Phillies' Wall of Fame: Schilling or bust

As one might expect for a franchise that has been somewhere between mediocre and bad for most of the last 130 years, the Phillies’ Wall of Fame is starting to see slim pickings.
Last year, Mike Lieberthal was chosen, and while he was a likeable guy who put up solid numbers for a catcher, many thought it was a joke as a Wall of Fame induction.
There are a dozen candidates this season available for fans to vote for on the Phillies’ web site (voting ends after March 20) to become this year’s honoree, but really, there’s only one.
CURT SCHILLING.
The first question is, how did Schilling not make it last year over Lieberthal? There is a moderate chance that Schilling is going to make the actual Hall of Fame – you know, that place in Cooperstown – and with the way the Hall has been picking caps, there is a better-than-average chance that he goes in with a Phillies cap on.

So you have a guy who could very well go into Cooperstown as a Phillie who can’t get on the Wall of Fame?
We know Schilling is a bit offputting, and he clearly has poor business sense. And he went on to win World Series titles for other teams in grand fashion.
But he pitched his rear end off for the Phillies and was their main gun for many years when the team completely stunk.
If you’re still not sure Schilling is the choice, consider his competition.
Let’s start with the skippers, including Jim Fregosi, Danny Ozark and Harry Wright.
Fregosi is a moderately decent choice as the leader of the legendary “Macho Row” squad from 1993 (more on that bunch later), but he didn’t do much outside of that season. Still, he is easily a top three candidate among this dirty dozen.
Ozark had two really good teams that choked in the playoffs. When he was replaced, the Phillies finally won something. What are they going to show on “Danny Ozark Night?” Footage of Black Friday? No and no.
As for Wright, he managed in the 80s … the 1880s, that is. He made the Hall of Fame, likely for leading the Boston Red Stockings to five pennants in the 1870s. He managed the Phillies for 10 years, won no pennants and had a winning percentage of .529. Better get your tickets now for that ceremony.
Let’s take a look at Schilling’s fellow pitchers – Larry Christenson, Jim Konstanty, Ron Reed and Rick Wise.
Christenson went 83-71 with a 3.79 ERA in an 11-year career with the team, and he was good enough to start Game 4 of the 1980 World Series. In that game, he gave up four runs in one-third of an inning and got pulled. The Phillies eventually lost the game 5-3. You do the math there, but the bottom line is that Christenson is not Wall of Fame-worthy.
Reed pitched two scoreless innings in that same World Series, and he went 57-38 with a 3.06 ERA with the Phillies over eight years. Reed is basically a slightly richer man’s Jamie Moyer, who by the way will be eligible for this in 2016 and is arguably a better candidate.
Wise had a losing record as a Phillie but had two amazing days in 1971 – one where he threw a no-hitter and hit two homers, and another where he retired 32 consecutive batters. Both are noteworthy achievements, but his greatest feat was being traded for Steve Carlton. I am on the fence with Wise being worthy but leaning toward a no.
Konstanty was the MVP of the National League in 1950 when he won 16 games and saved 22 others for the Whiz Kids. He is probably my No. 2 choice behind Schilling even though the rest of his career was fairly average.
(Note: If you like SABR stats, try this. The combined WAR of those four pitchers with the Phillies is 34.8, while Schilling by himself had a score of 35.1.)
Then there are four position players – Greg Gross, Von Hayes, Fred Luderus and Pinky Whitney.
Luderus played well in the teens and had a nice season for the pennant-winning 1915 Phillies, and Whitney was a solid player in two stints with the team while they were terrible in the 1920s and 1930s. It is unlikely that many current fans have heard of either of them, however.
Gross was a terrific pinch hitter, logging 143 hits in that role, which is more than it sounds like, but that is not Wall of Fame stuff.
And Hayes? Who’s going to present him, the five guys the Phillies traded for him? Hayes had one decent year in 1986, and other than that, was just a face in the crowd for a terrible team. If he gets voted in, I feel like it will be something like the movie “Carrie” when they made the girl homecoming queen as a joke.
As anyone can see here, the long-moribund franchise is in a bind. They need guys who played five years with the team, distinguished themselves as productive and memorable Phillies, and are now retired for three years.
Oh, one other thing. They need guys who aren’t scoundrels in some way.
That immediately scratches strong candidates Pete Rose and Lenny Dykstra off the list. Both men would be viable Wall of Fame members if not for transgressions off the field.
Then you lose guys like Brad Lidge, Trillo and Jim Eisenreich (careers too short) and it leaves you wondering about the long-term viability of annual Wall of Fame inductions. Moyer and Jim Thome won’t be eligible until 2016, and it will be even longer before anyone from the current era is inducted.
The best-case scenario is that Schilling gets his due this year, Charlie Manuel goes in next year after he retires and maybe Konstanty or someone can be the bridge to the modern guys. Maybe Thome in 2016, Moyer in ’17 and by 2018, Jimmy Rollins will likely be good to go and we’re back on track from there.
Otherwise, I’ll see you at Pinky Whitney Day at the ballpark.

