VEB Historical Hall of Fame Ballot Voting: Part 2

This is the same intro as last time, because nothing has changed. This is the second round of voting for the VEB Hall of Fame. This round does not include either Negro League players nor any players who played primarily in the 1800s. I created a list of players, which ended up totaling 503 players, comprised of players with 40+ WAR on either Baseball-Reference (bWAR) or Fangraphs (fWAR), players who won an MVP or Cy Young (with at least 20 WAR), players who made the actual Hall of Fame, and and high-ranking career relievers by WAR or by saves. Then I used a random number generator to select 32 players to go on the first ballot.

In case you missed it, I wrote a primer here. In case you don’t want to read that, I said I would give the averages of the current Hall of Fame standards for context, though that is simply there to give you some sort of basis for how good something is. Here is the average Hall of Famer by position (PP = position players except catcher)

SP: 71 bWAR, 67 fWAR (3.8 bWAR per 200 IPs, 3.3 fWAR per 200 IP)

RP: 33.5 bWAR (1.6 WAR per 65 IP), 25.5 fWAR (1.3 WAR per 65 IP)

C: 53.7 WAR (3.9 WAR per 550 PAs)

PP: 68 WAR (4.4 WAR per 600 PAs)

Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs evaluate pitchers differently. There was not an appreciable difference in how they evaluated hitters, at least not on a macro scale. Individually, sure we will see some differences. But they had virtually identical career WAR and WAR per 600 PAs figures. Next, the average Hall of Fame peak by their seven best seasons and their JAWS, which factors in peak with career total.

SP: 40.7 bWAR Peak, 61.4 JAWS

RP: 23.4 bWAR Peak, 29.7 JAWS

C: 34.7 bWAR Peak, 44.2 JAWS

PP: 43.1 bWAR Peak, 55.8 JAWS

Yeah trying to figure out the fWAR peaks was... way too much work. And for position players and catchers, it would probably be the same. Just mentally downgrade a couple WAR for Fangraphs pitching and it’ll probably be right. So that’s... pretty much all the information and context you’ll need. Now the players

Babe Adams (SP)

Career: 50.2 bWAR, 50.2 fWAR, 47.1 JAWS (per his avg. 225 IP: 3.9 bWAR and fWAR)

Peak: 41.5 bWAR, 34.4 fWAR

Acc: None (Played from 1906-1924)

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 5 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Babe Adams did not follow what one would call the typical aging curve. From age 37 to age 39, he led all of baseball in WHIP for three consecutive years. He also led all of baseball in FIP from age 38 to age 40, and BB/9 from age 37 to age 40.

Profile: After brief MLB stints in 1906 and 1907, Adams finally gained traction with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909 at 27-years-old. He played for the Pirates for the rest of his career, until he was 44. He retired in 1926. He was on 15 Hall of Fame ballots, but never higher than 13.7%.

Roberto Alomar (2B)

Career: 67 bWAR, 63.6 fWAR, 55 JAWS, (per 600 PAs: 3.9 bWAR, 3.7 fWAR)

Peak: 42.9 bWAR, 40.2 fWAR

Acc: 12-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glover, 4-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons - 9 by bWAR, 7 by fWAR

One Notable Stat: Roberto Alomar was not only a base stealer, but a smart one. He stole 474 bases in his career, and his 80.6% career success rate ranks 56th all-time. Of the people in front of him, just 9 people have stolen more bases.

Profile: Roberto Alomar was just 10 when his father, Sandy Alomar Sr., retired from baseball as a light-hitting defensive whiz 2B. At 17-years-old, he signed with the Padres out of Puerto Rico. He debuted in 1988, but was traded after just a few seasons to the Blue Jays. After winning two World Series with them, he became a free agent after 1995 and signed with the Orioles, and then later the Indians, who I primarily associate him with because of a certain N64 video game. He played just three more years with three teams once the Indians traded him. He was elected with 90% of the vote after two tries.

