Which Braves belong in Hall?
John Smoltz is probably going to record his 3,000th strikeout today and Atlanta Magazine used the occasion to ask the question, “which Braves players will someday make the Hall of Fame?”
Atlanta Magazine thought just about all of the Braves from the last two decades (except for Andruw) should make the Hall, so there may have been a little home town bias at play.
We’ve gone and complicated the discussion a bit, including both manager Bobby Cox and general manager Jon Schuerholz in our list of possible inductees.
What do you think? Who belongs? Who falls short?
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I think Schuerholz is more deserving than Cox.
Also: Denny Neagle.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
Thumbs down on the Neagle consideration. His career stats don’t even come close to ballot-worthy. He just had a few good years in Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
I think Chipper will be near-lock status with a few more years of his steady outstandingness. If he can add another MVP, there should be no question.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 am
I actually voted yes on five of those eight (not Jones, Hudson or Tex). And this is coming from a Mets fan.
Look, the three pitchers are in. No ifs, ands or buts.
Bobby Cox is in.
Too many people respect Schuerholz to think he’s not getting in.
If Chipper doesn’t get in, then that just means people still spend far too much time counting hits. I can only think of a few thirdbasemen better than Chipper - Schmidt, Killebrew, Brett, Matthews. Maybe add Homerun Baker to that list. And yes, I think he’s better than Boggs. So that’s it. Chipper probably won’t get to 3000 hits. But everything else is there and then some.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
Paul, I think when all is said and done, we may consider Chipper the greatest third basemen of all time (at least until he is later surpassed by A-Rod).
The Hall of Fame is surprisingly thin on great third basemen, and in my mind it is already starting to get to a point where it comes down to a battle between Chipper and Schmidt. It really all depends on how much longer Chipper can play at this level, but he doesn’t seem to be slowing down just yet, does he?
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April 23rd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Don’t expect people to elevate Chipper to being better than Schmidt. They will focus on the home runs and the fact that Schmidt hit more when it was harder to do so. Personally I feel Chipper is the better all around baseball player and is an unquestioned hall of famer.
Don’t be surprised when people argue against him that they say, if Atlanta had 4 hall of famers they should have won more World Series titles. Ron Santo has suffered from the fact that he played with 3 hall of famers and their teams never won anything. They say if Santo is a hall of famer along with Banks, Williams and Jenkins then his teams would have won more. It also seems that 3rd base may be the hardest position to get recognition for being a great player.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I think Schmidt was a better defensive 3B, but I think Chipper is one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen — at any position. Numbers aside, Chipper is a phenomenon. Sure, he’s hurt a lot, but I’m constantly amazed at how, when he comes back from an injury, he doesn’t waste any time picking up where he left off, hitting the ball all over the place. Maybe this is totally at odds with most of what we write here, but I think Chipper wins on style points. I’ve never seen anybody who looked better hitting a baseball. It’s the best looking swing of my generation.
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April 24th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Thank you Coley. I didn’t want to say it, b/c I’m such a homer for the Braves, but Chipper is one of the great hitters of our time. He doesn’t slump often or for very long (except 2004), has a good eye, and is great in the clutch.
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