Raffy's 3000th -- igophoto Life Hosting

Raffy's 3000th

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Raffy's 3000th -- Sat, Jul 16 2005 12:08AM

We went to Safeco Field tonight and saw Rafael Palmeiro get his 3000th career hit - an uncharacteristic double down the LEFT field line. In this shot you can actually see the ball (a blur just above the 3rd baseline over the warning track in front of the dugout). If you haven't already heard, he's the 26th player to reach the 3000 hit mark (only needs 1256 more to catch Rose) and only the 4th player to reach 3000 hits and 500+ home runs (joining Aaron, Mays, and Murray).

Despite this, Skip Bayless is a chode and says Raffy's not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I think his arguments are crap, but then again I'm biased.

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Snee

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oreo

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Sorry Chris, I have to agree with Bayless. I remember this being talked about a bit last summer, and hearing that eventually, 5000/300 won't be the benchmark for the HoF.

Then again, a lot of the HoF players are the quiet guys who go about their jobs and do them well, day-in, day-out. The rest of his numbers just aren't in the .1% (or whatever it equals out to ... I think it's something like 10% of all kids who play ball minor league ball, and 10% of those make the HoF) that are Hall-worthy.

It's a lot more elite than I ever realized, but becoming less-so; there was talk that even Molly and Eck didn't belong (but because Eck got in, a lot more closers will probably be going now).

*ducks*

- oreo, Sat, Jul 16 2005 06:10AM

Alright, here are my gripes with Bayless...

I can understand his gripe with Murray since he hit (only?) 504 HRs in his career. Raffy is at 566 as of this writing (good for 9th all-time) and finishing with 580+ by the end of this season isn't out of the question (which would put him 6th or 7th depending on how Sosa finishes up).

Palmeiro has made only four All-Star teams -- half of Murray's.
This surprises me. Sportswriters tend to think they know better than the fans when it comes to All-Star selections. Should Raffy be denied HoF status because, even with his numbers, he didn't make it to the Midsummer Classic?

Palmeiro hasn't played in a World Series. In 22 postseason games, he has only four homers and eight RBI, with a .244 average.
Fair enough, but if it weren't for Jeffrey Mayer he would have played in the 1997 WS. Rod Carew never made it to a WS either, and only batted .220 in his 14 career playoff games. Harmon Killebrew has "only" 3HR/6RBI/.250 in his playoff career (not to mention his .256 career avg. and just over 2000 career hits). Hell, Dave Winfield is in the HoF and in his 26 playoff games (incl. 2 WS) he only hit .208 with 2HR and 9RBI. Looking at seasonal numbers, a typical season from Raffy looks a lot like a typical season from Willie McCovey, except Raffy walks more than he strikes out.

I can understand why someone would be hesitant to say players like Sosa, McGriff, or Bagwell are 1st-ballot HoF'ers. Raffy hasn't just been consistent, he's consistently been in the top tier of offensive leaders. I'm just sayin...

- Snee, Sat, Jul 16 2005 11:47AM

I think he does belong in the Hall, despite the link that is soon to follow these words. His numbers really are amazing when you consider how little you've ever heard about him. He's definitely very, very good, but has been for a long time and that's why he deserves a spot. As for closers, the game has changed so much that closers play a substantially more significant role than in the past. The Hall is a reflection of everyone who is great at the game of baseball; as players gain importance in the game, they should do so as well in the Hall.
Now back to Raffy. According to Buster Olney, he's just been suspended and the appeal from the players' union has been rejected. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2121659

- EhSteve, Mon, Aug 1 2005 11:54AM edited Mon, Aug 1 2005 02:11PM

Skip Bayless is a chode

You sure it's not "choad"? This has always bugged me.

- josh, Mon, Aug 1 2005 12:36PM

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