-          Matthew Osborne is the editor of The Trentonian. You can reach him at 609-989-7800, ext. 201, or mosborne@trentonian.com. Follow him on Twitter @trentonianozzy.

Jorge for the Hall? Just Say No

By Dan Trammel

@HighwaytoHall

It was recently suggested to me that Jorge Posada is Hall of Fame bound. In a year in which no players were elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, this seems like a ludicrous statement. But I was assured if I look at his credentials I would be surprised what I found. Well, I was surprised…surprised how many people believe Posada is a Hall of Famer when he isn’t. To me, Posada’s most startling supporter is ESPN’s Peter Gammons, who makes a less than compelling argument for Posada’s candidacy. Due to name recognition, we’ll use Gammons’ reasoning to assess Posada’s case. 

Gammons contends, “Years from now, depending on the whims of the voters each December, Posada will go into the Hall of Fame in that [Yankees] uniform, like Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. The voters will marvel at those five rings and seven pennants, and think about all the great pitchers he caught.”

                      

Let’s stop here and analyze each of the arguments in this quotation, beginning with that last part, “all the great pitchers he caught.” Gammons elaborates, “In Posada’s career, he caught three certain Hall of Famers in [Mariano] Rivera, [Roger] Clemens, and Randy Johnson. He caught others who will get varying degrees of consideration: Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown, [Andy] Pettitte, CC Sabathia, David Cone.”

Let’s look at each pitcher’s statistics while pitching to a catcher who caught him in a minimum of 25 games, to get a better understanding of how valuable Posada was to each of these pitchers. The numbers in bold represent the highest number in that category.

Randy Johnson

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Scott Bradley	44	275	3.60	203	268	.207	.649
Robby Hammock	26	168.2	3.09	131	189	.211	.611
Damian Miller	99	733.1	2.45	550	1020	.208	.602
Chad Moeller	29	204	3.00	171	260	.226	.667
Jorge Posada	43	261.2	4.82	250	210	.252	.732
Kelly Stinnett	28	187.1	3.07	175	241	.250	.688
Dave Valle	99	644	3.68	495	698	.213	.661
Dan Wilson	109	742.2	3.03	565	980	.209	.625

Judging by this list, Posada shouldn’t expect any Christmas cards from Randy Johnson. In 2 years with the Yankees, Johnson’s 4.37 ERA is well above his career mark of 3.29 and his 8.0 strikeouts per 9 innings are far below his Major League record career mark of 10.6.

Roger Clemens

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Brad Ausmus	83	531	2.44	407	495	.211	.590
Rick Cerone	41	270.1	3.26	229	263	.228	.629
Darrin Fletcher	31	217.1	2.69	156	252	.196	.579
Rich Gedman	105	719	2.94	572	695	.217	.596
Bill Haselman	31	220.2	2.90	192	230	.232	.650
John Marzano	26	202.1	2.05	176	202	.234	.604
Tony Pena	115	821.2	2.73	684	716	.226	.600
Jorge Posada	155	971	3.94	931	888	.252	.711

Once again, the winner is Jorge Posada. I guess Clemens won’t be sending him any Christmas cards either.

David Cone

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Gary Carter	52	289.1	3.27	245	237	.230	.646
Joe Girardi	85	561.1	3.09	458	577	.222	.646
Todd Hundley	33	225.1	2.84	174	246	.210	.602
Barry Lyons	26	136.1	2.57	110	119	.219	.612
Mike Macfarlane	37	272.1	3.17	210	192	.214	.625
Jorge Posada	30	169	5.54	178	143	.274	.813
Mackey Sasser	42	238	3.82	226	249	.248	.696

Which one is the outlier? Hey, it’s our old friend Jorge Posada.