George Burns (OF)

Career: 39.7 bwAR, 45.8 fWAR, 36.2 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 2.9 bWAR, 3.3 fWAR)

Peak: 32.8 bWAR, 35.9 fWAR

Acc: None (He played from 1911-1925, prior to most awards)

4-WAR seasons: 5 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: Well here’s a hell of a stat. George Burns is one of four players to lead the league in runs and walks five times each. The other three? Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth.

Profile: Not to be confused with either the comedian nor the other George Burns who played 1B at the same time as him. Originally a catcher, John McGraw converted him to outfielder because of his speed. He debuted at 21, but didn’t make an impression until 23 and became an established leadoff hitter for the Giants. He was traded to the Reds late in his career and retired at 35. He was on five HOF ballots, but oddly enough his first ballot with 3 votes was his most.

Mike Cameron (OF)

Career: 46.7 bWAR, 50.6 fWAR, 39.7 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.6 bWAR, 3.9 fWAR)

Peak: 32.6 bWAR, 34.5 fWAR

Acc: 1-time All-Star, 3-time Gold Glover

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 8 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Perhaps a reason he was underrated, but at the time he retired, he was 9th all-time in strikeouts (he’s dropped down to 13th and will just keep dropping with how the current era strikes out)

Profile: Drafted in the 18th round of the 1991 MLB Draft, Mike Cameron first emerged on the scene in 1997 at 24-years-old finishing 6th in Rookie of the Year voting (despite clearly being the 2nd best rookie that year). Just a year after that, he was traded to the Reds for Paul Konerko, and a year after that, for Ken Griffey Jr. He stayed a Mariner the longest, but hopped to five other teams before his career ended. He did not receive a vote in his lone HOF ballot.

Ken Caminiti (3B)

Career: 33.4 bWAR, 36 fWAR, 31.6 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 2.8 bWAR, 3 fWAR)

Peak: 29.8 bWAR, 29.6 fWAR

Acc: MVP, 3-time All-Star, 3-time Gold Glover, Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 2 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: Ken Caminiti in the 1st half of his career, when he was in what is typically thought to be the prime years, had a 94 OPS+. From age 31 to the end of his career, he had a 134 OPS+

Profile: Drafted in the 3rd round of the 1984 MLB Draft, he debuted at 24-years-old without seeing AAA. With an up-and-down bat through for most of his Astros career, he had a career best season before departing for free agency. He signed with the Padres, and his bat exploded. He received 2 votes on his only ballot.

Carlton Fisk (C)

Career: 68.4 bWAR, 68.3 fWAR, 53 JAWS (per 550 PAs: 3.8 bWAR and fWAR)

Peak: 37.5 bWAR, 33.7 fWAR

Acc: Rookie of the Year, 11-time All-Star, Gold Glove, 3-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 6 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: Here’s something that may never be done again. At age 42 - 42! Carlton Fisk played in 134 games, including 116 games catching, and had a 5 WAR season. At catcher.

Profile: Drafted by the Red Sox, Fisk was drafted 4th overall and aside from 5 PAs in 1969, made his formal MLB debut at 23 in 1971. He immediately made an impression and stayed with the Red Sox until 32 in 1980. He signed with the White Sox and ended up playing so long, he was a White Sox longer than a Red Sox. It took two tries, but he got in with 79.6% of the vote.

Will Clark (1B)

Career: 56.5 bWAR, 52 fWAR, 46.3 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 4.1 bWAR, 3.8 fWAR)

Peak: 36.1 bWAR, 33.7 fWAR

Acc: 6-time All-Star, 2-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 4 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: Clark had three unbelievable postseasons in his career. In 1987, in a losing effort against the Cards, Clark had a 163 wRC+ in the NLCS. Two years later, he won NLCS MVP and had a 284 wRC+ in the playoffs. Then a 165 wRC+ in the 2000 playoffs for Cards. He had a 157 wRC+ overall in postseason.

