Tag: jay bell

HOF ’09: We’re Done!

Well, with Teddy Ballgame’s write-up on Greg Vaughn earlier today, we’ve concluded HOF ’09, our series of profiles of this year’s candidates for the Hall of Fame.  It’s been fun and I think we’ve even learned a bit along the way.

As for me, it was an interesting group of players to profile for a couple reasons.  A big one was that most of these players were big stars while I was a teenager and young adult when I was forming my serious interest in baseball.  Dave Parker, Jim Rice, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson… I have fond memories.  Not to mention that some of these players played in the era when the Chicago Cubs finally became a post season threat (I can still remember the ’84 series against the Padres… ugh). 

Also, these players came from a time when baseball had more of a balance of power, speed, and pitching.  Appropriately enough, that is reflected in the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.  With the speed of Henderson and Raines, the power of McGwire and Rice and the pitching of David Cone, Bert Blyleven and Tommy John, this class is well represented. 

Who will get elected?  Well, we put our opinions down who we think SHOULD get the call but as to who WILL get elected is another matter.  The BBWAA has been rather stingy lately and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s very possible that just one (Rickey Henderson??) will get elected and others will have to wait.

Time is running out for some, though.  The midnight hour is chiming for Jim Rice as it’s his last ballot.  There are some (myself included) who feel that his career and contribution is worthy of the Hall. 

We’ll find out tomorrow and the chips will fall where they may.  No doubt, many bloggers and pundits will be unhappy no matter how it goes.  I’ll predict at least one writer will have his credentials questioned and will be asked to step down from the BBWAA.  Unfortunately, THAT is the safest prediction I make right now. 

All that said, here are the opinions we’ve made in the last month.  Links go to our profiles on the players. 

Thanks for reading!

Hall of Fame Hall of Very Good Why is he even on the Ballot?
Harold Baines    
Jay Bell    
Bert Blyleven    
David Cone    
Andre Dawson    
Ron Gant    
Mark Grace    
Rickey Henderson    
Tommy John    
Don Mattingly    
Mark McGwire    
Jack Morris    
Dale Murphy    
Jesse Orosco    

Dave Parker

    
Dan Plesac    
Tim Raines    
Jim Rice    

Lee Smith

    
Alan Trammell    
Greg Vaughn    

Mo Vaughn

    

Matt Williams

    

 

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Teddy Ballgame and DonS for their help with his project.

Also, a lot of research went in to this.  I’d like to give props to the websites that were helpful. 

Baseball Reference:  I can’t say enough about this web site.  If there are baseball fans out there who haven’t seen this site and what it can do, you need to check it out.

Baseball Page:  Very helpful for bios and such.

Baseball Musings’ Day by Day Database:  Good for finding stats between established periods of time (and lots of other stuff).

Baseball Almanac:  another good bio site.  Good for the quotes too :)

HOF ’09: Jay Bell

 

Jay Bell had an auspicious if not ironic start in the majors.  Like Harold Baines, he was drafted in the first round.  The Minnesota Twins turned around and traded him the next year in 1985 to Cleveland for Bert Blyleven (who turns out to be a fellow HOF ’09 candidate).  Bell’s very first at-bat was against Blyleven and he hit it for a home run.  To add more drama to the scenario, that home run was the 47th given up by Blyleven that year which broke the MLB record of 46 allowed by Robin Roberts. 

Bell Facts
  • Drafted First round in 1984 by the Minnesota Twins
  • Played for Cle, Pit, KC, Ari and NYM (1986-2003)
  • Two time All-Star, won one Gold Glove
  • 1999 best offensive year (.289, 38 HR, 112 rbis)

 

  Bell didn’t get much playing time with the Indians though and it wasn’t till he got traded to Pittsburgh that he got some serious at-bats in.  With the exception of ’94-’95, Bell played 150 games from 1990-1999.  He was a solid fielder not so much because of his range but of his knowledge of the hitters. 

jabell With the stick, Bell was mostly a singles and doubles hitter though he toyed with the four-base hit later in his career.  As the Pirates are wont to do, they dumped a player once he came into his own.  When Bell was traded to the Royals, he had a decent offensive year with 21 homers and 92 rbis.  That made him a valuable free agent and the Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of his availability. 

With Arizona, he had his best offensive year of his career in 1999.  Batting .289, he rapped 38 dingers to go along with his 112 rbis.  Two years later, he helped Arizona in their bid to win the World Series.

Pros:  A “solid” (sorry, that’s the best I can say) hitter for a middle infielder, he did accumulate 1123 career runs, a decent OBP (.343) again for a middle infielder.

Cons:  where do I start?  the stats don’t bear out.  a .265 batting average, he’s a middle infielder without the speed and not much power.

 

  Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good

Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.  

HOF ’09: Profiling the Candidates

This winter, The Baseball Zealot will be doing profiles of the Hall of Fame candidates for 2009.  In addition, we’ll give our opinion on their inclusion in the Hall.   This post will serve as the entry point for the HOF ’09 series.

Here is the link to all the profiles written to date.  

The results will be announced on January 12th, 2009.  With any luck, we’ll get them all in before then.