The Forgotten

Everyone knows Lou Whitaker got screwed by the Hall of Fame. He's actually been screwed twice: first in 2001 when the BBWAA unceremoniously dumped him off the ballot, and this past year by the Veteran's Committee when they left him off the Modern Game Era ballot entirely. However, the debate over Whitaker has RAGED on social media. Prominent writers openly endorse his candidacy, and Tigers' fans were unhappy when Trammell finally got his due, but without his double play partner. In short: while Whitaker himself has felt little love from the Hall of Fame, his case has hardly been forgotten. Other players are not so lucky. Here are the best players outside the Hall of Fame who never even got their case heard, with their JAWS ranking:

Catcher: None

Catcher was the most difficult position to come up with anyone. I considered featuring Thurmon Munson, but he isn't really forgotten. The Yankees retired his number after all. Overall I don't think there are any glaring cases being missed by the Hall of Fame here.

First Baseman: John Olerud, 22nd (58.0/38.9/.48.5)

There were a handful of players I considered for this position. I actually considered profiling Mark McGwire, who (due to steroids) never got the full discussion his career quite deserves. I also considered Will Clark, but after a cursory review decided he never really deserved a thorough investigation. Which led me to settle on Olerud. Olerud spent almost no time on the Hall of Fame ballot, and has yet to be taken up by the Veteran's Committee.

Olerud was an excellent hitter. His 389 batting runs for his career ranks 79th all time, which ranks ahead of Paul Molitor, Orlando Cepeda, and Ralph Kiner. His 1993 season was excellent: he led the league in doubles, and reached base at an absurd .473 clip for the season. His season was, arguably, better than that year's MVP Frank Thomas. From 1999-2003 Olerud was an excellent and under-appreciated batter for the New York Mets: batting a composite: .303/.412/.489. While not quite Edgar Martinez numbers, they're quite close. Overall, he finished his career with a 129 OPS+. and arguably a better offensive case than many other first baseman, including contemporary Fred McGriff; who hit for more power.

Olerud, like McGriff, is on the line for me. I do not think Olerud truly stood out in his own time, let alone historically. Statistically he's similar to Harmon Killebrew, in terms of value, but also similar to Mark Texiera. First base is fairly well represented, and while it's a shame Olerud falls out of the annals of history rather quickly, I do not think his case is particularly compelling.

Second Base: Willie Randolph, 17th (65.5/36.1/50.8)

Second base is littered with under appreciated candidates. The most famous are Lou Whitaker and Bobby Grich, who have become sabermetric poster boys during our current statistical revolution. Willie Randolph is a step below them. Certainly not as good in his prime, Randolph (like Lou) lasted a long time. In some ways he's like a Eddie Murray who played second base: never an MVP, but consistently great; a steady presence at the Keystone.

Randolph compares favorably to Nellie Fox. Like Randolph: Fox fielded and ran the bases well. Unlike Willie, Fox didn't hit. Randolph was an average to good hitter his entire career, whereas Fox slips below average since he stuck around as a replacement level player for so long. Overall, we're left with an interesting, yet lost, case for Randolph who would go on to manage after his playing days ended in 1992.

Third Base: Buddy Bell, 15th (66.1/40.4/53.2)

In the most un-loved position, Buddy Bell stands out as a particularly glaring oversight. Many discuss Dick Allen, a widely known slugger who's 156 OPS+ is among the highest outside the Hall of Fame. He received 11 votes (1 short of induction) a few years ago on the Golden Era Ballot; I expect him to get elected at some point. Many more know about Ken Boyer, who won an MVP and was underrated during his career. Finally, Darrel Evans is also considered a sabermetric favorite by many, including Bill James. What about Buddy Bell?

Bell played in the '70s and '80s, combining a solid bat with a terrific glove. He, like Randolph and Olerud, never really experienced a peak. Instead he provided strong value over the course of his career. His best offensive campaign probably came in 1980 (when he logged a 143 OPS+), but his 1982 campaign is of the same caliber. Overall, his final batting line is somewhat uninspiring: .279/.341/.406. He never hit for a ton of power (only once reached even 20 homeruns), with only a good on-base percentage.

What Buddy Bell did exceptionally well is field. 23.0 of Bell's 66 WAR comes from his defense (174 fielding runs above average). It's the combination of good offense with stellar defense which makes Bell's career. While Bell was recognized for his defense, 6 Gold Gloves at 3rd: he is not viewed quite as an all-time defensive great.

Shortstop: None

There's an argument to be made that shortstop is the most over-represented position in the Hall of Fame. There aren't many candidates left who have not at least been strongly considered. There's only 1 candidate, in my opinion, I would strongly consider for induction and that's Bill Dahlen, but he hasn't suited up for well over 100 years.

