Kuzul

Last summer, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Henderson is one of the greatest players of all time, and an easy choice for voters.

Rice was a more difficult choice, making it after more than a decade on the ballot. But plenty of worthy candidates remain on the outside looking in.

In Bill James’ book about the Hall of Fame, he suggests that fans often try to make cases for players they grew up watching, and liked.

We should focus more on the best players we can put in, rather than simply making a case for a player because we can.

Sure, we can make a case for Keith Hernandez. But there are plenty of players much better than Keith Hernandez not in the Hall of Fame.

So that’s what I did here. I decided to take a look and determine the best player, at each position, that is eligible (sorry Pete, Joe, and Eddie) but not in the Hall of Fame.

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In 1884, Charlie “Old Hoss” Radbourn started 73 of his team’s 112 games. In these games, Old Hoss went 59-12, setting an all-time record for pitching victories.

He also led the league with a 1.38 ERA and 207 ERA+. He was as effective as Sandy Koufax in his prime, pitching 2-3 times as many innings.

By the end of the season, Old Hoss couldn’t raise his arm over his head. He couldn’t dress himself every morning. That responsibility fell to his roommate, and manager, Frank Bancroft. Pitching through excruciating pain, he led the Providence Grays to a National League tittle.

Radbourn’s 1884 season takes the cake as the greatest season any pitcher has ever had. But the game was different back then. Since 1900, baseball’s modern era, no pitcher has approached Radbourn’s 59 wins.

Even so, the game has seen it’s share of dominant pitching seasons, from a 20-year-old phenom who took baseball by storm in the 1980s, to a pair of 34-year-old 300-game winners proving they were far from finished.

No pitcher will appear on this list more than once. A few could have, but I limited it to one season per pitcher.

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Who’s the best player in baseball? That’s easy, right? Albert Pujols. Albert Pujols could conceivably not win the MVP this season. It’s possible.

He could have a slightly down year, and Chase Utley could have his best. Chase Utley could have a better 2010. But would that change the answer to the first question? No it wouldn’t.

At most points in baseball history, there has been a clear-cut best player. No, they don’t put up the best numbers every season.

No, they don’t win every MVP. But at any point, you could ask “who’s the best player in the game” and the correct answer would be that player.

At any point in baseball history, if you ask who the best player in the game is what would be a the correct answer? I decided to go back to 1900 and look.

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One of the more interesting aspects of examining who’s in, and who’s not in regards to Baseball’s Hall of Fame is looking at how players chances were perceived during their careers.

In the late 1980s, who thought Don Mattingly would be on the outside looking in? Dwight Gooden? Five years ago, Andruw Jones looked like a good bet to hit 500-600 home runs, and along with his Gold Glove defense, ride into the Hall five years after his retirement. The point is, stuff happens.

So, as we stand today, what ten players under the age of 30 are most likely to end up in the Hall of Fame?

A quick guideline. Jason Heyward is great. Matt Wieters is great. Tommy Hanson is great. But in order to be considered for this list, you need at least one full seasons as an All-Star caliber player, and multiple seasons as a starting player in the Majors.

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Who’s the greatest left handed pitcher of all time? Ask that question, and you’ll get a variety of answers.

Warren Spahn has the most wins, Randy Johnson the most strikeouts, and Lefty Grove the most ERA titles. And, oh yeah, Sandy Koufax was pretty good too.

In my opinion, there’s a clear cut answer. All the pitchers on this list were very good. All are, or should be in the Hall of Fame. But one guy stands alone as the greatest lefty, and possibly the greatest pitcher, who ever lived.

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