The Forgotten: Left Field
Centerfield
I struggled to pick what position to consider after centerfield, and chose instead to wander around the JAWS rankings and look at players from each position. Frankly, only one other position brought the wealth of candidates that centerfield possesses to consider truly forgotten. In fact, most other players who fail to enter the Hall of Fame (and have a good case) also garner a strong following. Thus, the number of players I considered 'forgotten' for one reason or another is less. I settled on left field after I saw another name I want to mention: Sherry Magee.
Hall of Fame Left Fielders
The bar for Left Fielders in terms of bWAR is lower than centerfield, although one thing to keep in mind is the defensive adjustment in WAR. It's much harder for left fielders to reach this level of WAR because they are punished harshly. The bar for the position is:
65.5/41.6/53.6
Overall, Left Field has some of the best players ever in legend and reality. Above the line: Ted Williams, arguably the best offensive player of all time. Other players above the JAWS standard include legends like: Ricky Henderson, Carl Yastrzemski, Ed Dalahanty, Al Simmons, Tim Raines, & Goose Goslin. Other players below the line, but worth inductees, include: Billy Williams, Jesse Burckett, Willie Stargell, Joe Medwick, Zack Wheat, & Ralph Kiner. Finally, the lesser inductees....Jim Rice, Heinie Manush & Chick Hafey. Monte Irvin is listed as a Hall of Famer, but Irvin was inducted as part of the Negro League's Committee and is definitely a Hall of Famer. However, since we are comparing MLB player to MLB player it is not fair to use his statistics.
I was surprised how few players I would generally consider unworthy are in the Hall of Fame. Jim Rice stands out, he was inducted by the BBWAA; Manush & Hafey are Veteran's Committee selections and, like so many of them, really blur the line on who exactly should earn induction. That being said, few truly awful choices exist, and even Jim Rice has his merits.
The Forgotten
Sherry Magee (59.3/38.7/49.0, 14th)
Magee may be among the most forgotten players I have written about: his Wikipedia page is hardly a wealth of information. Best I can tell, Magee led a short life, filled with hardship; Magee became ill in his later years, and died of pneumonia at age 44. Looking at BBWAA voting records: Magee received votes in six separate elections, and never more than votes. He was also supposedly considered for the 2008 Veteran's Committee Balloting, but I could not find any record of it. Overall: nobody, best I can tell, is talking about Sherry Magee as a potential Hall of Famer, and with his untimely death at age 44, few really seem to care.
Magee was an excellent offensive player, and played a short but brilliant career for the Phillies in the 1900s & 1910s. He led the league in offensive categories in four separate seasons, including an awesome 1910 campaign which he led the league in all three rate stats, along with runs scored and RBIs. He led the National League in bWAR that season as well. Magee stole a ton of bases (441 in total), although we lack caught stealing data from this era. Magee's career burned brightly for 15 seasons, until at age 34 he fell off and scraped by for the Reds. His age 34 season was the only time in his career he posted a below average offensive showing. He played in the World Series for the only time, a couple of pinch hitting appearances, and retired.
Overall, players from the Deadball Era are hard to judge, as Magee played in such a different game. We don't know how good of a fielder he was, or how good of a baserunner he was (truly, at least). As such, much of our understanding of Magee's career is incomplete. Magee played before television, and radio broadcasts. Thus, we are left with rumors from his time, and the offensive statistics we can scrape together. As a hitter: I think Magee is a Hall of Famer. Otherwise it is impossible to say. I could not find much on Magee, other than he was a good hitter, and he was suspended for hitting an umpire in 1911. It is a case, in my opinion, worth reviewing during the Early Day's Committee.
Minnie Minoso (50.5/39.9/45.2, 23rd)
I am sort of cheating with Minoso: he's clearly not forgotten. On the other hand, there aren't many other good choices to go through in Left Field (in my opinion), and Minoso is a player who, I think, is getting a bad shake. Minnie was an excellent player who was kept out of baseball for the worst of reasons. He was a truly excellent player in his time, and then spent the remainder of his life as an amazing showman.
I won't write a ton about Minoso here, but Minoso was a pioneer, an excellent player in his prime, and returned numerous times after retirement to don a uniform for a game or two. Minoso barely missed induction on the Golden Era Hall of Fame Ballot several years ago, and it was awful. There's no doubt in my mind Minoso belongs in the Hall of Fame, and I feel we should push for him on every opportunity.
Conclusion
Left Field does not offer the same breadth of forgotten players as centerfield, but numerous worthy players remain outside of Cooperstown (including the best player of all time). That being said, most are not truly forgotten: just outside of Cooperstown. Of the two players mentioned here: I would induct Minnie Minoso for sure, and probably Sherry Magee. When considering who had played when he played, he's probably a top 5 left fielder from the Deadball Era.