The Hall of Famers: The 5 Levels of Greatness – Part 3

In this article, I will present the Level 3 and Level 4 position players.  There were a total of thirty-one (31) players in Levels 1 and 2 – the position players with the best careers of the 20^th century.  In Levels 3 and 4, we have the fifty-seven (57) next best careers of the century – twenty-five (25) in Level 3 and thirty-two (32) in Level 4.

Level 3  -  Players with a CAWS score > 300 & <330

Here are the twenty-five great position players whose rank for career value in the 20^th century is from #32 to #56.  They each have a CAWS score of better than 300 but less than 330.  This means that there are only fifty-six (56) position players since 1901 who achieved a CAWS career score of 300 or better.

All numbers include the 2010 season

Bold  =  Hall of Famer
CWS  =  Career Win Shares
CV      =  Core Value (sum of win shares for 10 best seasons)
CAWS  =  Career Assessment/Win Shares  =  CV  +  .25(CWS – CV)
*  =  deadball era

	Player	POS.	CWS	CV	CAWS
32.	Craig Biggio	2B	428	294	328
33.	Frank Thomas	1B	400	301	326
34.	Arky Vaughan	SS	356	308	320
35.	Wade Boggs	3B	394	291	317
36.	Willie McCovey	1B	408	285	316
37.	Manny Ramirez	LF	408	285	316
38.	Dick Allen	1B	342	304	314
39.	Eddie Murray	1B	437	273	314
40.	Cal Ripken Jr.	SS	427	276	314
41.	Robin Yount	SS	423	278	314
42.	Jeff Bagwell	1B	388	287	312
43.	Al Kaline	RF	443	268	312
44.	Ken Griffey Jr.	CF	383	278	304
45.	Johnny Mize	1B	339	296	307
46.	Charlie Gehringer	2B	383	280	306
47.	Paul Molitor	DH	414	270	306
48.	Fred Clarke*	LF	400	273	305
49.	Duke Snider	CF	352	289	305
50.	Tim Raines	LF	390	275	304
51.	Harmon Killebrew	1B	374	279	303
52.	Billy Williams	LF	374	279	303
53.	Roberto Alomar	2B	375	278	302
54.	Luke Appling	SS	378	275	301
55.	Yogi Berra	C	375	276	301
56.	Al Simmons	LF	375	276	301

The twenty-five (25) Level 3 players are interesting for a number of reasons.  For one thing, seven of them are not yet in the Hall of Fame.  Two are currently on the HOF ballot (2011):  Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines.  Four others are not yet eligible: Craig Biggio, Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey Jr.  And one of these players becomes the highest-ranked position player of the century who has been passed over for election to the Hall of Fame: Dick Allen.

Most fans are familiar with why Dick Allen is not in the Hall.  There are those who believe that he had “an attitude problem” and was a “cancer in the clubhouse.”  And, of course, most of this is hearsay.  Whether his exclusion is just or unjust, there is one clear fact – Dick Allen has the best career numbers of any player since 1901 who has been excluded from the Hall of Fame (with the exception of Pete Rose who has been formally banned from consideration).  I have a concern that Tim Raines may also fall prey to the same fate.  Let us hope not.

Level 3 also contains the first catcher to appear on the lists: Yogi Berra.  Johnny Bench at a CAWS score of 297 (in Level 4) is fairly close behind.  Note also that the first designated hitters with outstanding careers are in Level 3: Frank Thomas and Paul Molitor.

Only three players on this list have a core value (CV) of 300 or better: Frank Thomas, Arky Vaughan and Dick Allen.  That means that for their ten best seasons, each of these players averaged better than 30 win shares per season.  That is a remarkable achievement.  Only thirty-one (31) position players of the 20^th century have accomplished this feat.

Here is the breakdown of these top fifty-six (56) players by position: twenty-seven (27) outfielders, nine (9) first basemen, seven (7) second basemen, six (6) shortstops, four (4) third basemen, two (2) designated hitters and one (1) catcher.

This ranking also serves to give some needed recognition to some recent players who might be considered “underappreciated” as they have become (or will become) eligible for election to the Hall: Craig Biggio, Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines.

