Womack: Dave Righetti on Hall of Fame: ‘Maybe there should be a coaches’ wing’
From SABR member Graham Womack at The National Pastime Museum on September 4, 2017:
As of right now, the Baseball Hall of Fame doesn’t really have a place for a candidate like Dave Righetti.
Righetti threw a no-hitter at 24 but didn’t remain a starter long enough to get into Cooperstown as one. He became one of the best closers of the 1980s for the Yankees, even holding the single-season save record at one point, though his 252 saves won’t get him enshrined as a reliever.
Then there’s Righetti’s career for nearly two decades thus far as pitching coach for the Giants. Righetti has worked with a number of standout pitchers, helmed staffs for three World Series winners and has a reasonable case as one of the better pitching coaches in baseball history. But the Hall of Fame has yet to enshrine anyone as a pitching or hitting coach.
Only rarely in Hall of Fame history, in fact, have candidates been enshrined as hybrid selections for both their playing careers and what they did thereafter. The few times this has happened, arguably with Hughie Jennings in 1945, John Montgomery Ward in 1964 and Al Lopez in 1977, the inductees each had managerial experience.
Read the full article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/dave-righetti-hall-of-fame-coaches-wing-giants-pitching-stats/hxb970ucze171w5h9ijaup57u
Originally published: September 5, 2017. Last Updated: September 5, 2017.