On the road to Cooperstown...

(originally posted January 10, 2006) Tomorrow is the big day, the day when this year's inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY are announced. It's an interesting year, as much of the media is spewing forth garbage about how there are no really worthwhile candidates this year, which apparently opens up the case for players like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson. They're almost always grouped together as players who are "on the cusp" of induction. I really can't say why Dawson hasn't gotten in, as I think his numbers, Gold Gloves and MVP, in addition to his character, provide a heavy case.

Rice, though, is the thorny outsider. A black superstar in a city that is still trying to shake the stigma of racism and isolationism, on one of the last 2 clubs to put a black player on the roster, Rice wasn't exactly the mediaman's daydream. A quiet man, he was constantly viewed as aloof and arrogant, though nobody really minded when he came through for the club. Here's his career line:

1974-1989 Boston Red Sox (American)
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2089 8225 1249 2452 373 79 382 1451 4129 670 1423 58 34 .352 .502 .298
*source: mlb.com

Rice led the league in HR during 3 seasons ('77, '78, '83), RBI in 2 ('78, '83), aw heck, his 1978 season was great, which is probably why he was the MVP. The point is, Rice was one of the legitimate power hitters of his era, touching a career peak of 46 in '78. I mean, cmon. 46 HR? That sure is a bunch.

Another one of the big arguments against, albeit one of the least legitimate, is that Rice DHed for a significant time (530 games exactly). In reality, however, Rice spent about 3 times that many games patrolling the grass at the Fens (1543 games), so he spent his time in the field. Granted, his career RNG is slightly below average (94) but he had a great arm (125).

The point is this guy was a legitimate threat when he played the game, and without him the Red Sox would've been a less potent offense. I say, let him in.