Jim Rice's HOF Induction Lowers the Bar For Cooperstown

I do not know whether or not Jim Rice deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. He got inducted on the fifteenth and final ballot. What I do know is numbers.

There are three outfielders who will have room to complain if they're not enshrined: Ellis Burks, Jim Edmonds, and Luis Gonzalez. They all put up numbers comparable to Jim Rice. They are all border-line Hall of Famers like Jim Rice.

They all should be in the Hall of Fame on their fifteenth ballots, like Jim Rice. The sad thing is they probably won't get in because they don't have the help of the East Coast bias.

First, let's compare their career numbers:

Career	BAvg	H	HR	RBI	SB	OBP	OPS
Jim Rice	.298	2,452	382	1,451	58	.352	.854
Ellis Burks	.291	2,107	352	1,206	181	.363	.874
Jim Edmonds	.284	1,881	382	1,176	65	.377	.905
Luis Gonzalez	.283	2,591	354	1,439	128	.367	.845

As you see, the career numbers of all four players are very similar. There's not a justification to include Jim Rice and exclude the other three players based on their career numbers. Next, let's compare their 162-game averages:

162-G Avg	H	HR	RBI	SB
Jim Rice	190	30	113	4
Ellis Burks	171	29	98	15
Jim Edmonds	158	32	99	5
Luis Gonzalez	162	22	90	8

Once again, the numbers are very close. People will say that Jim Rice had an MVP season. I have a couple arguments to rebut that. First, Rice's biggest competition the year he won the MVP was a pitcher. These three players were surrounded by steroid users and had to compete with them. So let's compare Rice's MVP season to the best season of each of these players:

Best Year	BAvg	H	HR	RBI	SB	OBP	OPS
Jim Rice ('78)	.315	213	46	139	7	.370	.970
Ellis Burks ('96)	.344	211	30	128	32	.408	1.047
Jim Edmonds ('04)	.301	150	42	111	8	.418	1.061
Luis Gonzalez ('01)	.325	198	57	142	1	.429	1.117

So the "he won an MVP award" mantra isn't going to work. All three of these other players had years comparable (and arguably better) to that of Jim Rice's MVP year—they just had more competition than a pitcher for the award.

What are your attacks?

Jim Edmonds: He didn't have the same career numbers as Jim Rice. Yeah, that's because the wear-and-tear from his eight Gold Gloves got to him. Jim Rice was not a good defensive player. Edmonds was one of the all-time greats at his position.

Luis Gonzalez: He took steroids. Ever confirmed? No. If he did, his name will be leaked out before voters get a chance to vote him in. 596 career doubles is pretty stellar if you ask me.

Ellis Burks: Who the heck is that? Yeah, that's right, Burks was one of the most underrated players in his time. He was a power-speed combo player that could also play the outfield well.

Jim Rice also doesn't have what Jim Edmonds and Luis Gonzalez do, and that's a World Series ring. Rice couldn't put his team over the top like Edmonds and Gonzalez, who helped their teams to achieve glory.

Now, I'm hoping these three players do not get in. If you have to think about whether or not they're Hall of Famers, then they're not. It's a shame though, because Jim Rice was just a borderline Hall of Famer. His numbers aren't great and these three players also had the "God-given talent" that everybody speaks of when describing Rice.