Thoughts on the Baseball Hall of Fame: 2008 Veteran's Committee Ballot

Kaat was a three-time All-Star to boot. His stats compare favorably to Bert Blyleven (who should be in as well), Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins, Early Wynn, Red Ruffing, and Ted Lyons. The latter five are legit Hall of Fame pitchers. In 1982, he added a World Series ring to his career totals.

There are those that would argue Kaat held on too long. After winning 20 games for the White Sox in 1975, Kaat was primarily a reliever from 1976 through 1983. He finished just short of several milestones, as he didn't register 300 wins and was just shy of 2,500 strikeouts. He also compares just as favorably to Tommy John.

Kaat was a contact pitcher that spent the better part of his career hovering around the .500 mark. No doubt, defensively, he was better than almost anyone at his position. The question comes around dominance, and was he that type of player?

Our Verdict: Out, just doesn't quite add up.

Luis Tiant (P - Cleveland, Minnesota, Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, and California)

His funky motion baffled hitters and helped to bring the Red Sox to the 1975 World Series against the Reds. He pitched for 19 years and spent a large part at the end of his career fighting off injuries. He's known for the cigar in his mouth and the mustache on his face.

"El Tiante" is everyone's friend, one of the nicest guys you could ask to meet. As far as Hall of Famers go, he just doesn't stack up. Tiant recorded 229 wins and recorded 20 wins on four separate occasions. He also recorded double-digit losses in seven of his 19 seasons, including one 20-loss year.

For his career, his WHIP was 1.19. That's a mind-boggling number. He struck out nearly 2,500 hitters and led the league in ERA twice and shutouts three times. As a Red Sox fan, it's hard to rule him out.

Yes, he compares very favorably to Catfish Hunter and Jim Bunning, but those players played four and two fewer seasons, respectively. They almost recorded as many wins, and Bunning had 400 more strikeouts. Tiant just didn't dominate long enough to be considered between those two pitchers.

Our Verdict: Out, and it hurts to say.

Vada Pinson (OF - Cincinnati, Cleveland, KC) and Al Oliver (OF - Pittsburgh, Texas)

So why group these two together? They have remarkably similar statistics. When the Hall of Fame added one to the ballot, they couldn't not add the other. On Baseball-Reference.com, the two are compared to each other directly and come up very close.

Pinson had a few more home runs, but Oliver drove more guys in. Oliver hit about 20 points higher, but Pinson stole 220 more bases. It's all about the balancing act and what is deemed dominant.

What got our attention on these two guys was the comparisons in various readings to Roberto Clemente, Joe Medwick, and Enos Slaughter. You start bringing those guys into the conversation, and you suddenly start swinging some big lumber. Statistically, that just doesn't make sense.

Why? Both Slaughter and Medwick had their careers interrupted by war, and Clemente had 3,000 hits. Oliver and Pinson both cracked 2,700, but they never hit the magical number that guarantees enshrinement.

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