19 to 21…

Was Robbie Robbed?

Volume 8, #1, January 11, 2010

No one, except possibly 143 members of the Baseball Writers Association of American (BBWAA, aka BBWAss), thinks that Robbie Alomar wasn’t a genuine, Hall of Fame caliber player. However, for whatever reason(s), those seven score plus three BBWAss members chose not to vote for Alomar in this year’s election, thus denying the former second baseman the now-coveted and controversial “First Ballot” status.

The reasons for not voting for Alomar, and there only seem to be two with any degree of logic, are far outweighed by the reasons for voting him into the Hall, the most important of which was that he was the best second baseman of his generation... a credential that by itself typically qualifies one for the Hall. Actually, like most middle infielders, his offensive numbers are not overwhelming. Not that they’re bad, just not overwhelming when compared to first basemen, some third baseman, and outfielders. A 116 OPS+, .817 OPS, a .300 career batting average, a .371 on base average, 2724 hits, 504 doubles, 474 steals, 210 home runs, six seasons over 100 runs scored and two seasons with more than 100 RBIs consists of a pretty good resume for a second baseman. (Not to mention his 10 Gold Gloves.) Maybe not Joe Morgan, but then Little Joe was arguably the best second baseman of all time (his career OPS+ was 132, for instance.) It should also be noted in passing that four of Alomar’s top eight historical comps offensively are Hall of Famers Morgan, Ryne Sandberg, Frank Frisch and Charlie Gehringer.

No, it would appear as if those who did not vote for Alomar did so for other reasons… either because they are religiously opposed to anyone being a first ballot Hall of Famer unless they’re Babe Ruth or someone like that, or because they think Alomar is scum because he spit on umpire John Hirschbeck in 1996. While the voters who took those positions may think them legitimate, they’re not. There are people already in the Hall who did far worse things than spit on an umpire. Obviously, Ty Cobb and Leo Durocher come quickly to mind. For that matter, the Babe himself once slugged an umpire after walking the first batter of the game. Out of the game went the Babe, and in came Ernie Shore, who then threw an almost-perfect game. More importantly though, is the whole issue of the significance of being a first ballot Hall of Famer. You know what, it’s really not very important, and hasn’t been historically, except fairly recently.

You can build a pretty good team, you can really build a pretty good Hall of Fame for that matter, from individuals who weren’t elected to the Hall on their first time on the ballot. Without even going back into the period prior to World War II, when the Hall was still trying to get all the immortals from the game’s first 70 or so years in Cooperstown, you can put together this team of Hall of Fame members who weren’t elected on the first ballot.

C – Yogi Berra, Mickey Cochrane, Roy Campanella, Bill Dickey, Carlton Fisk
1B – Jimmie Foxx, Harmon Killebrew, Hank Greenberg
2B – Charlie Gehringer, Ryne Sandberg, Frank Frisch
SS – Cal Ripken
3B – Eddie Mathews, Wade Boggs
OF – Tony Gwynn
OF – Joe DiMaggio
OF – Mel Ott
P – Lefty Grove, Early Wynn, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton

And there are a whole bunch more but, you get the picture. Three of Alomar’s four Hall of Fame comps didn’t get in the first time. Joe D wasn’t a first-timer. Does that make him dog meat? How about Double X and Mel Ott, both of whom hit 500 home runs when that feat was rarer than an unassisted triple play? Were they being dissed? Or the best third baseman before Mike Schmidt came along? No less than five, 300-game winners, including certainly the best left-handed pitcher of all time (with all due respect to Randy Johnson), and maybe the best pitcher of all time, Robert Moses Grove, didn’t get in on the first try. Add in a three guys with 3,000 hits, one of whom had the longest iron man streak in the majors, and it’s clear that significant statistical milestones like 500 home runs, 3,000 hits (admittedly neither of which Alomar made) and 300 wins are far from being guarantees to First Ballot status.

And yet, they all got in the Hall. While, as Ron Santo could tell you, the voting for the Hall has often been erratic and sometimes nonsensical, no one the caliber of Roberto Alomar has not eventually been elected… with the exception of Messrs. Jackson and Rose, but that’s another story. And that will continue to be the case unless the electorate continues to hold a grudge against Mark McGwire (which brings in another issue entirely), et al.

Sure, Robbie was robbed, in that he should have been elected for induction in 2010. But, he wasn't robbed because he didn't get First Ballot status. And, you know what, it doesn’t really matter. He’s a Hall of Famer, and his election will be just as satisfying next year as it would have been this year.



-- John Shiffert