Congratulations to Derek Jeter and Larry Walker for their Hall of Fame induction!
Jeter was a no-brainer. I know some people like to try and make a case against him, but c’mon. A shortstop with 3465 hits, 260 home runs, and a career .310 average? I know people like to knock his defensive skills or say he was below average on fielding metrics. But, he was automatic on balls that he should make. I know that sounds weird, but it is so important. Quick Pirates aside…I remember fans wanting rid of Jack Wilson for someone else. Then they brought in Ronny Cedeno. He would make some nice plays, but then miff an easy grounder.
I know some people are upset over him not getting the unanimous vote. I do not understand how someone votes against him. Seems odd. But whatever. This should not be the thing we focus on every year now “why didn’t player x get in unanimously, is Rivera seriously the only player that deserves it?” Who cares?
Larry Walker is an interesting case. He played in Colorado and that definitely taints his career in some voters eyes. While he definitely got an offensive bump playing there, he still had to play on the road and while his road stats are worse, they are still very good. Plus he played his early career in Montreal and he was very good there too.
Walker reminds me of the discussion about Andrew McCutchen a few years ago (before he started to decline). If Cutch played at his MVP year levels, his final career stats would be like 2500 hits, 300 home runs, and a .300ish average. Would that be HOF worthy? If you only think of milestone stats, then I guess not, but you have to look at the all-around player (I think). Walker hit for a high average, but with power (he hit a bunch of doubles and triples). He also has over 200 stolen bases. And he was a great defender. I think the HOF needs more of these types of players (or at least needs to remember those guys).
Anyways, congrats to both of them. I think next year will be a pretty down year for the Hall of Fame.