                   

Andy Pettitte

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Brad Ausmus	84	518.1	3.39	496	427	.253	.700
Joe Girardi	95	612.2	3.92	639	395	.273	.730
Jim Leyritz	40	261.2	3.61	261	201	.260	.689
Jose Molina	26	164.1	3.94	166	131	.265	.692
Jorge Posada	194	1177.1	4.13	1285	881	.277	.736

Everyone give it up for Jorge Posada! Pettitte might be a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he had someone other than Posada catching him his whole career. Pettitte has a career ERA of 3.86, but an ERA of 4.13 with Posada behind the plate.

Kevin Brown

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Carlos Hernandez	35	247	2.40	214	249	.233	.570
Todd Hundley	46	310.2	3.16	273	292	.233	.643
Charles Johnson	49	352.1	2.30	311	266	.238	.596
Chad Kreuter	47	314.1	3.03	259	233	.223	.609
Paul Lo Duca	58	339.2	2.62	293	294	.234	.620
Geno Petralli	49	280.2	3.91	283	137	.262	.690
Jorge Posada	30	172.1	4.91	195	110	.287	.756
Ivan Rodriguez	95	665	3.78	707	428	.273	.716

Brown’s ERA was a full run higher with Posada behind the plate rather than Geno Petralli. Jorge!

Mike Mussina

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Chris Hoiles	175	1209.2	3.54	1123	908	.246	.680
Charles Johnson	47	318.1	3.73	327	264	.268	.729
Jose Molina	35	206.2	3.48	225	158	.283	.724
Jorge Posada	183	1143.1	3.87	1136	954	.258	.702
Jeff Tackett	27	189.1	3.28	185	103	.257	.669

Once again, the highest ERA belongs to Posada. Thank you, Jorge. This time, however, Charles Johnson and Jose Molina provided worse opponent batting averages and OPS percentages.

CC Sabathia

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Josh Bard	29	192.1	3.37	171	136	.241	.708
Francisco Cervelli	39	272	2.98	230	251	.230	.622
Einar Diaz	47	270.2	4.59	248	227	.248	.712
Russell Martin	30	205.2	3.28	192	186	.244	.666
Victor Martinez	128	852.1	3.70	826	700	.255	.696
Jorge Posada	37	228.1	3.55	214	182	.250	.697

Although Posada is not exactly a world beater here (Sabathia’s ERA and opponent’s batting average with Posada are both higher than his career totals (3.50 and .245 respectively)), he is not the poorest performer on this list (Thank you Einar Diaz).

Mariano Rivera

Catcher	G	IP	ERA	H	SO	BA	OPS
Francisco Cervelli	48	47.1	1.71	36	44	.205	.542
John Flaherty	50	54	2.00	48	50	.244	.602
Joe Girardi	137	181	1.94	129	175	.198	.526
Russell Martin	58	55	2.29	42	54	.213	.549
Jose Molina	59	63.1	2.27	43	77	.185	.525
Jorge Posada	598	645.2	1.99	493	561	.209	.539

Good job Jorge! Rivera pitched incredibly well with you behind the plate. And Joe Girardi. And Francisco Cervelli. Frankly, I don’t think it matters who catches Rivera. He is a machine.

                   

What have we learned from this little exercise? Posada had the good fortune of catching many terrific pitchers. And they all seemed to pitch worse with him behind the plate. And I’m not sure how relevant Gammons’ original argument even is. Clemens (PEDs aside) and Johnson were Hall of Famers before they ever met Posada while Rivera would be a Hall of Famer with George Steinbrenner catching.

