History Unblurred: Quotes About Smoky Joe Wood (Best Not In The HOF)

I have spent the past two or three weeks in stat land, researching Starting Pitcher's. I have collected dozens of quotes on different players and I wanted to share the quotes about Smoky Joe Wood. One of the quotes is from Smoky Joe Wood.

Smoky Joe presents himself to the forefront of my mind as the highest calibre player in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF.

Most historians agree that he was an incredibly high calibre Starting Pitcher.

No one is arguing that point. I suppose the debates start about if he pitched long enough or not.

He pitched in 225 games during his career. Certainly a short career, though long enough for historians to rate him (or underrate him, in most cases).

A percentage of historians believe that even with his short career, he should be in the HOF because he was so dominant.

But a higher percentage believe that he should not get into the HOF with his short career, even with his dominance.

The fact is, there are only two Starting Pitcher's in the history of MLB that are in the HOF that finished their career with 200-299 games. Addie Joss and John Ward. Joss is in because he was dominant, arguably more so than Wood.

Ward is in not just because he was a great Starting Pitcher. He's also in because he had another short career as a Shortstop after he stopped Pitching and he was a damn good Shortstop. A third reason: he was a great ambassador for the game, while he played and after he retired.

It took all three pieces of that puzzle to put him in. But the fact is, he belongs. Other than Addie Joss and Smoky Joe Wood, Ward is the best Starting Pitcher in the history of MLB with 200-299 games.

So, only two Starting Pitcher's out of 251 with 200-299 games are in the HOF, one percent. Put Smoky Joe Wood in and that would be three of 251, still about one percent.

Now, there have only been 46 Starting Pitcher's that have reached 600 games or more. 25 of them are in the HOF. 25 of 46. So, if you reach 600 games, you have a 54 percent chance of making the HOF. 54% compared to one percent.

There SHOULD be a bigger weight on longer career players, but 54 percent to one percent is going a bit overboard. Either way, one more short career Starting Pitcher wouldn't hurt anything. Putting the best one that's not yet in would be a good idea, of course.

Got sidetracked.

Here are some of the quotes about Smoky Joe Wood that I've collected during the past couple of weeks, I hope you enjoy them.

"Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen, my friend, there's no man alive can throw harder that Smoky Joe Wood."---Walter Johnson, HOF Starting Pitcher

"Although his candle was to burn out before too long, no Pitcher's ever burned brighter than Smoky Joe Wood's."---Henry Thomas, respected baseball historian

"Smoky Joe Wood. Was he ever something. I've seen a lot of great Pitching in my lifetime, but never anything to compare with him...I've never seen anything like Smoky Joe Wood."---Harry Hooper, HOF Right Fielder

"Smoky Joe Wood, who belongs in the HOF...if there was a better Pitcher than Wood in Baseball, even Walter Johnson or Christy Mathewson, the difference was merely academic."---James Farrell, respected baseball historian

"If you could time capsule back to 1915 and gather 100 of the most respected baseball historians alive. Gather them together one by one and ask all 100 of them who the five best Pitchers of the era are.

"One of the five names that all 100 would say is Smoky Joe Wood, all 100, not 99, all 100. Now, today, you ask 100 of the most respected baseball historians alive who the five best Pitchers from the era of the 1910s were. More times than not, Smoky Joe Wood is NOT one of the five names mentioned.

"I'm here to tell you, they were right then, we're wrong now. The fundamental problem with many respected historians today is they put too much weight on length of career. I'm not going to go so far as to say exactly what their definition of the word better should be.

"But I'll tell you this. Their definition of the word better should have less to do with the word longer and it should have more to do with the words higher caliber. Longer and higher caliber should both be in the equation, don't get me wrong, they just need to change the amount of weight they put on each.

"It's why even some of the most respected baseball historians today will rate George Uhle higher than Smoky Joe Wood. If you've never believed anything else I've ever written, believe this; George Uhle did not Pitch better than Smoky Joe Wood, he just Pitched longer than Smoky Joe Wood.

"For sakes, George Uhle's own Mother didn't think he was better than Smoky Joe Wood, but now historians are trying to tell you he was because he Pitched 500 games. That's twice as long as Smoky Joe Wood and half as good. Uhle wasn't bad, not trying to be hard on the old chap, but he was no Smoky Joe, few were."---Michael Weir, baseball historian

"There I was after the 1912 season---including the World Series I'd won 37 games and lost only six, struck out 279 men in days when the boys didn't strike out much, and I'd beaten Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson one after the other.

And do you know how old I was? Well, I was 22 years old, that's all...and do you know something else? That was it...my arm went bad...and all my dreams came tumbling down around my ears like a damn house of cards.

"The next five years, seems like it was nothing but one long terrible nightmare...the old zip was gone from that fast ball. It didn't hop any more, like it used to...still, in 1915 I led the league with an ERA of 1.49...so in 1916 I didn't play at all.

"I retired. I stayed on the farm...only 26 years old and all washed up. A has been...I stayed on the farm all through the 1916 season. That fall, though, I began to get restless...I could hit and I could run and I could field, and if I couldn't Pitch why couldn't I do something else?...1917, I was sold to Cleveland...all of 27 years old and a relic from the distant pat.

"I'd hear fathers tell their kids, "See that guy over there? That's Smoky Joe Wood, used to be a great Pitcher long ago."...for five years I played in the Outfield for Cleveland. In 1921 I hit .366."---Smoky Joe Wood, the best player in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF

If you have good quotes on Smoky Joe Wood, I'd love to read them. Or any other comments you might have.