The New Hall of Famers

It was announced earlier in the week that the Baseball Writers of America (BBWA) has elected Carlos Beltran and Andrew Jones into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  They will be joined by Jeff Kent, who was named to the Hall by Whatever They Are Calling The Veterans Committee These Days.

The question arose, as it always does when news like this arrives, do these guys really belong in the Hall of Fame, or should that just be in the Hall of Very Good?  Are they really baseball immortals?  This prompted the creation of a Grandstander Spreadsheet.

	Carlos Beltran	Andruw Jones	Jeff                Kent
Seasons	20	17	17
Games	2,586	2,192	2,298
Hits	2,725	1,933	2,461
Runs	1,582	1,204	1,320
HR	435	434	377
RBI	1,587	1,289	1,518
BA	0.279	0.254	0.290
OPS	0.837	0.823	0.855
per 162 games
Hits	171	143	173
Runs	99	95	93
HR	27	32	27
RBI	99	95	107
“Similarity Scores”	7 of 10 Hall of Famers	2 of 10 Hall of Famers	4 of 10 Hall of Famers

NOTE:  baseball-reference.com provides "similarity scores" that compare any player with every other player who has ever played.  I am only comparing the Top Ten of such players for Beltran, Jones, and Kent.

So what does all this tell you?  To be honest, I really don't know.  Would you like to have each off these guys playing on your team? Absolutely.  Are any of them Babe Ruth, Ted Willams, Mickey Mantle, or Willie Mays.  Not by a long shot, but I suppose that The Hall of Fame became the Hall of Very Good a long time ago.  Otherwise, they'd never elect anyone new and the place would cease to exist.  Not a  good business model for the institution, to be sure.

A couple of impressions from Yours Truly:

• Jones was considered one of the pre-eminent defensive outfielders of his era, which weighed heavily on his being elected.  I have neither the inclination nor the ability to evaluate defensive metrics.  I will only say that I know a great defensive player (Clemente, Mazeroski, e.g.) when I see one.  Also, Jones did win 10 Gold Gloves over the course of his career.
• Beltran was a key figure in the Astros sign stealing cheating scandal of a few years back.  I guess that unlike PED use, that carried no weight with the electorate.
• It surprised me to see just how many home runs Andrew Jones hit over the course of his career.
• Jeff Kent's 377 home runs are more that any other second baseman in history.  That really has to count for something.
• One of the two Hall of Famers to whom Jones is comparable is Gil Hodges.

Welcome to Cooperstown, Carlos, Andrew, and Jeff!

One more thing.  At the Induction Ceremony in July, Cleveland sportswriter Paul Hoynes will be given the Hall's J.G. Taylor Spink Award, and broadcaster Joe Buck will be given the Hall's Ford Frick Award.  Note that Hoynes and Buck are being HONORED BY THE HALL OF FAME, they are NOT being INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME.  That will not stop either of them by attaching "HOF 26" to their names whenever they give an autograph, however.