Just heard that douch Skip BaylASS say Biggio is not a hall of famer. And if the hall of fame opened a good guy wing he would be in
There simply are some writers that believe that if Babe Ruth wasn't unanimous, no one should be. There is no chance in hell that Biggio is a unanimous selection. He will be in on the first ballot by a wide margin.
That's what I'm worried about for Bagwell. The other problems I see are he won his MVP during the strike shortened season and has done poorly in the playoffs and was injured in his only World Series appearance.
i think bagwell's going to struggle to get in, and it wouldn't shock me if never does get in. personally, i think he's a lock. i'm just not sure .297/449/1,529/.948 and 6 top 10 finishes in the MVP voting are going to "wow" anyone in this era, especially since trying to convince someone he was probably the best running first baseman in history (off the top of my head) and a consistently terrific fielder is hard to do.
Bagwell also is the owner of one of the greatest statistical seasons of ALL TIME. Even though it was strike shortened, it ranks up there for 1994.
.368/39/116/1.201 what's amazing, and problematic, is that frank thomas posted nearly the exact same #s that very same year: .353/38/101/1.216, and has had the better career overall. bagwell seems destined to get lost in the shuffle.
Don't forget Bagwell's .750 SLG percentage in 1994. .750!!! Funny thing is, though, if the season had been completed, Bags wouldn't have been the MVP because his season was over when he broke his wrist. Check out his game by game logs in 1994. Dude hit .394/.455/.899 in June and .409/.509/.875 in July! I remember checking the box scores that summer and it seemed like he was 3-5 with a 2b and HR every other day... And, oh yeah, Biggio is a 1st ballot lock in 5 years
but again... thomas slugged .729 that year and was .600+ the year before and the next three years after. bagwell finished above .600 just once more in his career. like i said: he deserves to go in, imo. but his numbers - even his very best numbers - are rendered less spectacular by some of the #s other players of that era put up. i know bags was stuck in the dome, but it's going to take a rob neyer or some such to really push hard to help him stand out more.
I actually wasn't commenting on the Bagwell/Thomas comparison or Bags' HOF chances, just the amazing season that Bagwell had in 1994.
oh, *i* think he's a no doubt hall of famer. i've said for years he's the best all-around NL 1b of all-time (this was, obviously, before puljos rumbled onto the scene; i'd still rank him 2nd). but he's the kind of player where, while still impressive, #s don't really tell the whole story since it's hard to quantify how smart a player he was, how good a defensive first baseman he was, etc. so i fear people are going to look at his final numbers (.297/449/1,529/.948) and, in comparison to other players of this era (like a frank thomas), find them rather "ordinary." if he could have stayed even semi-healthy, he would have zoomed past 500 HRs last year. had he done that... he's probably a lock.
Bagwell will struggle to get in because he didn't reach one of the sexy statistical milestones. Those serve as the first ticket. I'd say it's very unlikely that he makes it in his first year of eligibility. When you look at what he did compared to the numbers of the players who were his contemporaries, he just doesn't wow you without digging through circumstances. That's going to hurt him.
i agree, the sub .300 ba and sub 500 hr will detract, also his strongest season being the strike. also, bags had several great seasons other than the 94 where he landed high in mvp voting, and a career slug .540 that could help. also, arguably he was the bigger star during their prime (of the killer b's) even though bgo has claimed the franchise hat of recent. plus, bags won ROY and was arguably one of the best fielding/hitting 1b in an era stacked with power 1b. another important note, bagwell played 14 real seasons (15 if u count the burnout final year), so perhaps the voters will take this as their grain of salt when weighing how important those milestones are to HOF standards. my guess, he's a third ballot, while biggio is of course a first.
Well, ESPN writer Jonah Keri thinks Bagwell is in: 2011 Jeff Bagwell (.948 OPS, 1994 MVP): In an era clogged with slugging first basemen, Bagwell's on-base ability (.408 career OBP), handy glovework and huge peak seasons stand out against his peers. 2013 Craig Biggio (3,014 hits, 1,826 runs): Another all-around threat who did everything well, and for a long time. Bill James famously called him the second-best player of the 1990s. Not sure about that, but you could make a strong case for Top 5. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/070725