Profile: Drafted 2nd overall by the Giants, he debuted a year later at 22. He was pretty much immediately a great hitter. Once he reached free agency, he signed with the Rangers. He finished career with Orioles and then Cards. He got 23 votes cast in 2006, but it wasn’t 5% so he was only on one Hall of Fame ballot.

Mort Cooper (SP)

Career: 31.9 bWAR, 33.5 fWAR, 32.2 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.5 bWAR, 3.6 fWAR)

Peak: 31.7 bWAR, 30.7 fWAR

Acc: MVP, 4-time All-Star, ERA Title

4-WAR seasons: 4 by bWAR, 3 by fWAR

Notable Stat: In his MVP season, Mort Cooper threw 278.2 IP with a 1.78 ERA and he led the baseball with a 0.987 WHIP.

Profile: Mort’s career has all the makings of why the baseball business sucked for players during reserve clause. He was signed in 1933, but never got a chance at the big leagues until 1938 at 25 because the Cardinals controlled all of minor league baseball. He was immediately great. Later, he held a contract holdout with his brother for more money. He was traded three starts into the season. After that, he had elbow problems that shortened his career. He was actually on 4 Hall of Fame ballots, but never more than 3 votes.

John Denny (SP)

Career: 31.1 bWAR, 27.9 fWAR, 30.9 JAWS (per 200 IP: 2.9 bWAR, 2.6 fWAR)

Peak: 29.6 bWAR, 21.1 fWAR

Acc: Cy Young, ERA title

4-WAR seasons: 3 by bWAR, 1 by fWAR

Notable Stat: It took 8 years in the big leagues, but John Denny magically had control overnight. Never a control artist, he regressed from 1979 to 1982 into a 10%+ BB pitcher. Suddenly, in his Cy Young season, he walked just 5.4% of batters. He walked even less the next season.

Profile: Drafted in the 29th round by the Cardinals, Denny was very inconsistent which led to him getting traded after a down year to the Indians. He continued his inconsistency with them until getting traded to Phillies. And right when he figured out the pitching thing, he had arm problems that ended his career at 33. He did not receive a vote on the HOF ballot.

Art Fletcher (SS)

Career: 47.1 bWAR, 45 fWAR, 42 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 4.7 bWAR, 4.5 fWAR)

Peak: 36.8 bWAR, 34.6 fWAR

Acc: None (Career was from 1909 to 1922)

4-WAR seasons: 6 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: The defensive component of fWAR says that Art Fletcher was the 19th best defender of all-time. Except it’s a counting stat and of the players above him, none had less plate appearances. In fact, all but 3 players had over 1,000 more PAs than him and the majority of the list has over 4,000 more plate appearances.

Profile: Purchased from the minors, Art Fletcher began his career with the New York Giants in 1909. He played there until 1920, when he was traded to the Phillies, and he only lasted one more season after that. Later, he was one of the coaches for the Yankees from 1927-1945. He was on 8 Hall of Fame ballots, but never got more than three votes.

Julio Franco (2B/SS)

Career: 43.6 bWAR, 42 fWAR, 37.2 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 2.7 bWAR, 2.6 fWAR)

Peak: 30.8 bWAR, 29.5 fWAR

Acc: 3-time All-Star, 5-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 3 seasons by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: He’s the oldest player ever to hit a grand slam, hit a pinch-hit homer, hit two home runs in a game, and the 2nd oldest to steal a base. He started at 3B in his last season for the first time since his rookie year, which was 24 years apart. Only known player to hit a home run with his grandson in attendance. There’s a million of these.

Profile: Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Phillies in 1978, they traded him after just 32 MLB PAs to the Indians. After six years with the Indians and five years with the Rangers, he reached free agency for the first time at 35. From 1994 to 2001, he switched between the MLB and a foreign league constantly. The Braves bought him from a Mexican League team in September 2001 and he stayed in the majors through 2007, when he was 48. He received six votes on his only HOF ballot.

