· The only argument against Hodges here might be that his career (1947-1962) occurred during a time of relatively more offense than that of Perez (1964-1986).

· In his most recent version of the Historical Baseball Abstract, James ranks Tony Perez as the 13th best first baseman of all time, and Hodges as the 30th. Is Perez really better than Hodges, and if so, is he that much better?

n It would seem that Hodges and Perez are fairly close, but Hodges is in fact the better player when defense is taken into account.

Hodges career stats vs. those of selected HOF First Basemen

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	TB	SB	BA	SLG	OB	SLOB	TA	O+S	RAC/G
Mize	1884	6443	1118	2011	367	83	359	1337	856	3621	28	0.312	0.562	0.393	0.221	0.955	1.016	1.3	hof
Terry	1721	6428	1120	2193	373	112	154	1078	537	3252	56	0.341	0.506	0.392	0.198	0.898	0.908	1.28	hof
Chance	1281	4278	795	1273	195	80	20	597	554	1688	405	0.298	0.395	0.378	0.149	0.773	0.881	1.09	hof
Hodges	2071	7030	1105	1921	295	48	370	1274	943	3422	63	0.273	0.487	0.359	0.175	0.846	0.867	1.15
Sisler	2055	8267	1284	2812	425	164	102	1175	472	3871	375	0.34	0.468	0.376	0.176	0.844	0.865	1.2	hof
Bottomley	1991	7471	1177	2313	465	151	219	1422	664	3737	58	0.31	0.5	0.366	0.183	0.866	0.864	1.31	hof
Cepeda	2124	7927	1131	2351	417	27	379	1365	588	3959	142	0.297	0.499	0.345	0.172	0.845	0.841	1.18	hof
Perez	2677	9778	1272	2732	505	79	379	1652	925	4532	49	0.279	0.463	0.342	0.158	0.805	0.781	1.09	hof
Kelly	1622	5993	819	1778	337	76	148	1020	386	2711	65	0.297	0.452	0.339	0.153	0.792	0.75	1.13	hof

SLOB= OB times SL

O + S = OB + SLG

Rac/g = (R + RBI)/G

TA = Total Average = (TB + BB + SB)/(AB-H) [no CS]

Players Ranked by On Base plus Slugging

9. Is there evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than suggested by his statistics?

n Palmer and James agree that there was an over-emphasis on batting average in Hall of Fame selections

n James: “The things a hitter can do to help his team can be summarized in two more or less equal groups: Hitting for average, and everything else.”

n Secondary average is a statistic that attempts to measure the number of bases beyond a single that a player is responsible for.

n Secondary Avg=(TB-H+BB+SB)/AB

Hodges career stats vs. those of selected HOF or contemporary First Basemen –ranked by Secondary Average

	R	HR	RBI	TB	SL	OB	SLOB	O+S	SECAV	TA	HEQ	rac/g	Secbases		r+rbi	h	sec bases
Greenberg	1051	331	1276	3142	0.605	0.41	0.248	1.015	0.467	1.137	5953	1.67	2424	hof	2327	1628	2424
Killebrew	1283	573	1584	4143	0.509	0.376	0.191	0.884	0.446	0.944	7809	1.18	3635	hof	2867	2086	3635
McCovey	1229	521	1555	4219	0.515	0.373	0.192	0.887	0.412	0.934	7702	1.08	3379	hof	2784	2211	3379
Mize	1118	359	1337	3621	0.562	0.393	0.221	0.955	0.387	1.016	6532	1.3	2494	hof	2455	2011	2494
Hodges	1105	370	1274	3422	0.487	0.359	0.175	0.846	0.357	0.867	6336	1.15	2507	j30	2379	1921	2507
Chance	795	20	597	1688	0.395	0.378	0.149	0.773	0.321	0.881	3762	1.09	1374	hof	1392	1273	1374
Cepeda	1131	379	1365	3959	0.499	0.345	0.172	0.845	0.295	0.841	6891	1.18	2338	hof	2496	2351	2338
Bottomley	1177	219	1422	3737	0.5	0.366	0.183	0.866	0.287	0.864	6726	1.31	2146	hof	2599	2313	2146
Kluszewski	848	279	1028	2951	0.498	0.352	0.175	0.849	0.286	0.832	5093	1.09	1697	j34	1876	1766	1697
Perez	1272	379	1652	4532	0.463	0.342	0.158	0.805	0.284	0.781	7968	1.09	2774	hof	2924	2732	2774
Vernon	1196	172	1311	3741	0.428	0.355	0.152	0.783	0.265	0.772	6853	1.04	2318	j23	2507	2495	2318
Terry	1120	154	1078	3252	0.506	0.392	0.198	0.898	0.257	0.908	5775	1.28	1652	hof	2198	2193	1652
Kelly	819	148	1020	2711	0.452	0.339	0.153	0.792	0.231	0.75	4808	1.13	1384	hof	1839	1778	1384
Sisler	1284	102	1175	3871	0.468	0.376	0.176	0.844	0.231	0.865	6941	1.2	1906	hof	2459	2812	1906

Grass roots effort

by Joseph D’Agostin

Support the Gil Hodges 2003 Hall of Fame vote !!