Let’s now go back to the quotation we are analyzing: “The voters will marvel at those five rings and seven pennants, and think about all the great pitchers he caught.” Let’s talk about that first part: five rings and seven pennants. First, that first World Series title was in 1996, when Posada appeared in 8 games and batted .071 with 1 hit and 1 walk in 15 plate appearances. Needless to say, he did not appear in the postseason that year. Yet we are giving him credit for earning a ring. Okay. Well how rare are the five rings? 55 players appeared on the regular season roster of a World Series winning team 5 or more times. Not surprisingly, 51 of these men appeared in at least one World Series as a New York Yankee. (For the record, the four that didn’t are Dal Maxvill, Stuffy McInnis, Jack Barry, and Eddie Collins). Furthermore, 31 players appeared in the World Series for the winning team 5 or more times, all of whom played for the Yankees. There isn’t a reason to list all of them, as the names Ruth, Mantle, Berra, and DiMaggio are obvious enough. Here is a list of the non-Hall of Famers in the group:

Hank Bauer (7)	Gene Woodling (5)
Frank Crosetti (6)	Paul O’Neill (5)
Johnny Murphy (6)	Red Rolfe (5)
Vic Raschi (6)	George Selkirk (5)
Allie Reynolds (6)	Bill Skowron (5)
Joe Collins (5)	Andy Pettitte (5)
David Cone (5)	Derek Jeter (5)
Eddie Lopat (5)	Mariano Rivera (5)
Gil McDougald (5)

Obviously, Jeter and Rivera are Hall of Fame bound, but what about the rest of this list?  Why are Posada’s rings so much more important than the others? Furthermore, each of these men actually appeared in 5 or more World Series on the winning side, whereas Posada only appeared in 4. If we include those players who actually appeared in the World Series for 4 championship teams, the total number of players increases by 28 players, giving us a grand total of 59 players, of which only 19 are in the Hall of Fame. How significant are these rings?

What else does Mr. Gammons have to say? “One cannot overstate the value of a catcher who produces offensively, and while catching those extraordinary pitchers and winning championships, Posada caught more games than all but 23 others, all the while ranking in the following categories among catchers since 1901:

Stat	No.	Rank
Walks	936	3
Doubles	379	7
OPS	.848	6
OBP	.374	8
HR	275	8
RBI	1,065	11
OPS+	121	8

Well, actually one can overstate the value of a catcher, as Gammons clearly is here. Gammons handpicked a couple of categories to demonstrate Posada’s offensive prowess. But who is ahead of him in these categories? Well, Posada has fewer walks than Mickey Tettleton, fewer doubles than Jason Kendall, fewer home runs and RBIs than Lance Parrish, and a lower on base percentage than Wally Schang. We can’t quibble with his OPS and OPS+ because the names above him in these categories are all terrific, but we will discuss this in a moment. First, since Gammons states “Posada caught more games than all but 23 others,” let’s take a look at the all-time games caught leaderboard:

Rank	Player	Def. Games at Catcher
1	Ivan Rodriguez	2427
2	Carlton Fisk	2226
3	Bob Boone	2225
4	Gary Carter	2056
5	Jason Kendall	2025
6	Tony Pena	1950
7	Brad Ausmus	1938
8	Jim Sundberg	1927
9	Al Lopez	1918
10	Benito Santiago	1917
11	Lance Parrish	1818
12	Rick Ferrell	1806
13	Gabby Hartnett	1793
14	Ted Simmons	1771
15	Johnny Bench	1742
16	Ray Schalk	1727
17	Bill Dickey	1708
18	Yogi Berra	1699
19	Rick Dempsey	1633
20	Mike Piazza	1630
21	Jim Hegan	1629
22	Deacon McGuire	1612
23	Bill Freehan	1581
24	Jorge Posada	1574
25	Sherm Lollar	1571

                   

There is a wide array of players on this list. Let’s place them in order of All-Star Game selections.

Catcher	All-Star Selections
Yogi Berra	18 (15 seasons)
Johnny Bench	14
Ivan Rodriguez	14
Mike Piazza	12
Bill Freehan	11
Bill Dickey	11
Gary Carter	11
Carlton Fisk	11
Lance Parrish	8
Rick Ferrell	8
Ted Simmons	8
Sherm Lollar	7
Gabby Hartnett	6 (All-Star Game began in his 12th season)
Benito Santiago	5
Jim Hegan	5
Tony Pena	5
Jorge Posada	5
Bob Boone	4
Jason Kendall	3
Jim Sundberg	3
Al Lopez	2 (All-Star Game began in his 5th season)
Brad Ausmus	1
Rick Dempsey	0
Ray Schalk	No All-Star Game available
Deacon McGuire	No All-Star Game available

All-Star Games are less meaningful today than they used to be. It seems everyone gets selected due to injury replacements and expanded rosters. This makes it all the more surprising that Posada ranks so low on this list. 5 All-Star selections in 17 seasons are staggeringly low. Most of the men on the list above are not in the Hall of Fame. What makes Posada so special to deserve election over Simmons or Freehan?

