Roger Maris: Baseball Hall of Famer?

Post season baseball has gotten me so excited and anticipated with the game, that I chose to sit down and watch one of my favorite movies of all- time "61*" the other night. For those who have not viewed this performance, I would highly recommend it. This story lays down the day-by-day interactions between Roger Maris (played by Barry Pepper, Mickey Mantle (played by Thomas Jane), Yankee fans, and the New York media as the Yankees 1961 season played out. Of course, this was the memorable season in which Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record by hitting 61 dingers.

This got me into researching Roger a little more. How could a former MVP and the single season home run record holder for years (some people still view him as that) not be elected into the Hall of Fame? Fair question, as he wrote a tremendous storyline into baseball's honored history.

I decided to compare the stats of a few enshrined members of the Hall of Fame to Maris'. I compared Mr. Maris to eight current hall of famers, all chosen at random to see how his stats lined up and if they were worthy of an enshrinement.

Out of the eight members I researched, two of them played the same number of seasons as Maris, sixteen. Those two were second baseman Ryne Sandberg and recently inducted outfielder Jim Rice. Now, I realize some of the stats do not necessarily define a hall of famer or not, but it is worth comparing those who are already in to Roger to give a feel of why he is not in the HOF. Maris is most well known as being a home run hitter thanks to that '61 season. In the same amount of time, both Rice and surprisingly Sandberg out homered and out RBI'd Maris. They also beat him in average, hits, steals, and all- star appearances. The only stat that Maris out performed Sandberg was On Base Percentage. That was only by .001. Rice did out perform Maris in that statistic.

In four less years, Kirby Puckett out performed Maris in all the aforementioned stats except home runs. That made Maris' status seem correct in my opinion. For being a notorious home run hitter, he only hit 275 career home runs and got out performed in the rest of his stats by a player who played 12 years. Kirby was an exceptional player, but in his time so was Maris. A two- time MVP, and the single season record holder for home runs from 1961 till 1998 was pretty remarkable. Other then those labels, however, Maris was no better then a very good ball player. Very good does equal Hall of Fame caliber unfortunately. Maris is one of my all- time favorite players due to the adversity that he went through during that '61 season and of researching of how decent a man he really was. Hall of Famer in our hearts, but that does not meet the criteria for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The other players researched played two or more years then Maris, so in honesty is what truly fair to compare those players. The comparisons failed to measure up in any consistency to defend Maris to be a Hall of Fame caliber player.

For more information on Roger Maris, please visit Roger Maris Museum. Please give your input on whether you believe Maris to be a Hall of Fame caliber player or not. Statistics would show against, but hear at FTS, we are always willing to hear your side of the story!

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