Womack: Dave Stieb on Hall of Fame: ‘I surely did not deserve to be wiped off the map’
From SABR member Graham Womack at The Sporting News on February 21, 2017:
Dave Stieb made his only appearance on the writers’ ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.
A case can be made with sabermetrics that Stieb — not Jack Morris — was the best pitcher of the 1980s and would be a worthy addition to Cooperstown. But by traditional measures, the former Toronto Blue Jays ace might have looked far short of a plaque, with sciatica and other ailments chasing Stieb away from the game in his mid-30s and limiting him to 176 wins. Stieb drew just 1.4 percent, or seven votes, of 506 votes cast in 2004 — and that was that.
On one hand, Stieb said he wasn’t that surprised with the outcome.
“I said right off the bat, ‘I don’t belong in the Hall of Fame, I did not win enough games and so forth,’” Stieb told Sporting News in a recent phone interview from Reno, Nev., where he does land development work.
But there’s a caveat.
“I surely did not deserve to be just wiped off the map after the first-year ballot,” Stieb said. “It’s like, please, amuse me and string me out for two, three years.”
Read the full article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/dave-stieb-stats-hall-of-fame-case-interview-toronto-blue-jays-jmlb/15lhsyein7hj116xw137h58urx
Originally published: February 21, 2017. Last Updated: February 21, 2017.