Cincinnati Reds: Why Vada Pinson Should Be a Hall of Famer

Nearly every Major League team has its own Hall of Fame snub. While Pete Rose is the first Red who comes to mind, his situation is far different from Vada Pinson's.

Pinson was a standout player in an era rich with outfield talent. While the baseball world focused on the likes of Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron and several other talented outfielders, the Reds had Pinson, the black sheep of the great 1960s outfielders.

The only legitimate reason for Pinson's exclusion from the Hall of Fame is because he never stood out amongst the great outfield talent of the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. Based solely on career stats, Pinson should have been a sure thing for the Hall of Fame.

Pinson is one of only 10 players with at least 250 home runs and 300 steals; the other nine are Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Eric Davis, Andre Dawson, Steve Finley, Rickie Henderson, Willie Mays, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg.

This list of stand-out players can be narrowed even further when you add the limitations of 2,700 hits, 450 doubles and 100 triples.

That list would include only two players, Pinson and Mays.

Simply put, Pinson is in elite company as one of only two players with 2,700 hits, 450 doubles, 250 home runs, 300 steals and 100 triples.

If further proof for Pinson's case is needed, then take a look at the nameless comparison I've put together.

Name	G	AB	H	HR	3B	2B	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Player A	2992	10881	3283	660	140	523	2062	1903	338	.302	.384	.557
Player B	2469	9645	2757	256	127	485	1366	1170	305	.286	.327	.442
Player C	2089	8225	2452	382	79	373	1249	1451	58	.298	.352	.502
Player D	2488	9350	2711	426	88	434	1410	1475	90	.290	.361	.492
Player E	2287	8656	2735	248	173	500	1483	1609	176	.316	.387	.500

Player A leads every statistical category except for average and OBP. That should come as no surprise given that player A is the great Willie Mays.

Enough surprises, though; Player A is Mays, B is Pinson, C is Jim Rice, D is Billy Williams and E is Goose Goslin.

In a blind comparison, Pinson stacks up pretty well against four Hall of Famers.

From a fan's standpoint, it's hard to understand why Pinson isn't in the Hall of Fame. As I mentioned earlier, he and Mays are the only two players with 2,700 hits, 450 doubles, 300 steals, 250 home runs and 100 triples.

Pinson was a four-time All-Star and a winner of the Gold Glove. He may not have a stellar batting average, on-base percentage or slugging percentage, but Pinson's peripheral stats are that of a Hall of Famer.