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Here are the 25 center fielders who had the best careers during the 20^th century (as measured by the NEWS HOF Gauge).

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Here are the 25 left fielders who had the best careers during the 20^th century (as measured by the NEWS HOF Gauge).

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Here are the 25 right fielders who had the best careers during the 20^th century (as measured by the NEWS HOF Gauge).

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This is the first installment of a new series on this blog regarding which major league players had the best careers at each position as determined by the NEWS HOF Gauge.

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There is now a special segment of the Veterans Committee that will examine the most deserving of those players who played prior to 1943 but are not in the Hall of Fame. A good question is – how many such players have HOF numbers and have been ignored in the past?

According to the NEWS HOF Gauge (based on win shares), there are ONLY THREE position players from this period who have a NEWS score of 280 or greater (obvious HOF numbers) and are not in the Hall of Fame. Here are the three players and their NEWS score.

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Maury Wills came onto the BBWAA ballot in 1978. In that first year, he got 115 votes (30%). Luis Aparicio, another shortstop, joined him on the ballot in 1979. Wills got 38% of the vote in 1979 compared to 28% for Aparicio. In 1980, Wills got more votes than Aparicio again – 38% to 32%. In 1981, Wills bested Aparicio again – 41% to 12%

So, for the first three years that Luis was on the ballot, Maury did better than he did. Note that Aparicio fell from 32% in 1980 to only 12% in 1981. That would seem to imply that he was losing support and was in a downward spiral. Or so it would seem to the average fan looking on. But the weird voting patterns of the writers was about to kick in again. In 1982, Aparicio suddenly jumped to 42% (from 12%). What happened? Had he suddenly become a better shortstop? I hardly think so.

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At times, the manner in which some writers who are members of the BBWAA vote in the Hall of Fame elections seemingly defies rational explanation. Writers receive a ballot containing a list of candidates for the Hall. They are asked to vote for ten players at most. I would assume that if someone is voting for the first time, he (or she) would ask himself: Who do I think is deserving of induction?

It seems to me that a voter could decide that there are not ten players on the ballot deserving of the Hall and, therefore, choose to vote for only a few who he considers worthy. This is perfectly understandable. But my assumption would be that a serious voter will only vote for those players who he feels really deserve to be in the Hall. And if one of his choices does not make it on this ballot, he will continue to vote for that deserving player in future ballots.

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Congratulations to Goose Gossage on his election to the Hall of Fame. He got 86% of the vote and was the only candidate elected. As we have said here before, Gossage has HOF numbers and should have been elected long ago.

Three other players scored better than 60% of the vote and will probably be elected some day. They are Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven.

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Nolan Ryan is a Hall of Fame pitcher – there is no question about that. But exactly how good was he and how does he compare to the other HOF pitchers?

People are usually surprised when I explain that Nolan Ryan’s career more closely resembles that of Don Sutton than those of truly outstanding pitchers like Tom Seaver or Bob Gibson. Because of his no-hitters and the career strikeout record, fans are surprised to hear that Ryan is in the Hall more for his longevity than for his dominance.

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The NEWS HOF Gauge recognizes two small groups of pitchers as having HOF numbers even though they did not reach the NEWS criterion of 235 for a starting pitcher.

1. The 180/2400 Standard - Starters and starter/reliever

There are only five pitchers in the 20^th century who have attained a NEWS score of 180 while pitching in fewer than 2400 innings. Three of these pitchers were starters and the other two are better known for their relief efforts. According to the NEWS Gauge, all five have HOF numbers. Here they are:

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According to the NEWS HOF Gauge, only eighty-four (84) position players in the 20^th century have attained HOF numbers with a NEWS score of 280. That is a very select club. But there were nine other position players who also achieved HOF numbers even though they had relatively short careers.

There have only been eleven position players during the 20^th century who have attained a NEWS score of at least 255 despite having played fewer than 1800 games. And all eleven of these players have been elected to the Hall. Here they are. (The first number is games played while the second is the NEWS score.)

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Marvin Miller was not elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee on Dec. 3, 2007 and he was upset. This is some of what he said (as reported by the Associated Press).

“I think it was rigged, but not to keep me out. It was rigged to bring some of these (people) in. It’s not a pretty picture. … It’s demeaning to the Hall and demeaning to the people in it.”

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The NEWS HOF Gauge (based on Win Shares) has set performance standards for players and pitchers in order to determine whether they have the numbers to be considered serious candidates for the Hall of Fame. These are tough standards as is evidenced by the fact that only 93 position players and 49 pitchers (who played during the 20^th century) have HOF numbers according to the NEWS Gauge.

Five of these 142 players are on the 2008 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. Three are pitchers and two are position players. Here are the five players.

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According to the NEWS HOF Gauge (based on win shares), at the end of the 2006 season, only 82 position players had established a NEWS score of 280 (clear HOF numbers). In the 2007 season, Chipper Jones and Jim Thome joined this elite group. Jones is now the #79 best position player of the 20^th century and the #7 best third baseman. Thome becomes the #82 best position player and #12 best first baseman.

This means that during the 2007 season, there were a total of ten active position players who had already established HOF numbers. Here are those players in order. The number before the player’s name is his rank against all position players of the century and the number following is his NEWS score.

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