NO, HE'S NOT: A Good Player, But Not A Great One
By Phil Plantier
John Olerud was a mainstay of the early 2000s Arkansas Golden Falcons. A four-time All-Star and both the All-Star and World Series MVPs in 1999, he hit .300 with an amazing .403 career OBP. He won two World Series rings and reached the post-season eight times in his 12-year career.
But was he truly a Hall of Famer? While he was in the league for a long time, he only had in 5,185 career ABs -- he was a platoon player in his first and last season, missed almost all of 1997, and of course 1995 was the strike year. As a result, you won't find him on the career leaderboard in any category.
Most dramatically, Olerud hit just 148 HRs -- 1 HR for every 35 AB. His lack of power (career .457 SLG) dropped his career OPS to .860 despite his amazing OBP. (Not to whine, but I hit one every 13 AB and had an .829 OPS, but I only got one season in the DMBL.) You want power from your corners, and Olerud couldn't supply it.
There have been a lot of players with career OPS's in the mid-800s -- Harold Baines (.846), Ellis Burks (.850), Ken Caminiti (.846), Tim Salmon (.869), Mo Vaughn (.842) -- who were passed over by the voters.
In a few years there will be guys like Brian Giles (.886), Ryan Klesko (.891), and Bernie Williams (.881) on the ballot. If you let in Olerud, I guess they are all Hall of Famers, too?
YES, HE IS: Fuck you, Phil Plantier
By John Olerud
I think spending all that time in Triple-A must have made you soft in the head. (Maybe you should've worn a helmet all the time like I did.) You don't seem to understand that a career .403 OBP means that I was one of the best players in baseball for a very long time. I didn't hit a lot of home runs, but that's why we had Barry Bonds and Juan Gonzalez. My job was to get on base, and I was one of the best in league history at doing that.
Among all players eligible for the Hall of Fame, I rank 7th in on-base percentage. Seventh! Plantier, didn't you read Moneyball? Or at least see the movie? OBP is where it's at, kid.
Oh and P.S., hell yeah Klesko will be a Hall of Famer. Dude could rake.
What do you think? Let us know by casting your ballot for the Hall of Fame!
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