MLB Hall of Fame: The Least Deserving Hall of Famer at Each Position

The Veteran's Committee has already announced the election of Ron Santo to the Hall of Fame this season, and on a weak ballot, this could be the year that the likes of Barry Larkin or Jack Morris among others finally get the call and join him.

As the Bill Jameses of the world come up with more and more ways to analyze the plethora of statistics readily available for baseball players, the "overrated" and "undeserving" tag seems to be slapped on more and more already-enshrined players.

So here is a look at the least deserving Hall of Famer at each position; a starting nine that would likely not be a playoff team in any era. Included is who I feel is the best non-Hall of Famer at each position as well just to get an idea of what their stats look like next to someone who has been deemed unworthy of induction.

Catcher: Rick Ferrell

Career Stats

.281/.378/.363, 28 HR, 734 RBI, 687 R, 1,692 H, 22.9 WAR

Career Summary

One of the most durable catchers in baseball history, Ferrell held the record for most games caught at 1,806 for nearly 40 years and currently sits 12th on the all-time list.

However, that doesn't make him a Hall of Famer, and he did little during that lengthy career to warrant a spot in the Hall. In fact, he was not even the best catcher in his own league during his playing career as that honor went to either Mickey Cochrane or Bill Dickey.

In 15 seasons, he never posted a single-season WAR over 2.9, he topped the .300 BA mark only four times, had little-to-no power and was average at best defensively.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Ted Simmons: (.285/.348/.437, 248 HR, 1,389 RBI, 1,074 R, 2,472 H, 50.4 WAR)

First Base: George "High Pockets" Kelly

Career Stats

.297/.342/.452, 148 HR, 1,020, 819 R, 1,778 H, 24.3 WAR

Career Summary

A member of the New York Giants for 11 of his 16 big-league seasons, Kelly enjoyed a very productive seven-year stretch from 1920-1926 when he averaged a line of .306 BA, 17 HR, 106 RBI, 84 R.  

However, outside of those seven years he did little to nothing to warrant Hall of Fame induction, and a seven-year stretch of that caliber is not nearly enough to be considered one of the best to ever play the game.

His career OPS+ of 109 is the same as the likes of Bill Mueller and Sean Casey, among others, and simply put doesn't cut it for a first baseman in general, let alone a Hall of Fame one.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Gil Hodges: (.273/.359/.487, 370 HR, 1,274 RBI, 1,105 R, 1,921 H, 44.6 WAR)

Second Base: Johnny Evers

Career Stats

.270/.356/.334, 12 HR, 538 RBI, 919 R, 1,659 H, 48.4 WAR

Career Summary

For the most part, the Hall of Fame has done a good job with second basemen, but Evers is clearly the weak link of the group. He was a decent hitter and a very good fielder, but he compares better to someone like Luis Castillo than anyone of his fellow Hall of Famers at the position.

His involvement in the famous Tinker-Evers-Chance double-play combination is his most notable career achievement, although he did win NL MVP in 1914 while playing for the Braves.

With a line of .279 BA, 1 HR, 40 RBI, 81 R, 5.1 WAR, his season was the definition of an above average Dead Ball Era season, but was far from MVP-worthy, just as he is far from Hall of Fame-worthy.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Lou Whitaker: (.276/.363/.426, 244 HR, 1,084 RBI, 1,386 R, 2,369 H, 69.7 WAR)

Short Stop: Phil Rizzuto

Career Stats

.273/.351/.355, 38 HR, 563 RBI, 877 R, 1,588 H, 41.8 WAR

Career Summary

A fan-favorite both as a player and announcer, "Scooter" had the benefit of playing alongside some of the all-time greats during his 13 seasons with the Yankees.

He spent the full 15 years on the ballot following his retirement, but never garnered higher than 38.4 percent of the vote. It was not until 1994 that he was inducted thanks to the Veteran's Committee.

Aside from his MVP season of 1950 when he hit .324, Rizzuto never hit over .300 and his defense may have been his biggest asset. Even then, he was nowhere near the level of Ozzie Smith, Omar Vizquel and others.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Alan Trammell: (.285/.352/.415, 185 HR, 1,003 RBI, 1,231 R, 2,365 H, 66.9 WAR)

Third Base: Freddie Lindstrom

Career Stats

.311/.351/.449, 103 HR, 779 RBI, 895 R, 1,747 H, 24.7 WAR

Career Summary

With the election of Santo, there are now 11 third basemen in the Hall of Fame, making it by far the hardest position to earn election at, and yet there are a number of third basemen, who were far less deserving than Santo, already inducted.