Let’s take a closer look at the catchers on this list with fewer All-Star appearances than Posada: Boone, Kendall, Sundberg, Ausmus, and Dempsey.

           

Boone won 7 Gold Glove Awards. Sundberg won 6. Ausmus won 3. Neither Kendall nor Dempsey won any. Posada didn’t win any either. As demonstrated earlier, Posada was not great behind the plate, which is why Joe Girardi continued to see significant playing time despite providing little offensive value. Posada’s value stemmed from his skill wielding the bat. But how special was it?

According to Peter Gammons, “The only catchers who had a higher OPS+ were Mike Piazza, Mickey Cochrane, [Bill] Dickey, Johnny Bench, Ernie Lombardi, Gabby Hartnett and [Yogi] Berra. Think about that.” First, a look at the retired players who have a 121 OPS+:

Harold Baines	Heinie Manush*
John Briggs	Dale Murphy
Jeff Burroughs	Al Oliver
Ron Cey	Dave Parker
Cecil Cooper	Jorge Posada
Chili Davis	Kip Selbach
George Davis*	Orator Shafer
Mike Greenwell	Jimmy Sheckard
Johnny Grubb	Joe Start
Mike Hargrove	Dixie Walker
Tony Lazzeri*	Roy White
Chet Lemon	Heinie Zimmerman
Shane Mack

* Denotes a Hall of Famer

I don’t know what to make of this list. There are 3 Hall of Famers, a handful of players (Baines, Cey, Murphy, Oliver, and Parker) who have garnered Hall of Fame support, and some other guys. But this wasn’t Gammons’ point. He was impressed by the list of catchers ranked ahead of Posada. Fair enough. Those are certainly some strong names. Let’s look at some other positions to try and put this in a better perspective.

Among third basemen with a minimum of 6,108 plate appearances (the number of plate appearances by Hall of Famer Fred Lindstrom), here are the leaders in OPS+:

Mike Schmidt	147
Eddie Mathews	143
Chipper Jones	141
Home Run Baker	135
George Brett	135
Wade Boggs	131
Ron Santo	125
Bob Elliott	124
Bill Madlock	123
Scott Rolen	122

So the only third basemen with an OPS+ higher than Bob Elliott are 6 Hall of Famers and soon-to-be-Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones. Think about that.

Obviously, this argument would go on forever. At every position, someone has the highest OPS+ of all players not in the Hall of Fame. So where do we draw the line? Above that player? Below that player? In this case, there is a pretty big dropoff in OPS+ from Boggs to Santo. And since Santo waited thirty-three years to gain induction, one can argue the line is between Santo and Elliott. This is supported by the next names on the list:

Bob Elliott	124
Bill Madlock	123
Scott Rolen	122
Ron Cey	121
Troy Glaus	119
Darrell Evans	119
Richie Hebner	119
Sal Bando	119
Stan Hack	119
Heinie Groh	118
Aramis Ramirez	116
Ken Caminiti	116
Ken Boyer	116
Harlond Clift	116
Doug DeCinces	115
Robin Ventura	114
Toby Harrah	114

There are no Hall of Famers on this list. Astute readers will realize, however, there are more than 6 third basemen in the Hall of Fame. So where are the others? Jimmy Collins (113), George Kell (112), Fred Lindstrom (110), Pie Traynor (107), and Brooks Robinson (104) rank further down the list. Collins, Kell, and Lindstrom (along with Baker and Santo) were elected by the various incarnations of the Veterans Committees. Traynor and Robinson are proof that OPS+ is not the best indicator of value.

Now, let’s take a look at another position. There are 15 second basemen in history with 9000 or more plate appearances. 11 of these men are in the Hall of Fame. A look at the complete list, ranked in order of OPS+:

Rogers Hornsby	175
Nap Lajoie	150
Eddie Collins	142
Joe Morgan	132
Charlie Gehringer	124
Jeff Kent	123
Lou Whitaker	117
Roberto Alomar	116
Ryne Sandberg	114
Craig Biggio	112
Frankie Frisch	110
Bid McPhee	107
Willie Randolph	104
Red Schoendienst	94
Nellie Fox	93

The only 4 players on this list not in the Hall are Jeff Kent (not yet eligible), Craig Biggio (who will be in some time during the next two years), Lou Whitaker, and Willie Randolph. At the time of Whitaker’s retirement, the only second basemen with a higher OPS+ were Hornsby, Lajoie, Collins, Morgan, and Gehringer. Think about that. Actually, don’t think about that. Think about the fact that Whitaker received 15 votes (2.9%) in his only year on the ballot. Now explain to me why I should be excited that Posada ranks 8^th among catchers in OPS+ and trails only Hall of Famers and a soon-to-be Hall of Famer.

