The Mists of Baseball Time

Doc Adams

I've got baseball fever. I have no dog in this year's hunt, but I've been watching all the playoff games I can. In the absence of the Tigers, who ignominiously finished in last place this year after four straight division titles, I'm rooting for the Mets, who are the favorite team of several of my friends. It's easier to root for a New York team living in Las Vegas, where I don't have to put up with the obnoxiousness of local media.

The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced their slate of nominees for induction by the Veterans' committee, and by their rules it's the turn of the "Pre-Integration" committee, which means anyone who began their career before Jackie Robinson took the field in 1947. That's a over century of baseball, from the very beginning to World War II, when my father was a wee lad. Most of the ten candidates played long before that, though, and some have been dead for a hundred years.

As I've written before, the thinking behind the Veteran's Committee is flawed. It's taking the back door in, after everyone else has said no. The players on this list have been retired for fifty years or more--how much more can we think about them? I think that committee, such as it is, should be limited to non-players: executives, managers, umpires. Having said that, I think there are a couple of men here who deserve close consideration.

In alphabetical order, the men up for induction this year are:

Doc Adams: Adams was one of the New York Knickerbockers of 1845, credited with inventing the shortstop position and a whole lot of other stuff, too. In light of the revelation by John Thorn that Alexander Cartwright's accomplishments listed on his plaque are hooey, Adams certainly deserves scrutiny. It's interesting that Thorn's candidate for the true father of modern baseball, Louis Wadsworth, is not on this list.

Sam Breadon: Was the owner of the Cardinals during their glory years of the 1920's and 1930's, but I think Branch Rickey gets most of the credit for those teams. Should Breadon be inducted for hiring Rickey? Don't think so. Breadon has already been passed over three years ago.

Bill Dahlen: If there's anyone who deserves getting in as a player it's Dahlen, who retired in 1911 with the most games played. But he hit only .272 lifetime, with 84 home runs (which was a lot for those days). Close call.

Wes Ferrell: His brother Rick is in the Hall, which is something of an outrage, and his induction would equally be so. His career record of 193-128 is good but not great, and his E.R.A. of 4.04 is decidedly mediocre. He won 20 games in a row for four straight years, but that's not enough.

August Hermann: Chairman of the Cincinnati Reds for a bunch of years and helped organize the first World Series. No.

Marty Marion: I have long heard his name as someone who should be in the Hall, but it's tough because he was known as a great fielding shortstop, which means people would have needed to see him. He only had a .263 lifetime batting average and played for only thirteen seasons. Here's the thing, though--he has had plenty of consideration by Hall voters, from 1956 to 1973, and never received over 40 percent of the vote. He has not had one hit or fielded once chance since then, so why should we re-evaluate?

Frank McCormick: Part of a good Reds team in the late 1930s and early 1940s, McCormick was a first baseman with a lifetime batting average of .299 and 128 home runs, which are totals too low for a corner infielder. He never received more than three percent of the Hall vote, and according to Baseball Reference, the player he is most similar to is Sean Casey. His election would be a travesty.

Harry Stovey: A pre-1900 player who was considered once by the Hall voters, in the inaugural voting of 1936, and he got seven percent and was never thought of again until now. Lifetime batting average of .289, but he did have 504 stolen bases. A resounding no, though.

Chris von der Ahe: The George Steinbrenner of pre-1900 baseball. He was a beer hall owner who bought the St. Louis Browns (who are now the Cardinals) in order to sell beer. Was the first to allow baseball games to be played on Sundays. Knew nothing about baseball, yet constantly interfered and fired managers at will. If Steinbrenner can't get in, I don't see why he should.

Bucky Walters: Another player from the mid-century Reds, part of a great pitching staff that included Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey and Paul Derringer. Lifetime record of 198-160. If a player doesn't have 200 wins, that loss total should be a lot lower. Had a monster season in 1939, winning 27 games and earning MVP honors, but only had two other 20-game winning seasons. Close, but no cigar.

So I would vote for Adams and would be tempted to hear arguments for Dahlen. I wouldn't be surprised if no one gets in, though. But fret not, Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, Ken Griffey, Jr. will be elected this year, and the people will come.