Hall of Famers' TBRs |
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Career Total Baseball Rankings -- as expressed in the baseball encyclopedia Total Baseball -- for Hall of Famers, as well as those who belong in the Hall and those who appear to be headed to Cooperstown. Current players' figures through the 2000 season. Some things you need to know about Total Baseball Rankings: ~ The TBR numbers listed here are career figures, the sums of the players' annual ratings. While they don't necessarily tell us whether Player A was better than Player B, they do indicate which player had a better career. ~ TBR factors in poor performance as well as excellence. The statistic is based on a linear-weights system, in which the average player would score a zero. Players are compared to others at their position in their league each season. Many great players had poor seasons that resulted in negative TBRs for those years. Had Pete Rose retired after the 1976 season, for instance, his career TBR would have been 27.1; instead, he finished at 21.4. ~ TBR reflects only regular-season performance. Postseason numbers do not affect TBR at all. Thus, stellar World Series performers such as Lou Brock get no TBR credit for their October exploits. ~ TBR critics point to problems with the formula for fielding runs. Granted, it is not perfect (no statistic is), but at least TBR attempts to factor in fielding, unlike most other statistical measurements. TBR is the best measuring stick we've got. For the purposes of argument, it is suggested here that a Hall of Famer with a TBR of less than 20 probably does not belong in Cooperstown, while a player not yet enshrined who has a TBR of at least 25 does belong. There are exceptions, naturally, and there are other reasons to put a player in the Hall or keep him out; nevertheless, what follows is a by-the-numbers analysis of Hall of Fame "eligibility." The seventh edition of the book, published in early 2001, used improved formulas, resulting in revised TBRs for nearly all the players on this page. Homestead has removed all support for Macs, so I cannot update this site as frequently as I'd like; as it stands now, I need to ask friends if I can borrow their pee cee. In order to avoid paying Homestead's new fees, I've been forced to remove all but three pages. The guest book has bitten the dust. My apologies to those trying to view this page in Netscape, and to those annoyed by the advertising (it's Homestead's fault, not mine, and it's why I won't be updating the home page or Team TBRs page). FIRST BASEMEN 68.9 Lou Gehrig 56.3 Jimmie Foxx 43.3 Roger Connor 41.4 Dan Brouthers 37.3 Willie McCovey 36.2 Johnny Mize 32.5 Cap Anson 31.5 Hank Greenberg 27.3 Harmon Killebrew 26.3 George Sisler 26.1 Bill Terry 22.4 Jake Beckley 21.0 Frank Chance 18.3 Orlando Cepeda 10.1 Tony Perez 2.6 George Kelly -1.9 Jim Bottomley BELONG: Dick Allen (35.9), Keith Hernandez (34.8), Norm Cash (28.8). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Jeff Bagwell (45.2), Frank Thomas (40.7), Mark McGwire (38.4), Eddie Murray (34.1), Rafael Palmeiro (26.5). ON THE VERGE: Jim Thome (17.7). SECOND BASEMEN 95.5 Nap Lajoie 82.7 Rogers Hornsby 73.3 Eddie Collins 54.8 Joe Morgan 45.0 Charlie Gehringer 41.0 Bid McPhee 40.5 Bobby Doerr 38.6 Frankie Frisch 36.3 Bill Mazeroski 34.2 Rod Carew 32.0 Jackie Robinson 31.8 Billy Herman 17.5 Tony Lazzeri 15.1 Johnny Evers 12.6 Nellie Fox 11.4 Red Schoendienst BELONG: Bobby Grich (45.8), Cupid Childs (30), Joe Gordon (28.8), Fred Dunlap (27.7), Hardy Richardson (27.3), Lou Whitaker (26.3). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Ryne Sandberg (36.6), Craig Biggio (35.6), Roberto Alomar (33.8). ON THE VERGE: Jeff Kent (17.6). SHORTSTOPS 82.0 Honus Wagner 50.6 George Davis 46.0 Robin Yount 42.5 Lou Boudreau 42.4 Ozzie Smith 42.4 Luke Appling 39.9 Joe Cronin 39.7 Arky Vaughan 39.4 Bobby Wallace 37.5 Dave Bancroft 35.5 Joe Sewell 26.9 Ernie Banks 26.3 Hughie Jennings 23.7 Travis Jackson 23.4 Joe Tinker 16.1 Phil Rizzuto 14.7 Pee Wee Reese 14.0 Rabbit Maranville 11.3 Luis Aparicio 8.4 John Montgomery Ward BELONG: Bill Dahlen (51.1), Jack Glasscock (35.9), Dick Bartell (28.3), Art Fletcher (26.2). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Cal Ripken (42.2), Barry Larkin (41.2), Alex Rodriguez (25.3). ON THE VERGE: Jay Bell (19.2). THIRD BASEMEN 79.6 Mike Schmidt 52.2 Eddie Mathews 40.0 George Brett 34.6 Frank "Home Run" Baker 24.0 Jimmy Collins 20.1 Brooks Robinson 19.7 Pie Traynor 12.3 Fred Lindstrom 6.4 George Kell BELONG: Ron Santo (40.9), Darrell Evans (35.5), Heinie Groh (28.1), Stan Hack (28.2). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Wade Boggs (44.4). ON THE VERGE: Matt Williams (22.6), Robin Ventura (20.8). OUTFIELDERS 126.1 Babe Ruth 95.9 Willie Mays 92.1 Ty Cobb 89.1 Hank Aaron 88.2 Tris Speaker 83.0 Ted Williams 77.4 Mickey Mantle 71.5 Stan Musial 67.6 Frank Robinson 61.4 Mel Ott 50.2 Joe DiMaggio 46.7 Carl Yastrzemski 45.2 Al Kaline 42.9 Ed Delahanty 42.2 Roberto Clemente 42.2 Reggie Jackson 36.9 Dave Winfield 33.5 Paul Waner 32.8 Richie Ashburn 32.3 Kirby Puckett 32.2 Harry Heilmann 31.6 Willie Stargell 31.3 Sam Crawford 30.7 Sam Thompson 30.4 Elmer Flick 30.1 Billy Williams 27.4 Billy Hamilton 26.9 Al Simmons 26.7 Fred Clarke 25.9 Ralph Kiner 25.8 King Kelly 25.7 Zack Wheat 25.1 Jesse Burkett 25.0 Goose Goslin 25.0 Joe Medwick 24.1 Duke Snider 23.4 Max Carey 22.7 Larry Doby 21.1 Earl Averill 20.0 Chuck Klein 19.6 Joe Kelley 17.9 Hack Wilson 16.4 Kiki Cuyler 16.3 Edd Roush 15.8 Enos Slaughter 15.3 Earle Combs 15.3 Jim O'Rourke 13.8 Harry Hooper 13.2 Willie Keeler 12.8 Chick Hafey 11.5 Ross Youngs 10.5 Lou Brock 10.5 Sam Rice 5.8 Hugh Duffy 5.0 Heinie Manush -0.1 Lloyd Waner -2.3 Tommy McCarthy BELONG: Shoeless Joe Jackson (39), Reggie Smith (37.5), Jim Wynn (35.9), Indian Bob Johnson (34.9), Cesar Cedeno (31.3), Andre Dawson (31), Jack Clark (30.7), Bobby Bonds (29.6), Jose Cruz (28.5), Dwight Evans (28.5), Pete Browning (28.2), Lenny Dykstra (27.7), Chet Lemon (27.1), Fred Lynn (26.9), Jim Rice (26.4), Rusty Staub (26.4), Sherry Magee (26), Minnie Minoso (26), Rocky Colavito (25.8). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Barry Bonds (89.4), Rickey Henderson (77), Ken Griffey Jr. (51.6), Tim Raines (47.9), Tony Gwynn (45.6), Albert Belle (34.3), Brett Butler (28.7), Bernie Williams (28.6), Gary Sheffield (27.5), Ray Lankford (26.6), Darryl Strawberry (26.5), Jose Canseco (25.2), Larry Walker (25.1). ON THE VERGE: Tim Salmon (23.4), Kenny Lofton (22.8), Manny Ramirez (20), David Justice (19.2), Sammy Sosa (19), Jim Edmonds (17.4), Luis Gonzalez (17). CATCHERS 40.3 Gabby Hartnett 37.4 Yogi Berra 35.4 Bill Dickey 31.8 Mickey Cochrane 29.8 Buck Ewing 25.6 Johnny Bench 24.9 Carlton Fisk 22.5 Roy Campanella 20.1 Roger Bresnahan 17.5 Ernie Lombardi 10.9 Rick Ferrell 8.7 Ray Schalk BELONGS: Gary Carter (30.1). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Mike Piazza (36). PITCHERS 91.0 Walter Johnson 78.0 Cy Young 64.6 Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander 62.9 Christy Mathewson 59.7 Lefty Grove 57.5 Kid Nichols 50.2 Warren Spahn 48.7 Tom Seaver 46.0 John Clarkson 44.9 Ed Walsh 43.7 Bob Gibson 41.1 Carl Hubbell 40.8 Hoyt Wilhelm 39.8 Amos Rusie 39.3 Hal Newhouser 39.2 Whitey Ford 38.1 Tim Keefe 37.9 Bob Lemon 37.1 Ted Lyons 35.3 Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown 34.9 Jim Palmer 34.9 Gaylord Perry 34.6 Don Drysdale 33.8 Phil Niekro 33.7 Steve Carlton 30.2 Bob Feller 29.8 Fergie Jenkins 29.5 Juan Marichal 27.9 Red Ruffing 27.4 Dazzy Vance 27.2 Red Faber 27.1 Charles Radbourn 27.0 Stan Coveleski 26.9 Eddie Plank 26.6 Eppa Rixey 25.9 Robin Roberts 25.8 Addie Joss 24.4 Rube Waddell 23.7 Burleigh Grimes 21.8 Dizzy Dean 21.2 Vic Willis 22.5 Rollie Fingers 20.7 Nolan Ryan 18.8 Joe McGinnity 20.5 Sandy Koufax 19.9 Lefty Gomez 17.1 Early Wynn 15.1 Waite Hoyt 15.1 Mickey Welch 14.4 Chief Bender 13.4 Jim Bunning 13.2 Don Sutton 13.0 Jim "Pud" Galvin 10.9 Jack Chesbro 6.8 Jesse Haines 6.8 Herb Pennock 6.0 Catfish Hunter -2.3 Rube Marquard BELONG: Carl Mays (36.6), Dizzy Trout (33.3), Tony Mullane (32.3), Bob Caruthers (31.5), Bert Blyleven (30.7), Wes Ferrell (30.6), Rich Gossage (28.9), Tommy Bridges (28), Clark Griffith (27.6) (Griffith is in as a executive; could be in as a pitcher), Dolph Luque (26.8), Dutch Leonard (26.7), Bucky Walters (26.6), Urban Shocker (25.8), Tommy John (25.6), Eddie Cicotte (25.4), Eddie Rommel (25.2), Dan Quisenberry (25.1), Harry Brecheen (25). THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Greg Maddux (60), Roger Clemens (57.5), Pedro Martinez (32.9), Kevin Brown (32.8), Randy Johnson (31.8), Tom Glavine (30.9), John Franco (29.5), Bret Saberhagen (28.1), Dennis Eckersley (27.3), Dave Steib (26.8). ON THE VERGE: Mike Mussina (24.8), David Cone (23.1), John Smoltz (22.9), John Wetteland (21.5), Chuck Finley (20.9), Roberto Hernandez (20.3), Kevin Appier (18.8), Trevor Hoffman (17.4), Mariano Rivera (17.3). DESIGNATED HITTERS THUS FAR INELIGIBLE: Edgar Martinez (35.7), Paul Molitor (32.6). CONGRATULATIONS TO OZZIE SMITH! Smith (that's his 1992 Topps Kids card above) was elected January 8 to the Hall of Fame, surprising no one. Smith played from 1978 until 1996 and set the standard for shortstop defense. Gary Carter finished second in the voting and missed induction by 11 votes. Here's the vote announced in January (the players' TPRs are in parentheses): 433 Ozzie Smith (42.4) 343 Gary Carter (30.1) 260 Jim Rice (26.4) 238 Bruce Sutter (18.6) 214 Andre Dawson (31) 203 Rich Gossage (28.9) 134 Steve Garvey (-4.9) 127 Tommy John (25.6) 124 Bert Blyleven (30.7) 109 Jim Kaat (19) 97 Jack Morris (7.7) 96 Don Mattingly (11.9) 85 Luis Tiant (18.5) 74 Alan Trammell (23.3) 70 Dale Murphy (21.4) 66 Dave Parker (21.5) 56 Dave Concepcion (9.1) 29 Keith Hernandez (34.8) 23 Ron Guidry (18.5) 23 Dave Stewart (0.9) 2 Mike Greenwell (10.6) 2 Frank Viola (14.7) 1 Lenny Dykstra (27.7) 1 Tim Wallach (5.3) Clearly underrated: Hernandez, Blyleven, Dykstra. Clearly overrated: Garvey. The TPR ballot would have read: Smith Hernandez Dawson Blyleven Carter Gossage Dykstra Rice John The Hall of Fame in August restructured its eligibility rules, giving new hope to Lou Whitaker and other players who spent at least 10 seasons in the major leagues but whose names had been dropped from consideration for failing to receive a requisite number of votes in past elections. The big names to be added to the ballot this year include Eddie Murray (34.1), Ryne Sandberg (36.6), and Lee Smith (21.2). The TPR ballot for the next election, whose results are to be announced in Janurary, would read: Sandberg Hernandez Murray Dawson Blyleven Carter Gossage Dykstra Rice John |
Counter reset April 7, 2002; this page last updated June 17, 2002