Bobby Grich (2B)

Career: 71 bWAR, 69.1 fWAR, 58.7 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 5.2 bWAR, 5 fWAR)

Peak: 46.4 bWAR, 43.4 fWAR

Acc: 6-time All-Star, 4-time Gold Glover, Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 9 by bWAR, 10 by fWAR

Notable Stat: In 1981, nobody hit homers. Grich tied for the American League lead in HRs with 22 with three other players. He was tied for 3rd with six other guys in all of MLB that year.

Profile: Drafted 19th overall in the 1967 MLB Draft out of high school, Grich made his MLB debut three years later at 21-years-old. At 23-years-old, he finally broke through as a full-time player and had 5 straight 5 WAR seasons before becoming a free agent. He signed with the California Angels and played there till the end of his career. He somehow got just 11 votes in his only appearance on the ballot.

Harry Hooper (OF)

Career: 53.3 bWAR, 52.3 fWAR, 41.8 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.1 bWAR and fWAR)

Peak; 30.1 bWAR, 29.6 fWAR

Acc: None (Played from 1909-1925, before ASG)

4-WAR seasons: 4 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: Hooper is legendary for throwing out baserunners from the outfield. He has the most assists in baseball history with 333, which is 78 more assists than 2nd place Roberto Clemente. He finished in the top 10 in assists 16 times, including first or second place 12 times.

Profile: Hooper, for his time, was the equivalent of a high school graduate who uses his leverage to go to college to get more money. Except he was already a college graduate and the leverage was his engineering future. He negotiated a minor league contract so he could also work a surveying job and later was able to get a good contract for the time in 1909 at 21-years-old with the Red Sox. He was a Red Sox until he was 33-years-old, and he finished his career with the White Sox. He received very few votes on his six times on the ballot, but in 1971, the Veteran’s Committee voted him in.

Doug Jones (RP)

Career: 21.4 bWAR, 23.1 fWAR, 20.2 JAWS (per his 79 IP average: 1.5 bWAR, 1.6 fWAR)

Peak: 19 bWAR, 17.3 fWAR

Acc: 5-time All-Star

2-WAR seasons: 7 by bWAR, 5 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Though he’s only 29th in saves for his career with 303 saves, Jones is 12th all-time in games finished with 640, which includes 8 times in the top ten.

Profile: Drafted in the 3rd round of the 1978 MLB Draft, it took a very long time for Jones to get to the majors. As with most relievers, he began as a starter, and after four bad games in his only chance with the Brewers, he signed with the Indians in 1984, started in AA, and finally was able to prove himself in 12 IP at 29-years-old. From there, he was about as reliable as relievers get for seven different organizations until he retired at 43-years-old. He received two votes on his only Hall of Fame ballot.

Al Kaline (OF)

Career: 92.8 bWAR, 88.9 fWAR, 70.8 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 4.8 bWAR, 4.6 fWAR)

Peak: 48.8 bWAR, 46.6 fWAR

Acc: 18-time All-Star (two ASG from ‘59-61), 10-time Gold Glover

4-WAR seasons: 11 by bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: Kaline never won an MVP, but received at least one MVP vote in 14 seasons. He was in the top 10 eight times, and top 3 three times.

Profile: When Al Kaline was in high school, a “bonus baby” was a prospect who needed to be put on the MLB roster immediately if they signed over a certain amount. Kaline was that kind of prospect. He barely played in his first year, and in his second, he struggled with the bat. In his third, he figured out the MLB, and didn’t stop until he was nearly retired. A lifelong Detroit Tiger, he was voted in first ballot with 88% of the vote.

Sherry Magee (OF)

Career: 59.4 bWAR, 63.4 fWAR, 49 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 4.2 bWAR, 4.5 fWAR)

Peak: 38.7 bWAR, 41 fWAR

Acc: Batting title (played from 1904 to 1919)

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 7 by fWAR

Notable Stat: He had a very remarkable 1910 season, leading the NL in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, RBIs, total bases, OPS+ and wRC+, though there were three better hitters in the AL. There was no MVP that year, but he may have won it.

