07-24-2003, 04:29 PM
Griffey is absolutely a HOFer. I can't see anyone actually breaking down the numbers and making a case that he isn't. If he had retired after the 2000 season, this wouldn't even be a question - we'd simply be counting down the days until his induction. But I guess after seeing 2 1/2 years of mediocre, injury riddled Griffey, people forget just how incredibly great he was during the entire decade of the 90's.
Check out Ralph Kiner's stats. He only played for 10 years, but during that time, he was one of the most dominant hitters the game had ever seen. I can't imagine too many people questioning Kiner's place in the Hall. And he wasn't as good as Griffey.
Kiner career OPS+ 149
Griffey career OPS+ 144 (through 2002)
Slight edge to Kiner there, but then we have
Kiner career GG 0
Griffey career GG 10
Huge edge to Griffey.
Also noteworthy are these numbers from baseballreference.com:
Black Ink: Batting - 26 (Average HOFer ~ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 153 (Average HOFer ~ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 49.3 (Average HOFer ~ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 192.0 (Likely HOFer > 100)
Also, coming into the 2003 season, he had 318 career Win Shares. Bill James defines 300 as the HOF threshold for position players (not including catchers). He's also got Griffey rated as the #8 CF of all time, for whatever it's worth.
Check out Ralph Kiner's stats. He only played for 10 years, but during that time, he was one of the most dominant hitters the game had ever seen. I can't imagine too many people questioning Kiner's place in the Hall. And he wasn't as good as Griffey.
Kiner career OPS+ 149
Griffey career OPS+ 144 (through 2002)
Slight edge to Kiner there, but then we have
Kiner career GG 0
Griffey career GG 10
Huge edge to Griffey.
Also noteworthy are these numbers from baseballreference.com:
Black Ink: Batting - 26 (Average HOFer ~ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 153 (Average HOFer ~ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 49.3 (Average HOFer ~ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 192.0 (Likely HOFer > 100)
Also, coming into the 2003 season, he had 318 career Win Shares. Bill James defines 300 as the HOF threshold for position players (not including catchers). He's also got Griffey rated as the #8 CF of all time, for whatever it's worth.