MLB Team Honors Don't Necessarily Indicate Hall of Fame
Whether team honored or MLB-wide, Hall of Fame is still special
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . More than 30 players have been inducted into a team Hall (or Wall) of Fame this summer. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays used the 25th anniversary of their inaugural season to open their respective team honors. The Diamondbacks inducted Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson in the first class while the Rays inducted Wade Boggs, Carl Crawford, and Don Zimmer.
Leading Off
Appreciating Hall of Fame Recognition
By Benjamin Chase
Over the past few weeks, three notable players were recognized by their former teams as Fernando Valenzuela had his number retired by the Dodgers, the Twins inducted Joe Mauer into their Hall of Fame, and Felix Hernandez was crowned into the Mariners' Hall of Fame.
The three each have impressive career resumes, but it's very likely that only one ends up in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Felix Hernandez
King Felix was inducted to the Mariners' Hall of Fame on August 12, honoring a Mariners career that included one Cy Young Award win, six top-10 CY finishes, winning 169 games over his career, and setting Seattle standards for wins, ERA, innings, strikeouts, and Win Probability Added (WPA).
However, from the time Felix debuted in 2005 at age 19 through his age-29 season in 2015, Hernandez posted a 3.11 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 143 wins. However, from that point forward, Hernandez could only make 85 more starts, with 467 1/3 innings of a 4.89 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.
While he hasn't been on the Hall of Fame ballot yet, it is quite likely that Hernandez will face a similar fate that Johan Santana recently did, falling off the ballot in his first year. Hernandez finished with 49.7 bWAR while the average Hall of Fame pitcher tallied 73 bWAR.
Joe Mauer
Hometown guy Joe Mauer was drafted by the Twins as the first overall pick in 2001 out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School and by 2004, he was in the major leagues. Fifteen years later, Mauer retired with an MVP, a .306 career average, four Gold Gloves, and five Silver Sluggers.
He had a career year in 2009, hitting a career-high 28 home runs and leading the majors in batting average with a .365 mark. That offseason, Mauer signed an extension that was the largest contract ever signed by the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, concussion issues caused Mauer to move out from behind the plate less than five years later.
Mauer joins sure-fire Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot, and he will have a very good case. All of his metric numbers are higher than the average Hall of Fame catcher, with 55.2 bWAR compared to 53.6 average bWAR of a HOF catcher and a 47.1 JAWS score, better than the average 44.2 JAWS score for the position. For now, he’s received the recognition of his hometown team.
Fernando Valenzuela
Valenzuela was the youngest player in the majors when he debuted in the Dodgers' bullpen in 1980. In 1981, he became a cultural icon as he swept up the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year award while ranking fifth in the MVP and picking up a Silver Slugger.
For the next six years, Valenzuela had three more top-five Cy Young finishes, led the league in complete games multiple times, and he posted a 3.04 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. After a strong 1987 season, Valenzuela struggled with injury for the next few years before his 1991 performance led to him playing in Mexico for a year.
However, the 1,800+ innings over his first eight seasons had taken a toll on his arm and he was never quite the same again. He set the Dodgers' franchise on fire in 1981 and was a huge draw for the club in the mid-1980s. Though, with just a 104 ERA+ and 173 total victories, finishing with a 37.5 JAWS score, nearly half the average 61.4 JAWS score of a Hall of Fame pitcher. His lack of a Hall of Fame induction is the reason that the Dodgers retired his number rather than inducting him into the team's Hall of Fame.
While only Mauer is likely to end up with a plaque in Cooperstown, each player has received recognition worthy of his career achievements, and that should be appreciated!
Benjamin Chase is a newspaper reporter in rural South Dakota with an intense love for baseball. He is a co-editor of the Here’s the Pitch newsletter, writes for Rotoballer, and has a weekly prospect podcast on the Pallazzo Podcast network. He can be found on Twitter/X under @biggentleben.
Good take. Both Felix and Fernando were great pitchers but are still 'Almost Guys'. Wonder how you feel about Zack Greinke?