Profile: Signed at 21-years-old by the Phillies, Magee became one of the best players in the league but became known for his hot temper, which included knocking out an umpire (he was suspended for the rest of the season). After the 1914 season, he was traded to the Boston Braves. His career ended with the Reds, at 34-years-old, when nobody would sign him. Ironically, he later became an umpire before dying at 44. He was on seven ballots, but received virtually no support.

Rabbit Maranville (SS)

Career: 44 bWAR, 42.5 fWAR, 37.2 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 2.3 bWAR, 2.1 fWAR)

Peak: 30.5 bWAR, 29 fWAR

Acc: None (Career from 1912-1935)

4-WAR seasons: 5 by bWAR, 4 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Rabbit Maranville was definitely an elite fielder, but people of his era may have either overestimated how much that was worth or overestimated his bat. In five of his eight seasons where he received an MVP vote, he was a below 2 WAR player by both bWAR and fWAR.

Profile: For his first nine seasons and last six, Maranville was a Boston Brave. He was very well-known for his practical jokes, and mimicked players who took a long time for example. In between his Braves appearances, he also played for the Pirates, Cubs, Robins, and Cardinals. He got elected in his 14th year of eligibility months after he died in 1954.

Joe McGinnity (SP)

Career: 59 bWAR, 40.4 fWAR, 56.5 JAWS (per his 344 IP avg. 6.2 bWAR, 4 fWAR)

Peak: 54.1 bWAR, 32.5 fWAR

Acc: ERA title (played from 1899 to 1908)

4- WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 7 by fWAR

Notable Stat: He has the MLB record for complete games in a season (48) and innings pitched (434) in the National League. Those records might be safer than any record in MLB history.

Profile: Was a coal miner starting at age 8, McGinnity started playing minor league baseball in 1893 at 22 thanks in part to his popularity that led him to be dubbed “The father of Oklahoma baseball.” After struggling, he was released and became a coal miner and operated a saloon. During this time, he developed a slow curve, which got him hired by a minor league team in 1898 and signed by the Orioles in 1899. The saga of the Orioles/Giants is extremely confusing, but he effectively played with John McGraw for his whole career and they became known for fighting erupting during games. There’s just too much about him I want to write about. He did not make the BBWAA vote, but the Old Timers Committee voted him in in 1946.

Mark McGwire (1B)

Career: 62.2 bWAR, 66.3 fWAR, 52 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 4.9 bWAR, 5.2 fWAR)

Peak: 41.9 bWAR, 44.3 fWAR

Acc: Rookie of the Year, 12-time All-Star, Gold Glove, 3-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 8 by bWAR, 10 by fWAR

Notable Stat: McGwire led the league in at-bats per home run 7 times in his career. He has the career lead in at-bats per homer, hitting a home run for every 10.6 at-bats in his entire career.

Profile: Drafted out of USC 10th overall in the 1984 MLB Draft, it took two years for McGwire to make his MLB debut. He hit 49 HRs in his ROY winning season in 1987 to begin a six-year streak of All-Star games. His streak was interrupted when he played 74 combined games in two years due to injuries and the strike. A midseason trade to the Cardinals saw his already ridiculous HRs get more ridiculous. He retired after 2001 at age 37. Was on 10 HOF ballots without getting voted in.

Andy Messersmith (SP)

Career: 37.6 bWAR, 34.2 fWAR, 37.2 JAWS (per 200 IP: 3.4 bWAR, 3.1 fWAR)

Peak: 34.2 bWAR, 30 fWAR

Acc: 4-time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glover, ended reserve clause

4-WAR seasons: 3 by bWAR, 4 by fWAR

Notable Stat: This man invented the contract year boost in performance. After being unable to agree to a deal, he played without a contract for the 1975 season, pitching 321.2 IP with a 2.29 ERA.

