2009 Hall of Fame Class Analysis

January 11, 2009

We may be a prospect ranking site, but half the fun of evaluating prospects is being able to say "I was big on that guy when he was a minor leaguer." And part of keeping the prospect scene in perspective is being in tune with who the game's all-time greats were.

With the 2009 Hall of Fame votes tallied, I thought it would be fun to look at some numbers and see if we can determine who we think should have been elected. Below are charts of this year's eligibles and some metrics that I believe can be used as a starting point for debating their MLB accomplishments (data source: fangraphs.com). Come be a part of our 2009 Hall of Fame discussion in our major league baseball forum.

2009's Hall of Fame eligible hitters
Hitter   wOBA*   Similar wOBAs from '08   PA**   Elected?
Mark McGwire   .415   Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Berkman   7,660   No
Rickey Henderson #   .386   Grady Sizemore, Josh Hamilton, Jason Bay   13,346    Yes
Mo Vaughn #   .386   Adam Dunn, Jason Bay, Aubrey Huff   6,410    No
Jim Rice   .375   Carlos Pena, Miguel Cabrera, Jermaine Dye   9,058    Yes
Tim Raines   .374   Johnny Damon, Curtis Granderson, Alfonso Soriano   10,359    No
Mark Grace #   .363   Derrek Lee, Conor Jackson, Carlos Delgado   9,290    No
Don Mattingly   .361   Adam LaRoche, Derrek Lee, Conor Jackson   7,721    No
Dale Murphy   .357   Raul Ibanez, Adam LaRoche, Derrek Lee   9,040    No
Harold Baines   .356   Torii Hunter, Raul Ibanez, Derrekk Lee   11,092    No
Andre Dawson   .352   Melvin Mora, Edwin Encarnacion, Randy Winn   10,769    No
Dave Parker   .352   Alex Rios, Melvin Mora, Randy Winn   10,184    No
Ron Gant #   .352   Alex Rios, Randy Winn, Mike Cameron   7,320    No
Greg Vaughn #   .350   Fred Lewis, Matt Kemp, Edwin Encarnacion   7,070    No
Matt Williams #   .344   Paul Konerko, Alex Gordon, Jason Kubel   7,595    No
Alan Trammell   .343   Skip Schumaker, Luke Scott, Derek Jeter   9,375    No
Jay Bell #   .336   Hunter Pence, Adrian Beltre, Garrett Atkins   8,525    No
* Career wOBA                
** Career plate appearances            
# First time eligible                

 

2009's Hall of Fame eligible pitchers
Pitcher   FIP*   Similar FIPs from '08   TBF**   Elected?
Lee Smith   2.93   Francisco Rodriguez, Craig Breslow, Joe Nathan   5,387   No
Bert Blyleven   3.19   Derek Lowe, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay   20,491    No
Tommy John   3.38   Ryan Dempster, Ben Sheets, Chad Billingsley   19,692    No
Dan Plesac #   3.46   Huston Street, Tony Pena, Bobby Jenks   5,439    No
David Cone #   3.57   Edinson Volquez, Jair Jurrjens, Zack Greinke   12,184    No
Jesse Orosco #   3.61   Carlos Marmol, Juan Cruz, Hideki Okajima   5,460    No
Jack Morris   3.94   Mike Pelfrey, Mark Buehrle, Matt Cain   16,120    No
* Career FIP                
** Career TBF                
# First time eligible                

 

Adam Foster can be reached at adamf@projectprospect.com.