Lindstrom played just 13 seasons, in what accounted to about nine seasons worth of games. While he was very good from 1928-1930 with an average line of .353 BA, 17 HR, 101 RBI, three seasons does not a Hall of Fame resume make.

He never received above 4.4 percent of the vote while on the ballot, but was elected by the Veteran's Committee in 1976, and his case remains one of the weakest for any Hall of Fame position player.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Ken Boyer: (.287/.349/.462, 282 HR, 1,141 RBI, 1,104 R, 2,143 H, 58.4 WAR)

Left Field: Chick Hafey

Career Stats

.317/.372/.526, 164 HR, 833 RBI, 777 R, 1,466 H, 29.5 WAR

Career Summary

A talented young hitter, Hafey looked on his way to being the next great hitter after three straight .330 BA, 25 HR, 100 RBI seasons leading up to his 26th birthday.

However, a persistent sinus condition greatly affected his vision, and his production fell off dramatically before he retired at the age of 34 after not producing a good season for three years.

While his numbers would have likely been Hall of Fame-worthy if he had stayed healthy and at least played into his late-30s, he should not be rewarded for the numbers he could have put up, but instead judged by the numbers he did produce which are far from HOF-worthy.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Bob Johnson: (.296/.393/.506, 288 HR, 1,283 RBI, 1,239 R, 2,051 H, 53.2 WAR)

Center Field: Lloyd Waner

Career Stats

.316/.353/.393, 27 HR, 598 RBI, 1,201 R, 2,459 H, 24.3 WAR

Career Summary

The younger brother of fellow Hall of Famer Paul Waner, Lloyd teamed with his brother to make the Pirates offense go in the 1920s and 1930s—while Paul put up Hall-worthy numbers, his brother simply did not.

While he played 18 seasons, and was an above average player to say the least, he never had the dominant prime that most Hall of Famers did, instead hitting around .300 each season and doing little else to speak of.

He wasn't a base stealer, had little-to-no power, but could rap out singles with the best of them as 2,033 of his 2,459 career hits were one-baggers.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Dale Murphy: (.265/.346/.469, 398 HR, 1,266 RBI, 1,197 R, 2,111 H, 44.2 WAR)

Right Field: Ross Youngs

Career Stats

.322/.399/.441, 42 HR, 592 RBI, 812 R, 1,491 H, 36.2 WAR

Career Summary

An everyday big leaguer by the age of 21, Youngs hit at least .300 in all but one of his seasons in the majors. The trouble was, he only played 10 seasons.

Of those 10, he appeared in seven games in one year, and 95 another, so it was more like nine seasons. While he was among the top contact hitters of the 1920s, his career simply didn't span long enough.

He was inducted by the Veteran's Committee in 1972 after failing to receive higher than 22.4 percent of the vote while he was on the ballot, and his presence in the Hall of Fame is among the top arguments for the enshrinement of guys like Don Mattingly and Smoky Joe Wood.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Dwight Evans: (.272/.370/.470, 385 HR, 1,384 RBI, 1,470 R, 2,446 H, 61.8 WAR)

Starting Pitcher: Rube Marquard

Career Stats

201-177, 3.08 ERA, 103 ERA+, 1.237 WHIP, 1,593 Ks, 28.5 WAR

Career Summary

Never the ace of any staff he was on, there may be no more puzzling Hall of Fame selection than Marquard.

He won 20 games just three times in his 18-year career, his 103 ERA+ is the lowest of any Hall of Famer, and perhaps most surprising of all, he finished only 197 of his 407 career starts.

To put it bluntly, Marquard was the definition of an average pitcher during the 1910s, and he has absolutely no business even being in the discussion for the Hall of Fame, let alone enshrined.

Most Deserving Non-Hall of Famer At His Position

Luis Tiant: (229-172, 3.30 ERA, 115 ERA+, 1.199 WHIP, 2,416 Ks, 60.1 WAR)