Profile: Drafted 12th overall in the 2nd ever MLB Draft out of UC Berkeley, Messersmith took just two years to make his MLB debut with the California Angels. At the end of the 1972 season, he was traded to the Dodgers. He didn’t agree to a contract in 1975, thus putting the reserve clause in effect. It was put before an arbitrator, who said you become a free agent if play for one year without a contract. That arbitrator was fired by the owners the next day. He then signed a three-year deal with the Braves, but didn’t pitch well at the point forward. He was on two ballots, receiving three total votes both times.

Kevin Mitchell (OF)

Career: 29.1 bWAR, 29.6 fWAR, 27.8 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.7 bWAR and fWAR)

Peak: 26.5 bWAR, 27.3 fWAR

Acc.: MVP, 2-time All-Star, Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 2 by bWAR, 3 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Mitchell probably didn’t deserve the MVP award in 1989, but he was actually the best hitter in baseball. He led in HRs, RBIs, slugging percentage, wRC+ (185), and intentional walks.

Profile: He apparently did not play high school baseball and the Mets gave him a contract as an undrafted free agent following an open tryout in 1980 at 18. He played a part in the Mets 1986 championship then got traded to the Padres. The Padres traded him halfway through his first season to the Giants, and with the Giants, he became an elite hitter. He played in five more organizations and one season in the NPB. He received two votes on his only HOF ballot.

Paul Molitor (2B/3B)

Career: 75.7 bWAR, 67.6 fWAR, 57.7 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.7 bWAR, 3.3 fWAR)

Peak: 39.7 bWAR, 37.1 fWAR

Acc: 7-time All-Star, 4-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 9 by both bWAR and fWAR

Notable Stat: While it did help him get 3,000 hits, playing as long as he did negatively affected his per 600 PAs quite a bit. In his last 4 seasons, when he received nearly 2,500 plate appearances, he was a 0.8 fWAR per 600 PAs player. bWAR was more favorable in his last four years, but he was still below 2 WAR in three years.

Profile: Drafted 3rd overall in the 1977 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, Molitor was a full-time player just a year later, getting 556 PAs in 1978. He then had a very long run as a Brewer, ending at 35-years-old, when he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. After three seasons, he ended his career as a Twin. He was elected first ballot with 85% of the vote.

Mel Ott (OF)

Career: 110.9 bWAR, 110.5 fWAR, 82.3 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 5.9 bWAR and fWAR)

Peak: 53.7 bWAR, 54.6 fWAR

Acc: 12-time All-Star (no ASG in first 5 full seasons seasons)

4-WAR seasons: 16 by bWAR, 17 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Where to start? He led the New York Giants in HRs for 18 consecutive seasons. No player has ever led a Triple Crown category on one organization for that many seasons. He was the first to have eight consecutive 100 RBI seasons, a feat only four others have done. He walked 100 times in a season 10 times.

Profile: Mel Ott tried out for John McGraw at 16-years-old and impressed him enough to sign him to a contract. He debuted at 17 (with a 123 wRC+!) and was a regular at 19-years-old. And then 18 straight years of being an absolutely phenomenal hitter. On the second day of the 1946 season, at 37-years-old, he injured his knee and it basically ended his career. It took him three years to make the Hall of Fame with 87.2% of the vote.

Vada Pinson (OF)

Career: 54.1 bWAR, 47.3 fWAR, 47 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.1 bWAR, 2.7 fWAR)

Peak: 40 bWAR, 36.1 fWAR

Acc: 4-time All-Star (he only made it two years since both were two ASG years), Gold Glove

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 5 by fWAR

Notable Stat: He played most of his career at centerfielder, typically playing the most games at CF early in his career. His 1,680 starts at CF ranks 22nd all-time, and at the time of his retirement, ranked 10th.

Profile: At 18-years-old, he signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1956 and by 20-years-old, he led the league in plate appearances. He was a Redleg for 11 years, but before his age 30 season he got traded to the Cards. He got traded three more times before retiring at 36-years-old. He was on 15 Hall of Fame ballots, but never higher than 15.7%.

