Vlad the Impaler

My good friend and racquetball partner (yeah I know that makes me sound 80 years old) texted me out of the blue the other day, which is odd because he wouldn't respond to a text message unless I was having a heart attack. He's a Cubs fan (poor guy) and a huge Darwin Barney supporter, but asked me my thoughts on Vladimir Geurrero and whether he is a Hall of Famer or not, and off the top of my head, I said no, not at least on the first ballot. 

Vlad with the Expos. He served 16 years in the MLB, starting with the Expos, then moving to the Angels, O's, and Rangers. 

But honestly, what was I thinking? After reviewing his stats, I think he is a shoo-in, but again, like I mentioned with Lee Smith in the last post, he's going to enter the ballot at arguably the most crowded time in baseball history. Retiring in 2011, he will be on the 2017 ballot. Other first timers in 2017 include Pudge, Jorge Posada, Man Ram (not likely given suspensions and antics), and Julio Lugo. Notable 2nd balloters include Ken Griffey (if by some act of God he isn't inducted the year prior) and Jim Edmonds. And as always, Bonds, Schilling, Mussina, McGwire, Sosa, Clemens, and Piazza will most likely be on the list given their past voting luck. To say the least, it will be crowded. Will Vlad be able to rise above the rest? I know some writers have made it clear that they will not vote for anyone in the steroid era, whether they were linked to it, were suspended for it, or were even mentioned in the same sentence as it. So a few guys already won't vote for him, and that might prevent Mariano from being a unanimous selection. 

Anyway, back to Vlad the Impaler (which is an awesome nickname, by the way). I think he does have the stats to get into the Hall. Across the Hall of Fame, I've noticed that stats aren't always good enough to get inducted. If a player has a career year and then is just above-average for the rest of his career, it will help the stock in some eyes but not enough (Captain Obvious to the rescue). Consistency is also a huge resume booster, and that is something Vlad certainly had. He was a .318 career hitter, which is quite impressive in itself, but across his 16 years in the league, he only hit below .300 three times: 1996 (9 games played, .185) 2009 (100, .295), and 2011 (145, .290). Even when he hit below .300, he was still right in the mix for a batting title. Although he never did win a title, he finished 3rd 4 times and finished 59th all time at .318. You might say 59th isn't that good; well let me reframe it for you: there are roughly 18,000 baseball players ever to get a major league at bat. To finish in the top 1000 is a feather in the cap, to take that a step above and finish top 100 is great too. In addition to that, his .318 would be in the top 5 of players who have played post 1950 (Mauer, Pujols, Cabrera, Puckett, Vlad), which shows how hard it has been to be that high on the list in recent years. Over 2,500 hits (most by a Dominican born player ever), 400 home runs, nearly 1,500 RBI’s, 477 doubles, and just over 9,000 plate appearances. He was also an 8 time Silver Slugger winner as well as an MVP winner in 2004 when he hit .337/.391/.598 with 39 home runs, 126 RBI’s,  as well as 124 runs and 366 total bases, both of which led the league. He was a total bases machine, racking up 4,506 in his career, good for 45^th all time, and he also led the American League in intentional walks 4 straight years, 2005-2008.

His hitting was stellar, which is why he earned his name of Vlad the Impaler, after the 15^th century Romanian ruler. He would swing at pitches from his nose to his toes and still had a respectable average. I think what is most impressive was his fielding ability. Though he never won a Gold Glove (he led the league in errors 8 times), he would have dominated the Golden Arm, had it existed. 10 times he was top 5 in right field double plays, top 5 in outfield assists 5 times (including leading the league in 2002 and 2004). Total, he compiled 126 assists, good for 26^th all time.

But his arm. His arm is something to tell your grandkids about. He could throw from the right field corner to third base on a frozen rope without hitting the ground. That’s not something you can teach to young outfielders, that’s just God given talent. 

He was fun to watch. He played the game hard. It was obvious that he just loved the game so much, and I think that is what the Hall of Fame is about; being role models for the young kids to play the game the right way. Granted he had zero plate discipline, but he rarely struck out (fewer than 1,000 in his career)! I think he is a legit Hall of Famer, but I am sticking to my guns that he won’t be first ballot. Maybe 2^nd or 3^rd because of the lack of personal hardware, bad defense (despite his great arm), and no rings. But who knows?

Thanks for reading.