A Short Career and the HOF

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.)

 

Player	Games	NEWS
Joe DiMaggio	1736	341
Elmer Flick	1483	283
Earl Averill	1668	271
Hank Greenberg	1394	263
Lou Boudreau	1646	261
Bill Terry	1721	261
Larry Doby	1533	260
Jackie Robinson	1382	257
Mickey Cochrane	1482	256
Kirby Puckett	1783	256
Bill Dickey	1789	255

As you can see, Joe D and Elmer Flick had a NEWS score better than 280. But the NEWS Gauge says the other nine also have HOF numbers by virtue of a short and great career. And let me emphasize once again that these eleven players are the ONLY 20^th century position players to have done this.

Now, what about a player like Don Mattingly who some fans may feel also had a short but great career? Mattingly played for fourteen seasons and does satisfy the criterion for games played – he played in 1785 games. But when you look at his numbers, you find that he comes up a bit short. He had a NEWS score of 247. So, he is not one of the 93 (84 + 9) position players who have definite HOF numbers according to the NEWS Gauge.

For more information on the NEWS HOF Gauge, see BASEBALL’S BEST: The TRUE Hall of Famers on this site.