Afternoon Baseball

Just kidding.

Sadly, Mattingly doesn't belong, even if some people disagree. The Kirby Puckett comparision is a valid one, but Puckett doesn't get in if he doesn't get glaucoma. He's a sympathy vote, plain and simple (and the WS MVP doesn't hurt, either). And given that he's basically blind, or partly so, it's not worth griping about the tradeoff.
Mattingly's problem is that his stats are so front-loaded. He was soooo good from 1984-1989 (leading the league in OPS+ twice and virtually every major stat save HR at least once) that it helped shield his final numbers from the pathetic drop that was the 1990s for him.
The Gold Gloves do help. He was a great first baseman. But did anyone say in 1996 or later, "Man, Tino just isn't cutting it at first base." Maybe Yankees fans just had short memories because they were caught up in winning titles and seeing Tino hit 44 HR in 1997. But it's odd that Mattingly could have been so legendary with the glove, but never have it mentioned again except in the context of a HOF apologia.

I'm not knocking Mattingly. He was the face of the franchise for 13 years, and while they never won much, they would have been far worse off without him. He also gave the team some stability in the personality department, which allowed for people like Buck Showalter, Jimmy Key, Wade Boggs, and many of the Joe Torre-era Yankees to come into the organization and feel comfortable. But he's not a Hall of Famer. A tragic result -- having such a back injury at age 29 -- but the result nonetheless.

Labels: HOF