Jack Powell (SP)

Career; 54.6 bWAR, 47.5 fWAR, 45.8 JAWS (per his 274 IP avg: 3.4 bWAR, 3 fWAR)

Peak: 36.2 bWAR, 25.3 fWAR

Acc: None (played from 1897-1912)

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 1 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Are you a glass half full or half empty type? Because Powell’s notable stat is both good and bad. He has the most wins ever for a guy with a losing record, with 245 wins to 254 losses.

Profile: I have no idea how late 1800s transactions worked. Powell was bought from a minor league team by the Spiders - understand that. After two years, he was “assigned” to the St. Louis Perfectos. No clue how that worked. And then “jumped” from the now Cardinals to the St. Louis Browns after three seasons. He got traded, then bought by the Browns again to end his career.

Jeff Reardon (RP)

Career: 19 bWAR, 10 fWAR, 16.2 JAWS (per his 78 IP avg: 1.3 bWAR, 0.7 fWAR)

Peak: 13.8 bWAR, 7.7 fWAR

Acc: Rolaids Relief Winner, 4-time All-Star

Notable Stat: He had at least 20 saves for 11 straight seasons from 1982 to 1992, for a total of 341 saves. When he recorded his 342nd save, he became the MLB leader in saves, which was broken the next year and he’s now 11th all-time.

Profile: Drafted in the 23rd round of 1973 MLB Draft, Reardon did not sign. After college, he went undrafted and signed with the Mets in 1977. He rose through the system quickly, aided by a move to the bullpen in 1979, the same year he debuted. In 1981, the Mets traded him to the team that drafted him, the Expos. He got traded to the Twins right in time for their 1987 title run. He played for four more teams, with his career ending as a Yankee in the middle of 1994. He garnered 24 votes on his only time on the ballot.

Jerry Reuss (SP)

Career: 32.9 bWAR, 51.7 fWAR, 32.2 JAWS (per 200 IP: 1.8 bWAR, 2.8 fWAR)

Peak: 29.3 bWAR, 30.3 fWAR

Acc: 2-time All-Star

Notable Stat: It heavily depends on which site you use - as you can see by the disparity - but fWAR thinks he was a remarkably consistent pitcher. With the exception of 1978, when he only threw 82.2 IP, he was at least 2+ fWAR from 1972 to 1985.

Profile: Drafted by the Cardinals in the 2nd round out of high school in the 1967 MLB Draft, Reuss debuted within 2 years and was a full-time member of the rotation by 22. The Cards then traded him to the Astros, which only lasted a couple seasons until he was traded to the Pirates. He stuck on the Pirates for five seasons, and then got traded to the Dodgers. He stayed there for most of the rest of his career, but jumped around teams at the very end. He got a single vote on his only Hall of Fame ballot appearance.

Sam Rice (OF)

Career: 54.4 bWAR, 50.3 fWAR, 42.7 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 3.2 bWAR, 2.9 fWAR)

Peak: 31.1 bWAR, 29.9 fWAR

Acc: None (All-Star game started in 2nd to last season, when he was 43)

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 5 by fWAR

Notable Stat: Part of it is in the time he played, but Sam Rice hit a lot of singles and a lot of triples. He ranked in the top 8 in triples eight times and is 14th all-time in triples, while he ranked first in singles four times, and is 16th all-time in singles.

Profile: Sam Rice was purchased from the minors in 1915 by the Washington Senators, but didn’t play as a regular until 1917. He was immediately interrupted by the Great War, missing most of the 1918 season. In 1924, he made a controversial catch in a World Series the Senators ended up winning where he flipped over the outfield wall. He liked the mystery so he never said whether he caught it until a letter sent to the Hall of Fame upon his death said that he had possession the whole time. He was on 14 ballots, getting as high as 53.2% of the vote, but the Veterans Committee voted him in the year after his last eligible year.

