget the #s) but so many homers and stolen bases. its like mays and dawson....now i think bonds (loser)

Answer 8

Very good career. Very good numbers. Very good doesn't get you into the Hall...GREAT does.

Answer 9

I am still hoping they will recognise Pesky