Joe DiMaggio

Does Lee Smith Deserve to be in the Baseball Hall Of Fame?

i mean considering everybody says Hoffman is a hall of famer and i agree to a certain extent i mean Smith did have the record long before Hoffman so wouldn't it be fair to put in Smith In The Hall Of Fame before Hoffman?

Public Comments

1. Completely agree! I am very disappointed in the baseball writers for not voting Smith in. If Sutter is already there, how come Smith is not! He was a nasty closer with an impressive fast ball. His sad thing was playing for the Cubs when they were part of the lower standings year after year during the 80's/90's. He does deserve to be in the HOF.
2. I think Smith belongs and I believe he eventually will make it. The baseball writers still haven't warmed up to the thought of putting relievers in the Hall of Fame. Kind of like punters in the Football Hall of Fame. However, the baseball writers are starting to come around. Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, and now Rich Gossage are in and it will only be a matter of time until Lee Smith gets in. It took Sutter 13 years to get elected and Gossage 9 years and Smith had a higher percentage of votes his first year than they did. Smith has only been elligible 6 years. Between 2010 and 2012 the best new players elligible for the Hall are Jeff Bagwell, Roberto Alomar, Fred McGriff and Barry Larkin. I don't know if any of them will make it the first try so look for guys like Bert Blyleven, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Jack Morris and Lee Smith to get a lot of attention.
3. I haven't been a Smith proponent because other, better relievers were waiting ahead of him. Gossage is now in, most deservedly, so I may reconsider Smith's candidacy. I do find it somewhat troubling that, despite being an ace closer, he was often traded for spare parts, like no GM was worried about getting real value for him. That's just weird. Trades: Cubs to Red Sox for Al Nipper & Calvin Schiraldi; Red Sox to Cardinals for Tom Brunansky; Cardinals to Yankees for Rich Batchelor; Angels to Reds for Chuck McElroy. Bruno was a decent slugger but the rest, that's scrap-heap material.
4. Which one of the Smith Bros cough drop Bros. is Lee Smith?
5. I'm not sure I like putting a guy in the Hall of Fame just because he reached a certain milestone. Smith is a tough one. He did have the saves lead until Hoffman took it away, but saves is an odd stat. The closer role is still developing, so it is hard to say what a good career for a closer is. Smith is one of those who helped define the role though, and for that reason I think he should be in the hall of fame.