Tag: mark grace

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: Mark Grace

“The most important thing about playing baseball is to have fun. I’m about to start my 13th year, but I can remember my rookie season like it was yesterday. It goes fast, folks.”

Mark Grace

As a Cub fan, I suppose I should be all over he idea of Mark Grace getting into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.  I know other Wrigley faithful who support the idea.  But let’s take off our rose-tinted glasses for a moment and look at the player and man objectively before inducting him just yet.

Grace Facts
  • Drafted 24th round in 1985 by the Chicago Cubs
  • Played for ChiC, Ari (1988-2003)
  • 3 time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves
  • 511 career doubles (39th all-time)

 

The one thing about Mark Grace is that you pretty much knew who you were going to get year in and year out.  Not including his last two years, he only batted below .298 once in his career (.273 in 1991).  Grace had a great eye at the plate with his walks surpassing his strikeouts every year and consistently ranking in the top ten in OBP. 

Not only was he consistent at the plate, he managed to show up at work every day.  In the 12 years from 1989-2000, Grace dipped below 500 at-bats only once (403 in 1993). 

0501008P BRAVES V CUBS For a firstbaseman, Grace wasn’t blessed with power.  He never reached 20 homers in a season.  Despite that, Cubs’ managers batted him in the coveted #3 spot in the lineup right after Ryne Sandberg.  With the Cubs, Grace only got as far as the first round of the playoffs with the Cubs in 1989 and 1998 but fate smiled on him in 2001 when he played for the Diamondbacks.  The Dbacks went all the way to the World Series.  With Grace’s help (3 rbis including a solo shot in Game 4), Arizona defeated the New York Yankees to become the World Champions that year. 

I suppose to say that Mark Grace was a steady ballplayer would be an insult.  But I don’t want to underestimate that either.  He was a solid career .303 hitter with a fine glove (four Gold Gloves) you plug in the lineup day in and day out. 

But that’s not enough for the Hall of Fame.  I don’t like throwing out stats to prove a point but I can’t ignore them either.  Grace was player who played a position associated with power and he just didn’t have much. He never hit 20 HR in a season nor did he drive in 100 rbis. 

sorry, Chicago fans… I loved him as a Cub but he won’t make it.    

  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.