Level 4 contains the names of the thirty-two players whose CAWS career score is 280 or better but less than 300.  A score of 280 is the HOF benchmark for left fielders, right fielders, first basemen and designated hitters.  Level 5 (the last level) will include the names of those players at other positions who did not reach a score of 280 but did reach the benchmark for their respective positions.

All numbers include the 2010 season

Bold  =  Hall of Famer
CWS  =  Career Win Shares
CV      =  Core Value (sum of win shares for 10 best seasons)
CAWS  =  Career Assessment/Win Shares  =  CV  +  .25(CWS – CV)
*  =  deadball era

Level 4  -  Players with a CAWS score > 280 & <300

	Player	POS.	CWS	CV	CAWS
57.	Chipper Jones	3B	382	271	299
58.	Mark McGwire	1B	342	283	298
59.	Dave Winfield	RF	415	259	298
60.	Johnny Bench	C	356	277	297
61.	Derek Jeter	SS	301	264	273
62.	Roberto Clemente	RF	377	269	296
63.	Ryne Sandberg	2B	346	278	295
64.	Tony Gwynn	RF	398	269	294
65.	Sherry Magee*	LF	354	272	293
66.	Zack Wheat*	LF	380	264	293
67.	Jim Thome	1B	366	267	292
68.	George Davis*	SS	398	255	291
69.	Joe Jackson*	LF	294	290	291
70.	Joe Cronin	SS	333	275	290
71.	Rafael Palmeiro	1B	387	257	290
72.	Willie Stargell	LF	370	263	290
73.	Rod Carew	2B	384	257	289
74.	Harry Heilmann	RF	356	267	289
75.	Ron Santo	3B	324	275	287
76.	Bill Dahlen*	SS	394	250	286
77.	Goose Goslin	LF	355	263	286
78.	Mike Piazza	C	325	273	286
79.	Frank Baker*	3B	301	280	285
80.	Lou Brock	LF	348	264	285
81.	Will Clark	1B	331	269	285
82.	Frankie Frisch	2B	366	256	284
83.	Bobby Abreu	RF	332	266	283
84.	Elmer Flick*	RF	291	280	283
85.	Gary Carter	C	337	263	282
86.	Jason Giambi	1B	315	271	282
87.	Darrell Evans	3B	363	253	281
88.	Barry Larkin	SS	347	258	280

Keep in mind that all of these players have HOF numbers according to the strict and tough standards of the CAWS Career Gauge.  And only one hundred sixteen (116) position players in the 20^th century qualify under those standards.

Some observations:

1.  Note the active players (in 2010) on this list.  Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter and Jim Thome may not be big surprises.  But what about Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi?
2. On this list, Sherry Magee and Bill Dahlen from the deadball era have been eligible and passed over for election to the Hall of Fame.
3. And only three other players on this list have been eligible for election and have so far been snubbed: Ron Santo, Will Clark and Darrell Evans.
4. The three catchers on this list join Yogi Berra as the only four to achieve a CAWS career score of 280: Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza and Gary Carter.  Did you think that Carter’s career numbers would rank him that high among the catchers?
5. These numbers indicate that Chipper Jones is the third baseman with the #5 best career numbers in the century and Derek Jeter is the #7 best shortstop.

Levels 1 through 4 contain the names of the eighty-eight (88) position players (since 1901) with the highest CAWS career scores (280 or better) – that is, the best career numbers.  But there are one hundred sixteen (116) position players who posted Hall of Fame numbers during this time frame.  So, who are the other twenty-eight (28)?

In Part 4 of this series, we will look at Level 5 (the last level) and that list will contain the names of those twenty-eight (28) players who did not reach a CAWS score of 280 but did post HOF numbers according to the benchmark for their position.  In Part 4, I will also list the names of the forty-seven (47) major league position players who are currently in the Hall of Fame but who do not have the career numbers to be there according to the CAWS Career Gauge.

Thanks for your time.

Mike Hoban
Professor Emeritus – City U of NY
Author of A GOOD CAWS: A Hall of Fame Handbook (2011)
http://booklocker.com/books/2968.html