The Case For Vada Pinson
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 12:33 pm
I've given up on the Hall of Fame doing the right things.
They haven't in the past. They won't in the future.
I wrote yearly to the Hall of Fame on behalf of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
I should have saved the money for the stamps.
The Hall of Fame has been off and on in their pompousness and their snootiness.
What goes for one player may not go for another.
The Hall is a little bit like how we used to vote for Prom King and Queen at our high school.
The Quarterback and the best looking cheerleader almost shoo-ins.
One thing about the Hall. It IS all about the looks.
Vada Pinson was one of the best players I ever saw.
Ever.
And I've seen a lot of players.
Now, the younger generation has no idea who Vada Pinson is or the kind of player he was.
Pinson was the kind of player that we fantasy folks adore.
He could run. He could hit. He could hit with power.
Vada Pinson could just flat out play.
He would have won many Gold Gloves, but picked the same era to play in as the BEST player I have ever seen, Willie Mays.
Pinson has fallen through the cracks because of that generation.
Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Killebrew, Kaline, Brock, Musial, Yastrzemski, Banks, Santo, Williams, Mathews, Carew, and his teammate Frank Robinson were the headline grabbers.
It was the golden age of baseball.
There were still few teams and there were many, many great players.
Pinson hit at or near the top of the Reds order.
He was a left handed pain in the ass for pitchers.
He could bunt, go the other way, or hit the ball out of the park.
Pinson was the engine to the Reds team.
Hall of Fame credentials?
Many.
In fact, let's compare Pinson's numbers to the numbers of a man who has become legend.
It seems Pinson is always being compared to legends, but never remembered, even though holding up to these legends.
During Roberto Clemente's career, he had 9,454 at bats....these are his numbers...
Clemente- .317/1416/240/1305/83
Almost anybody will tell you that those are Hall of Fame numbers.
If not for his tragic death, Clemente would have added to these numbers, although the batting average takes a hit during most players last and declining years.
Pinson had 9,645 at bats.....these are his numbers
Pinson- .286/1365/256/1169/305
Those are also Hall of Fame numbers.
The problem being that writers never realized that.
It's a darned shame.
And again, shame on the Hall of Fame.
I do not write to the Hall on behalf of Pinson.
The realization is that it will do no good.
The Hall will continue to let great players fall through the cracks.
They will also be politic'd into letting players in the Hall that really do not belong.
Hi, Rabbit Maranville.
Maranville was a favorite of the Gashouse Gang. The Gashouse Gang have many players in the Hall of Fame and were very influential in who was voted into the Hall of Fame for a long time.
It's too bad that Pinson did not have a group like this fighting for his induction.
They haven't in the past. They won't in the future.
I wrote yearly to the Hall of Fame on behalf of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
I should have saved the money for the stamps.
The Hall of Fame has been off and on in their pompousness and their snootiness.
What goes for one player may not go for another.
The Hall is a little bit like how we used to vote for Prom King and Queen at our high school.
The Quarterback and the best looking cheerleader almost shoo-ins.
One thing about the Hall. It IS all about the looks.
Vada Pinson was one of the best players I ever saw.
Ever.
And I've seen a lot of players.
Now, the younger generation has no idea who Vada Pinson is or the kind of player he was.
Pinson was the kind of player that we fantasy folks adore.
He could run. He could hit. He could hit with power.
Vada Pinson could just flat out play.
He would have won many Gold Gloves, but picked the same era to play in as the BEST player I have ever seen, Willie Mays.
Pinson has fallen through the cracks because of that generation.
Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Killebrew, Kaline, Brock, Musial, Yastrzemski, Banks, Santo, Williams, Mathews, Carew, and his teammate Frank Robinson were the headline grabbers.
It was the golden age of baseball.
There were still few teams and there were many, many great players.
Pinson hit at or near the top of the Reds order.
He was a left handed pain in the ass for pitchers.
He could bunt, go the other way, or hit the ball out of the park.
Pinson was the engine to the Reds team.
Hall of Fame credentials?
Many.
In fact, let's compare Pinson's numbers to the numbers of a man who has become legend.
It seems Pinson is always being compared to legends, but never remembered, even though holding up to these legends.
During Roberto Clemente's career, he had 9,454 at bats....these are his numbers...
Clemente- .317/1416/240/1305/83
Almost anybody will tell you that those are Hall of Fame numbers.
If not for his tragic death, Clemente would have added to these numbers, although the batting average takes a hit during most players last and declining years.
Pinson had 9,645 at bats.....these are his numbers
Pinson- .286/1365/256/1169/305
Those are also Hall of Fame numbers.
The problem being that writers never realized that.
It's a darned shame.
And again, shame on the Hall of Fame.
I do not write to the Hall on behalf of Pinson.
The realization is that it will do no good.
The Hall will continue to let great players fall through the cracks.
They will also be politic'd into letting players in the Hall that really do not belong.
Hi, Rabbit Maranville.
Maranville was a favorite of the Gashouse Gang. The Gashouse Gang have many players in the Hall of Fame and were very influential in who was voted into the Hall of Fame for a long time.
It's too bad that Pinson did not have a group like this fighting for his induction.