Contact Joe D'Agostin (bklynbum14@hotmail.com) for his E-mail newsletter updates

HALL OF FAMERS INDUCTED

1982 VOTING YEAR

Gil Hodges 205 ------

Luis Aparicio 174 1984

Jim Bunning 138 1996

Red Schoendienst 127 1989

Nellie Fox 127 1997

Richie Ashburn 126 1995

Gilbert Ray Hodges was a part of Brooklyn, a New York baseball treasure, a naturalized Bum if there ever was one. He had married a Brooklyn girl,

Joan Lombardi, in 1948, and settled right there in Flatbush to raise their four children.

During his 15 years on the regular Hall of Fame ballot, Hodges received the highest total number of votes cast without being elected. In 14 of the 15 years, he finished among the top 10 in balloting. Six of his teammates---Reese, Snider, Don Drysdale, Campanella, Koufax and Robinson--are in the Hall, along with former managers Alston and Durocher. His fate remains in the hands of the Hall of Fame's Veterans' Committee. "It's nice to be liked," Hodges once said. "But I sure hope I can prove Durocher wrong. I never did believe that nice guys finish last."

3 time Gold Glove winner

370 Home Runs in 18 year career

8 time NL All Star

During his career, he played on 7 NL pennants

He drove in 100 RBI or more for each year from 1949-55

Managed the 1969 World Champion New York Mets

Played in 35 World Series games

WRITE TO INDIVIDUALS ON THE VETERANS COMMITTEE:

National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum

VETERANS COMMITTEE

25 Main ST PO BOX 590

Cooperstown NY 13326-0590

The “Keltner” List (Bill James, Politics of Glory)

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, suggest that he was the best player in baseball?

2. Was he the best player on his team?

3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position?

4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races?

5. Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after his prime?

6. Is he the very best player in baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?

8. Do the player’s numbers meet the HOF standards?

9. Is there evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than suggested by his statistics?

10. Is he the best player at his position eligible for the Hall of Fame who is not in?

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award?

12. How many All-Star teams? How many All Star Games? Did most players with this many selections make the HOF?

13. If this man were the best on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant?

14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any changes in rules or equipment?

15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the HOF, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

Why isn’t Gil Hodges in the Hall of Fame?

n By John T. Saccoman

n Seton Hall University

n Dept. of Math and Computer Science

Gil Hodges

(1924-1972)

n Has received more votes for the Hall of Fame than any other person not selected

n Came as close as 44 votes shy of election in his last year of eligibility under the BBWAA vote.

n Is the best player and best first baseman not honored with a HOF plaque whose fate is in the hands of the Veterans Committee.

3. Was he the best player in baseball/league at his position? Hodges…

n led all first basemen of the 1950’s in

HR (310), G (1477),

AB (5313), R (890),

H (1491), RBI (1001),

TB (2733) and XBH(585);

n was an eight-time All Star (1949-1955,1957), the most of any first baseman of his time;

n won the first 3 Gold Gloves at his position;

n was second among all players in the 1950’s in HR and RBI, third in TB and eighth in R (4th in NL).

n No other first baseman of the era can match him in the breadth and scope of these accomplishments.

n Thus, Gil Hodges was the best first baseman of that era.

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall ?

n Hodges: 370 HR, 1274 RBI,.273 BA, .361 OB, .487 SLG, 8 All-Star selections;

n Hodges slugged 23% better than his league over the course of his career.

n .357 career Sec. Avg.; 8 seasons of 85 R or more, including 3 over 100

n Two seasons over.300 batting average, seven 100+ RBI years, six seasons of 30+ HR.

n First 3 Gold Gloves at his position

n Perez: 379 HR, 1652 RBI,.279 BA,.344 OB, .463 SLG, 7 All-Star selections;

n Perez slugged 24% better than his league over the course of his career.

n .284 career Sec. Avg.; 3 seasons of 85 R or more, including 2 over 100)

n Two seasons over.300 batting average, seven 100+ RBI years, two seasons of 30+ HR.

n No Gold Gloves