Al Rosen (3B)

Career: 32.3 bWAR, 35.2 fWAR, 32.6 JAWS (per 600 PAs: 4.3 bWAR, 4.8 fWAR)

Peak: 32.9 bWAR, 35.7 fWAR

Acc: MVP, 4-time All-Star

4-WAR seasons: 4 by bWAR, 5 by fWAR

One notable stat: Al Rosen did not have a long run, but he truly earned that MVP. In 1953, he had 10.1 bWAR and 9.1 fWAR. He led the league in runs (115), HRs (43), RBIs (145), slugging (.613), OPS (1.034), OPS+ (180), and wRC+ (178).

Profile: Al Rosen had a short run for two main reasons. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1942, and his MLB debut got delayed by serving four years in the Navy for World War II. When he returned, he never got more than a cup of coffee for three years. At 25 in 1950, he became a full-time 3B. His career ended at 32 with lingering injuries.

Mike Schmidt (3B)

Career: 106.9 bWAR, 106.5 fWAR, 82.8 JAWS (Per 600 PAs: 6.4 bWAR and fWAR)

Peak: 58.8 bWAR, 59.1 fWAR

Acc: 3-time MVP, 12-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glover, 6-time Silver Slugger

4-WAR seasons: 14 by bWAR and fWAR

One notable stat: He is the only infielder to ever win 10 Gold Gloves and hit 500 home runs. Just two other players (Ken Griffey Jr. and Willie Mays) have also done that.

Profile: Drafted in the 2nd round from Ohio by the Phillies, he made his MLB debut the year after he was drafted. His defense propped him up in his first full season, but after that his bat joined his defense for the next 14 seasons of elite performance. He holds the Phillies team record in just about every stat you can think of. He was elected first ballot with 96.5% of the vote.

Jesse Tannehill (SP)

Career: 46.9 bWAR, 40.4 fWAR, 44 JAWS (per his avg. 225 IP: 3.8 bWAR, 3.3 fWAR)

Peak: 41.2 bWAR, 31.2 fWAR

Acc: ERA title (played from 1897-1911)

4-WAR seasons: 6 by bWAR, 5 by fWAR

One notable stat: Tannehill gets a boost from his hitting. For his career, in 1,549 plate appearances, he hit for a 91 wRC+.

Profile: Tannehill was very bad at 19-years-old in his first season for the Reds in 1894. It took him three years to return to the majors, when he was, uh, drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the Pirates?? That existed then?! He was a Pirate for six years then “jumped” to the New York Highlanders, who traded him to the Red Sox after a season. His career effectively ended at 33, though he made appearances for two more seasons. He was on two HOF ballots, getting a single vote.

Dazzy Vance (SP)

Career: 62.9 bWAR, 61.6 fWAR, 54.9 JAWS (per his 234 IP avg. 5 bWAR, 4.9 fWAR)

Peak: 49.6 bWAR, 44.3 fWAR

Acc: MVP, 3-time ERA title winner (First ASG ever was in his second to last year)

4-WAR seasons: 7 by bWAR, 8 by fWAR

One notable stat: He is one of the few whose career K/BB numbers could exist in today’s game. In his best year, he had a 21.5 K%. Second place was 13.8%. The highest K% by any batter was 12% that year. He was 4th all-time in Ks when he retired, and only Rube Waddell struck out batters at a higher rate. He’s still 78th on the K leaderboard.

Profile: A modern player would have zero shot at the Hall of Fame if they followed Dazzy Vance’s path. Aside from two brief stints in the MLB while dealing with arm trouble, he said he suddenly could throw hard again in 1921. He made his proper MLB debut in 1922 at the age of 31. He then started a streak of seven seasons of leading the league in Ks. He played most of his career at Brooklyn. He was on 17 Hall of Fame ballots, but made it in with 81.7% of the vote.

Once again, I will not be releasing the results until we have done four ballots. Your deadline is Sunday at 9 pm.