                   

Earlier we mentioned some of the catchers ahead of Posada in the categories selected by Gammons. Let’s discuss one of those names in more detail: Wally Schang. Schang’s career lasted 19 seasons from 1913 to 1931.

First, a comparison of their statistics:

	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	SH	OPS+
Posada	7150	900	1664	379	10	275	1065	20	936	.273	.374	.474	1	121
Schang	6431	769	1506	264	90	59	710	121	849	.274	.393	.401	160	117

Schang obviously played in a different era. “Small ball” was the style, as evidenced by Schang’s stolen bases and sacrifice bunts. Schang played before Gold Glove Awards and All-Star Games, but he did receive MVP votes 5 times (Posada received MVP votes 3 times). Schang also played on seven pennant winning teams, winning 4 World Series (numbers eerily similar to Posada). In fact, teams won championships the moment he walked through the door. The A’s finished third in 1912, but won the pennant during Schang’s rookie season. Boston finished second in 1917 but won the pennant after acquiring Schang in 1918. And the Yankees won their first pennant in Schang’s first season with the club in 1921. Furthermore, Schang caught Hall of Famers Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, Herb Pennock, Waite Hoyt, Lefty Grove, and Babe Ruth. And unlike Posada, Schang actually provided value to the pitchers he caught. According to the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, the 1918 Reach Guide said that Schang “gave the [Boston] pitchers excellent support throughout the season,” and the 1922 Reach Guide stated Schang “yielded the Yankee pitchers valuable support.”[1]

As for the 121 OPS+ by Posada that Gammons puts so much emphasis on…well, Schang’s 117 OPS+ ties Carlton Fisk and trails only Ted Simmons, Posada, and the aforementioned seven catchers on the all-time list.

Gammons admits, “[Posada] may have trouble passing the Cooperstown eye test, but unlike Ted Simmons, Posada will go onto the ballot at a time when most votes are more scrutinized than they were 20 years ago.” That is very true on both counts. Posada doesn’t pass the eye test. Heck, if Gary Carter, the dominant catcher in baseball throughout the 1980s, waited 6 years for induction, how can Posada make it?

As for the extra scrutiny nowadays, the sabermetric crowd always throws in their two cents. What will they say about Posada’s chances? Well, their favorite categories are WAR and JAWS. Let’s see how Posada and a couple of other catchers stack up:

Catcher	WAR	WAR rank among catchers	WAR7	WAR7 rank among catchers	JAWS	Jaws rank among catchers
Ted Simmons	46.7	12	33.2	11	40.0	11
Thurman Munson	43.3	17	35.1	8	39.2	13
Wally Schang	41.4	18	23.5	30	32.4	25
Bill Freehan	41.3	19	31.8	15	36.5	16
Jorge Posada	39.0	21	30.6	17	34.8	20

All values provided by baseball-reference.com

It is tough to see how the sabermetricians would rally around Posada. They jumped all over Bert Blyleven’s candidacy because Blyleven’s WAR ranks 13^th all-time among starting pitchers, trailing Hall of Famers and soon-to-be Hall of Famers. As shown above, Posada’s WAR ranks 21^st among catchers, trailing the aforementioned Simmons, Munson, Schang, and Freehan, not to mention Joe Torre and Gene Tenace. He’s not much better in the other categories.

There is just not a lot to get excited about. Interestingly, in discussing Wally Schang and the number of great pitchers he caught, the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract states, “Sometimes a player who has hobnobbed with such celebrity will acquire the status himself, but it didn’t happen for Wally.”[2] Evidently, in the eyes of Peter Gammons, it did happen for Jorge. But that is not enough to make him a Hall of Famer.

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[1] Bill James, The Bill James Baseball Historical Abstract (New York: Villard Books, 1988), 330.

[2] Id. at 332.