Which Baseball Hall of Fame Players Aren't Worthy?

It's time for a Roundtable debate.

The beer has been poured and Journey is playing on the jukebox. The scene is set.

The question posed: “If we aren’t going to let guys like Bert Blyleven, guys who have the stats, into the Hall of Fame, shouldn’t we kick out guys that don’t?”

Some background on this. Two of us at the 'Table go to Cooperstown every year for the Hall of Fame inductions, and we can’t understand why certain players are in, but others are out.

What we came up with are players who, despite being elected, shouldn’t have been.

Let’s get to it.

Bill Mazeroski (2B, Pirates)

Mazeroski was a fine second baseman. Many rate him as the best defensive second-baseman of all time. He turned the double play better than anyone who ever played the game, but that should not be enough to elect him. A Hall of Fame member must be outstanding in many facets of the game.

Phil Rizzuto (SS, Yankees)

Rizzuto was a winner. No doubt about that one. But he’s a career .273 hitter that only had 1,588 hits. His career fielding-percentage of .968 is not outstanding, and he declined over the course of his career. Want to compare stats? Look at Delino Deshields, Jose Offerman, and Jim Gantner. Yup, Hall of Fame names.

Tony Perez (OF, Reds) 

He played 23 seasons, and never achieved 3,000 hits, settling in at 2,732. He gets a lot of credit for being involved with the Big Red Machine and winning titles in the 1970s. But Perez is a career .279 hitter with 380 home runs. Jim Rice has a better average (.298), and more home runs (382) in fewer seasons (16 to Tony’s 23) and can’t get into Cooperstown.

Yet, we make excuses for Perez because he was nicer to the media. I don’t buy that reasoning. I’m not arguing to put Rice in, because I think he’s a borderline candidate at best.

But if you put in Perez, you have to at least consider the notion. Exact comparison? How about Harold Baines. In 22 seasons, Baines had nearly identical numbers to Perez.

Kirby Puckett (OF, Twins)

Alright, I know we’re going to irritate some people with this one. Sure, Puckett’s career was cut short by injury. And we should judge players based on if they were among the elite when they played. I just don’t think Puckett fits that bill.

His stats are incredibly similar to Don Mattingly for his career, and he was simply more consistent than Mike Greenwell. On a year-to-year basis though, he and Greenwell were very close, and, in fact, are nearly identical through age 30.

You could compare him to Garrett Anderson or Cecil Cooper, too. I don’t consider Anderson that type of player any more than Puckett. I refuse to project out his final numbers. You played when you played and, while I feel bad, he was still there just the 12 years.

Please, hold back the stones and only throw tomatoes. If it helps, as a Celtics fan, I don’t think Reggie Lewis should have his number retired either.

Bruce Sutter (RP, Cardinals)

Ok, not that I’m against guys that never started, I just didn’t think that Bruce Sutter should be the first guy elected that never started a game. There are plenty of good relievers that did more for the game of baseball than Sutter. One of them is being elected this year, Goose Gossage.

If Sutter’s election opens the door, fine. But I know I’m not alone when I see 20 players that have more saves than Sutter. If Sutter is worthy, where’s Lee Smith? Jeff Reardon?

Harry Hooper (OF, Red Sox)

Classic case of playing with Hall-of-Fame-caliber players. But that does not make you one. He was on teams with Tris Speaker and Babe Ruth in Boston, but was decidedly mediocre when it came to offense. He got in by association as much as anything else. Hooper's stats compare very favorably to Brett Butler and Willie McGee. I just don't consider those Hall of Fame type players, so Hooper falls out for me.

Gary Carter (C, Expos)

Forgetting that he went in as an Expo instead of a Met, causing a change in the way that distinction is selected, he loved the media more than throwing out base runners. In addition to being called “The Kid”, he was also called “Rag-Arm”. He hung on long enough to get 2,000 hits, but only led the league in any major, offensive category once in his entire career.

Rabbit Maranville (INF, Boston Braves)

Proof that if you hang around long enough, you too can get 2,600 career hits. Maranville is a career .258 hitter who made 636 errors in his 20 years. That's an average of over 30 errors per season. We kill Edgar Renteria for doing that. Maranville’s career fielding-percentage of .958 is far from solid for any infielder.

Bowie Kuhn (Commissioner)

Kuhn brought six expansion teams and free agency. Four teams were already granted a franchise prior to his tenure as commissioner (at the 1967 winter meetings).

The Pilots went bankrupt and were sold to a used-car salesman. The Mariners were foisted upon baseball when Seattle sued for breach of contract after the quick hook the Pilots received. The expansion Mariners helped appease the locals, and the Blue Jays were awarded to balance the AL slate.

Marvin Miller should be given credit for free agency; Bowie Kuhn fought it tooth and nail.

He wanted to put Satchel Paige in a separate (but unequal) wing of the Hall when he was inducted as the first Negro Leaguer. He snubbed Hank Aaron in his pursuit of the home-run record. He left Willie Stargell off the All-Star roster in his last season (1982), even though he added Carl Yastrzemski in his final season the next year.

Kuhn suspended Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle for their involvement with casinos, but let owner George Steinbrenner own one.

Just as there are deserving candidates that have not been enshrined in Cooperstown, there are just as many that have been placed in the Hall that are debatable. These are a few of those names.

The pitchers are empty, so the debate ends here for now. Grab a cold one, and talk amongst yourselves.