With Rafael Palmeiro's recent addition to the 3,000-hit club, he has all but assured himself a spot in Cooperstown. Not too long ago, Palmeiro was the quintessential Hall of Fame question mark. Many baseball experts were fervent believers that he didn't belong because he was never the dominant player at his position, and he was only an All-Star four times. At the same time, many experts considered him a lock because of his 500-plus home runs. Now, by collecting his 3,000th hit and his probable addition to the 600-home run club, Palmeiro is a practical lock for the Hall. In addition, Palmeiro has three Gold Gloves to his credit, the most recent in 1999, when he somehow managed to win a Gold Glove at first base, while at the same time winning the Silver Slugger award for designated hitter. For those of you who don't understand how strange this is, it's the equivalent of being named the World's Ugliest Person while winning America's Next Top Model the same year. \nAlas, I'm not here to argue Palmeiro's case, because he has become a Hall of Fame lock. However, there are three names of current Hall of Famers that I think should be evicted from Cooperstown, and three players who aren't in who should take their places. So here goes with my Hall of Fame subtractions and additions:
Player #1 to be kicked out: Chick Hafey\nHafey played from 1924- 1937 for St. Louis. He had 164 home runs, 1466 hits, and a .317 batting average. Those are good numbers for his era, but certainly not Hall of Fame numbers. His numbers are similar to Braves outfielder Brian Jordan's. Hafey's bio also states that he battled poor eyesight throughout his career, as well as several other ailments, such as whooping cough and if I'm not mistaken, leprosy. In fact, Hafey had three different pairs of glasses because his vision would change dramatically from day-to-day. Perhaps a group of itinerant optometrists were on the voting committee in 1971 when Hafey was elected, since there is no other way to explain this befuddling selection.
Player to Replace Hafey: Ron Santo \nSanto was a longtime Cub, playing from 1960-1974. Santo hit 342 home runs and had 2,254 hits. Santo, a great fielding third baseman in addition to being a dominant hitter, is perhaps the most celebrated of the close-but-not-close-enough players not to be enshrined in Cooperstown. So write a letter to your local congressman or something to help get Santo into the Hall.
Player #2 to be kicked out: Rube Marquard \nThe name says it all, right? Rube Marquard was a pitcher who played from 1908-1925 and had a cumulative record of 201 wins and a 177 losses and an ERA of 3.07. Marquard pitched during the dead ball era, so a 3.07 ERA for this period is very underwhelming. Pitchers with similar stats to Marquard's include Larry French, Wilbur Cooper and Dolf Luque. Who are these players you ask? I have no idea, except that they aren't Hall of Famers, just as Marquard shouldn't be.
Player to replace Marquard: Andre Dawson\nSimply put, "The Hawk" needs to be in the Hall. Dawson's numbers: 438 home runs, 2,774 hits, .279 batting average and 314 stolen bases. Dawson's numbers are comparable to such Hall of Famers as Billy Williams, Tony Perez, Ernie Banks, Al Kaline and Dave Winfield. Dawson was Rookie of the Year in 1977, and was the MVP of the National League 10 years later. Dawson also played a stellar right field for the Expos, Cubs, Red Sox and Marlins.
Player #3 to be kicked out: Rabbit Maranville\nMaranville was a shortstop from 1912-1935, and collected an impressive 2,605 hits over 23 years. However, his batting average was an anemic .258, and he committed an unprecedented 711 errors in his career. 711! In 1914 alone he committed 65 errors. Granted, fielders in this era played with gloves that were smaller than the actual baseball, but 711 errors is an avalanche of mistakes that warrants banishment from the Hall in and of itself.
Player to replace Maranville: Alan Trammell\nI know what you're thinking: Alan Trammell doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame. Superficially, I might agree with you. However, a further investigation of the numbers shows that Trammell probably deserves a spot based on precedence. Trammell has better numbers than Hall of Famers Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto and Ozzie Smith, and comparable numbers to Ryne Sandberg and probable Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. The current Tiger manager put up solid enough numbers to warrant his replacement of the klutzy Maranville, especially since Trammell committed only 227 errors as a shortstop in a 20-year career.
The Hall of Fame debate is one for the ages, as more borderline players like Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Frank Thomas are due to retire within the next five years. If I've sparked your interest in Hall of Fame comparisons, www.baseball-reference.com is an excellent comprehensive Web site of baseball stats and general baseball knowledge.