Left Field: Sherry Magee, 14th (59.0/38.0/47.7)

Left field is relatively picked over, but Magee is a somewhat surprising overlook. Magee was an excellent hitter who played largely during the Deadball Era for the Philadelphia Phillies. He led the league in hitting in 1910, and finished his career with a .291/.364/.427 batting line; good for a 137 OPS+. His career was somewhat short: he only accumulated8,500 plate appearances, despite starting at the tender age of 19. His final season was for the 1919 Cincinnati Reds, where he went 1-2 as a pinch hitter.

Perhaps the reason why Magee never made any headway is because he apparently assaulted an umpire in 1911. According to the Society for American Baseball Research Sherry had a "reputation as a troublemaker" which only changed when he was named Captain of the Phillies. He was traded to Boston, where he broke his collarbone while (apparently) stepping into a gopher hole. While still reasonable at age 30 (OPS+ of 126), he was never the same again batting only .265 for the rest of his career. Although the SABR blames his injury, it's also possible he simply got old as these campaigns were his age 31-34 campaigns.

Right Field: Bobby Abreu, 20th (59.9/41.5/50.7)

I am cheating somewhat with Abreu, but he has been wildly underrated his entire career. Abreu spent most of his career in Philadelphia but I remember him best from his years in New York. Abreu really was a great hitter, and nearly compiled a .300/.400 batting line for his career: his .291/.395 batting average and on-base percentage fall just short of those magic numbers. Abreu also hit for good (but not great compared to his contemporaries) power, knocking 574 doubles, but only 288 home runs. Overall, Abreu quietly compiled excellent upon excellent 5-6 WAR campaigns as a young man, and remained useful well into his 30s. Overall, it's a crime how few people noticed Abreu during his career. From ages 24-37 Abreu averaged 155 games, a .295/.399/.484 (131 OPS+) batting line, 39 doubles and 28 steals a season. While he was only average on the bases and in the field, his bat was excellent enough for him to average over 4 wins a season over 13 seasons.

If there's a knock on Abreu its simply the fact he never topped 6.7 WAR for a season. In short he was rarely an MVP candidate or the best player in the league. However, Abreu's consistency is excellent, especially over 13 campaigns.

Center Field: Kenny Lofton, 10th (68.2/43.3/.57.1)

Well, here's basically the reason why I wrote this whole article. I am still furious Lofton fell off the ballot after 1 vote. He ranks 10th! in JAWS for Center Fielders. Lofton was a good hitter as a young man. From 1992-96 (age 25-29) Lofton hit a robust .316/.382/.437, good for an OPS+ of 117. Meanwhile he averaged 65 stolen bases a year, and led the league 5 seasons in a row. His age 30 season (.333/.409/.428) was still excellent, in somewhat less games.

After 30 Lofton remained a serviceable hitter: .287/.363/.417 (102). But the real story for Lofton is his baserunning and defense. Combined between baserunning and defense Lofton added 209 runs over the course of his career. He is, without doubt, a top 100 fielder of all time and arguably a top 25 baserunner of all time. In short: the combination of his solid offense, with his all time defense and baserunning should make him a Hall of Famer. In many ways Lofton is a good comparison to Tim Raines.

I do not understand, at all, why people miss Lofton's greatness. I would have expected people to pick up on it due to his amazing advanced statistics. Unfortunately, Lofton is now mired in the absolute miserable spot off the ballot, yet with zero 'ballot credentials' which seem to be a requirement now by the Veteran's Committee. I hope Lofton can break the trend; he is ineligible for the Veteran's Committee until 2022.

Starting Pitcher: Rick Reuschel, 45th (70.0/43.8/56.9)

Reuschel's 70.0 WAR is the highest of any eligible Hall of Famer not on the ballot. Overall, he never even spent a moment on the ballot of the Hall of Fame. Reuschel's case stands particularly stark due to the recent election of Jack Morris. Near contemporaries, Rick won fewer games than Morris (214 to 254), but pretty much beats Morris in every other possible way. Reuschel nearly doubles Morris' WAR score, despite pitching 300 fewer innings than Jack.

I will let Joe Posnanski tell the full story.

Relief Pitcher: Bobby Shantz, 5th

I've stumped for Shantz before. He's a forgotten relief pitcher from the 50s and 60s. He won an MVP as a starter in 1952, and then spent a long time as a reliever. Shantz operated during an unusual era for relievers, before relievers were a major part of the game, and has a similar case to Hoyt Wilhelm. I think, as a starter, Shantz offered far more value than "Old Sarge", but simply did not last as long. Wilhelm pitched until he was almost 50, Shantz called it quits after his age 38 season.

I would probably put Shantz into the Hall of Fame as a hybrid type player: somewhat less effective overall as a starter than Dennis Eckersley, but with a far superior season than either Smoltz, Hoyt or Eck. Shantz's 1952 campaign is historic: his WAR for the season was 9.1.

Conclusion

There isn't really a conclusion to this post. This post is NOT a list of the players I view as most worthy of the Hall for each position, but as the players I view as most overlooked. Of the players listed here I would only put Shantz, Lofton and Bell into the Hall of Fame.