13 thoughts on “Half-Baked Hall: 2004”

1. I suspect baseball fans who remember Ellis Burks probably remember him for his Blake Street Bombers years — specifically, for 1996 — or for being hampered by nagging injuries. Thing is, he was a pretty solid player before he joined his former teammates, Don Baylor & Dwight Evans, in Denver. From ‘87–‘93 he averaged 3.1 rWAR a year, despite cracking 600 PA just three times, against two seasons with fewer than 450 PA.

   The Twins had the second pick in the 1983 January draft; they selected right-handed reliever Kevin Hammond* out of a JC in Florida. Burks was the 20th pick, and the only player selected in the first round who cracked 6.0 rWAR. Burks was a 20/20 player in his 1987 debut, but the juiced ball held him to a 99 OPS+. From ‘88–‘90 Burks’ OPS+ was 130 (he was two homers short of a second 20/20 season in ‘88); he fell off to 98 in ‘91 and rebounded incrementally in ‘92 (103) and ‘93 (114). It’s interesting to think about what the early TK-era Twins would’ve been like, had they drafted Burks.

   Even considering the offensive era in which he played, Burks was pretty good. His was a near-as-makes-no-difference 50 rWAR career, with some pretty nice counting and rate stats: 400+ doubles, 350+ homers, .363 OBP. His career OPS+ is 126. Detractors might point out he played in some pretty hitter-friendly environments — Fenway, Coors — but he hit pretty well in San Francisco & Cleveland in his mid/late-thirties, too. Not bad for a guy who was primarily a center fielder. JAWS rates him the 32nd best CF of all-time, amid a cluster of Burks’ contemporaries from 29–36: Brett Butler, Devon White, Curtis Granderson, (Burks), Andrew McCutchen, I-I, Willie Wilson, and Mike Cameron.

   * B-Ref has only one season of stats for Hammond, who apparently died in 1990. I wonder what happened.

   1. I remember Ellis Burks was in RBI Baseball on the Red Sox despite not playing for the 86 team

2. Ooh, I’m a small hall guy. That Edgar Martinez vote is going to be tough for me.

   1. Need help?

      1. I definitely take seriously what people write here but then will be a gut check.

         1. Okay I'll make a case later

            1. His 147 OPS+ is 45th all-time. His 68.4 rWAR is 89th all-time for position players.
               54th all-time in doubles, 48th all-time in walks.

               If he's not electable, then when will a DH ever be electable?

         2. Okay, here's my case.

            1. He's a member of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, and got that distinguish even before he and his wife launched the Martinez Foundation.
            2. Speaking of his charity, he played for the Mariners his entire career.
            3. The Double.
            4. Martinez raked in the minors for years before getting a permanent spot in the lineup, so he couldn't start accumulating stats until he was 27. Not his fault the Mariners, who had been terrible their entire franchise history, allowed him to be blocked by...Jim Presley?
            5. When he was moved off third base to basically full-time DH, he wasn't a butcher at third base. After his knee injury in 1994, he may have become a bad third basemen, but the stats don't justify the bad reputation he had there. He had a pretty terrible year on defense in 1990, his rookie year basically (once had 4 errors in one game), but he improved himself and always had pretty good range. If the DH hadn't existed, he still would have had a position somewhere (probably first base), and would be still one of the best hitting first basemen ever.
            6. Had a 160 OPS+ at age 38 for the 116 win Mariners, and had no steroid suspicions.

3. Larkin is pretty much the average HOF SS.
   Alomar, similarly at 2B. But with the spitting legacy, which I hold against him. I may vote for him, but grudgingly.
   Appier had an eight-year peak that looked to be on a HOF trajectory, but that was it.
   Edgar was Edgar. Deserving.
   Crime Dog: Hall of Very Good.
   Ventura: not quite good enough to, ahem, fight his way into the Hall.

   I will probably vote for Larkin, Alomar and Edgar.

   1. Appler basically had Johan's career

4. Not here.

   1. Wonder why Morin couldn't go two

5. I really like McGriff. I wonder if the offensive explosion hadn't happened if he would have continued to remain the premier power hitter in the game, or if his relative power numbers would have declined as they did. 35 homers in the late 80's and early 90's was MVP worthy. The same amount during the mid 90's was pedestrian. And his defense was just so so bad.

   Very similar career to Orlando Cepeda.

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