Joe DiMaggio

which player in the baseball hall of fame has the worst stats?

in other words, is there anyone in cooperstown who it could be said does not belong to be there? what are the minimum requirements for getting into the hall? how many votes does someone need? and how many voters are there?

Public Comments

1. If you want to look at the basic offensive numbers, maybe you'd consider Ozzie Smith. (28 homers, 793 RBI, .262 average, those are career totals, 2460 total hits though not too shabby) Players have to get at least 75% of the vote to be elected. There are somewhere around 515-525 voters I think. Whoa whoa whoa! If the thumbs down was for the fact I said Ozzie Smith then you should consider I never said he didn't deserve Hall of Fame recognition, take note I was merely answering the initial question of "Which player in the baseball hall of fame has the worst stats?" As I said, basic offensive numbers. Ozzie's defense was brilliant, possibly the best ever. And yes, HoF isn't all about offensive numbers, nor should it be.
2. Bill Mazeroski was a worse hitter than Ozzie and nowhere near as good a fielder. He just happened to hit a homer at the right moment. The number of voters has changed throughout the years. Voters are sports journalists who have worked at reputable papers/tv stations for 10 years or so. To get into the hall, a player must be retired for at least five years and get 75% of the writers' votes. Writers can vote for as many players as they like in a given year. Players are removed from eligibility after 15 years on the ballot.
3. Reggie Jackson is the all-time strikeout king among hitters, and other than the 3-homer game, he had a good, not great, career. To get in, players need 75% of however many voters there are. The voters are made up of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
4. There are a considerable number of questionable members of the hall of fame. I would suggest that players like Josh Gibson, Phil Rizzuto, Ozzie Smith just to name three, have no business in the hall of fame. One need only look at their stats to realize that their careers were very unremarkable. Yet media hype and hearsay, certainly as it applies to the old Negro Leagues, has allowed many a fraud into the most hallowed of all shrines. Entry into the hall takes 75% of all votes from the baseball writers association. There are approximately 545 registered voters many of which have not attended a major league game in years. These are the facts whether people accept it or not. Ozzie Smith's defensive numbers are not even close to the best in baseball as a shortstop. I suppose he got in because of his back flips between innings. Thumbs down only proves a lack of research on your part. alrct75 - I'm not saying all Negro League players are not worthy of the hall, but a good number certainly don't belong. I'm reading the answers and knew full well that I'd be blasted for my statements. I stand by what I've said because I took the time to do the reseach. It's obvious that many of you haven't. This is not about being politically correct, it's about telling the truth. And by the way, in reply to the general statement that one who has answered this question, however inaccurately, I do in fact know what I'm talking about.
5. Bill Mazeroski has no place in the Hall of Fame 2,016 career hits 138 career HR 853 career RBI .260 career BA
6. Its not all about offensive stats, Ozzie was one of the best, if not the best defensive players ever. Sorry I didn't answer your question, but people saying Ozzie doesn't deserve the HOF are just ridiculous.
7. There are players who got in for their defensive excellence -- Ozzie, Ashburn, Maz to an extent -- whose offensive numbers do not shine brightly. Pretty much nothing justifies Rick Ferrell though.
8. Well, Chipster.. If it ain't Rick Farrell...maybe Ray Schalk? Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, the immortal George Kelly. By todays standards...just about anyone who played prior to 1920 looks awful.
9. I had to read some of these answers 2, 3, and in some cases 4 times to see if I read them right. If you said Ozzie Smith doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame, please click the "x" in the top right-hand corner of the screen and never venture back into the baseball section. You have no clue what you're talking about. .
10. There have been quite a few questionable elections into the Hall of Fame. For a good read and list, I would suggest Bill James, "Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?" At the top of my list would be Roger Bresnahan (who?). Yeah, even for a deadball era catcher, this was a pretty poor selection. Steve, just because deadball era players stats aren't necessarily as good because of the era doesn't mean we should shovel them into the hall. Plenty of players dominated that era and rightfully got in (Christy Mathewson, Joe Jackson (yes, I know he was banned, but he was dominant), etc.). Mick - I see no reason to say any of the old negro league players shouldn't be in. Heresay and media hype usually do a good job of giving it to the best. I think the HoF rightfully added a shrine to negro league players and did a great job of putting in the best of the negro league players. As others have stated, it takes 75% of the BBWAA votes. The Veterens committee can elect certain players but that is a much more complex system.
11. Ozzie Smith is in and wasn't even the best shortstop of his time. There are several shortstops of the seventies and eighties that where as good or better than he was on defense, including but not limited to Bert Campaneris, Larry Bowa and David Concepcion. Concepcion was a better fielder and a much better hitter yet he can't get a sniff of the Hall because he didn't speak English well and didn't get a lot of attention from the writers with the other HoF'ers on his team. Concepcion is much more deserving of the Hall than is The wizard of the back flip. Statistically there is no minimum requirements. As has been stated you need 75% of the voters of the Baseball Writers Association of America to put your name on thier ballots to be elected. There currently are 545 writers with Hall of Fame ballots. Many of which don't have a clue.