[Lefty Noob]

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, StigRoarHusby. Thanks for joining us!

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Pudge's batting stats compare to the following Hall of Famers: Gabby Hartnett, Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Ernie Lombardi, Gary Carter, Bobby Doerr. He's a career .300 hitter with 264 HR, more than 1,000 RBI, over 2,000 hits and nearly 450 doubles. What about everyone else - do you guys think those are Hall of Fame stats?

[StigRoarHusby]

Thanks for the welcome, Lefty!

Just a couple things more in Pudge's favor: 104 stolen bases through 2005 and only 53 caught stealing (as a baserunner, of course). While not in John Stearns territory, that's pretty darn good for a catcher.

Defensively as a catcher, his career range factor is 6.55 vs a league average of 5.91.

Definitely premier at his position for a long time now, with some good years left, I would imagine.

He's first ballot in my book. I was surprised to see him escape everyone's attention in the earlier posts.

[ThePundit]

Welcome to GoTeamsGo StigRoarHusby. I agree that Pudge is a Hall of Famer. He was an outstanding hitter (no proof of steroid use) and he was maybe the best defensive catcher to ever play.

Personally I think that Gary Carter should not be in. A very, very good player but not a great player.

[legend]

Rodriguez is a Hall of Famer, and boy did I ever forget about him!

[MJHMarc]

Lefty Noob, you said that Piazza could go either way. Isn't he the best hitting catcher of all-time? If he is, then that is an automatic ticket to the Hall (and I don't mean admission).

[Lefty Noob]

I'm not sold. Yes, he has more home runs and a higher OPS than any other catcher in MLB history. But he did it in a juiced era (players and ball, alike) and while I don't believe his name has ever been brought up in steroid discussions, its always in the back of your mind. Even if all of his numbers are indeed legit, though, he's still so far behind other Hall of Fame catchers defensively that it has to factor into the discussion. Piazza is a one-dimensional player, and while its not impossible for a one-dimensional player to get into the HOF, it is difficult. See Bill Mazeroski.

[legend]

Piazza has comparable numbers to Bill Dickey, with many more strikeouts than Dickey, but almost 200 more home runs in about the same number of at bats. He has 10 Silver Slugger awards for his position and was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1993. I know of his defensive shortcomings, but he is a certain Hall of Famer.

[baseballa537]

Houston Street when the time comes

[JackAigner]

Craig Biggio is a lock. Should be first ballot.

[MJHMarc]

We had a discussion about Biggio's future earlier this week.

He doesn't have the statistics but he is a hometown hero so that should get him in!

What would Houston be without him?

[JackAigner]

MJHMark, glad you see things that way. Just out of curiosity, which of Biggio's statistics needs improvement, not for improvement's sake, but for the Hall?

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by JackAigner

MJHMark, glad you see things that way. Just out of curiosity, which of Biggio's statistics needs improvement, not for improvement's sake, but for the Hall?

Jack my buddy Marc is out of his mind...Biggio has the stats...look at the runs scored, the hits, the steals...the fact that some of the steals came as a catcher....and a lot of the dingers as a second baseman...His average might be a tad bit low, but not by much.

The guy is as good as gold.

[MJHMarc]

I might be out of my mind here as Gotham Dark Knight pointed out, but I just think that someone with a .280 average with 270 HRs and 1100 RBIs should get into the Hall of Fame. Those statistics are decent but nothing special. Those numbers average out 16 homers and 66 RBIs a season with 106 Rs scored which is nothing to ride home about. A fast runner but not a great batter.

[JackAigner]

Okay, for the sake of comparison, we'll look at those stats of the following players:

Ryne Sandburg: .285, 282 HR, 1061 RBIs
Ozzie Smith: .262, 28 HR, 793 RBIs
Joe Morgan: .271, 268 HR, 1133
Nellie Fox: .288, 35 HR, 790
Brooks Robinson: .267, 268 HR, 1357
Robin Yount: .285, 251, 1406
Rickey Henderson: .279, 297, 1115

That's a good start. All current or future hall of famers. Legit or not?

[EmpireWF]

No doubt about Ricky Henderson. It's just a matter of when he's done with being an active player. It appears that time has come but you never know with Ricky.

Heck, he should get in the HOF for helping Roger Cedeno steal over 60 bases in 1999