Womack: Bobby Grich on Hall of Fame chances: ‘I’m not optimistic’
From SABR member Bobby Grich at The Sporting News on February 16, 2016:
The word’s been out on Bobby Grich for a while, that in 1992 the former Orioles and Angels second baseman got robbed in Baseball Hall of Fame voting his only year on the writers’ ballot. Grich received 2.6 percent of the vote, likely doomed by his .266 batting average and 1,833 hits. As David Schoenfield of ESPN and Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated noted about Jim Edmonds, another one-and-done candidate, no position player who began his career after 1960 has made the Hall of Fame with fewer than 2,000 hits.
But Grich’s career demands more than a cursory look. It helps his case to consider sabermetric stats like his 43.4 Wins Above Average, best of any player not in the Hall of Fame who’s been retired since 1996. It’s also better than every Hall of Fame second baseman except Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins, Nap Lajoie, Joe Morgan and Charlie Gehringer. Hall of Fame voters are often loathe to consider sabermetrics, though. Some voters have the idea that if a candidate requires much thought, they’re not a Hall of Famer.
Read the full article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/4695133-bobby-grich-hall-of-fame-chances-not-optimistic-orioles-angels
Originally published: February 17, 2016. Last Updated: February 17, 2016.