Jackie Robinson’s Hall of Fame Credentials

If there is anyone who believes that Jackie Robinson does not belong in the Hall of Fame, I have yet to meet him. Jackie’s contributions to the game and to the social consciousness of the country have left an indelible mark on all true baseball fans.

But, as most fans know, Robinson had a rather short career – only ten seasons. This was due, in part, to the color barrier that had existed for so long in baseball.And it is certainly true to say that a player who has such a short career usually will not have sufficient time to post the numbers that most fans would look for in a Hall of Fame career.And so, most fans may believe that he is in the Hall solely on the basis of his other accomplishments.Consequently, it may come as a surprise when I state that Jackie actually did post HOF numbers during his brief career.

In my book, BASEBALL’S BEST: The TRUE Hall of Famers, I have examined the careers of all the great position players and pitchers of the 20 ^th century and I have determined who does and who does not have HOF numbers. It will come as no surprise to most fans to learn that there are some players who are in the Hall who do not have the numbers to be there.Players such as Chick Hafey and Rick Ferrell come readily to mind.And there are other players such as Dick Allen and Ron Santo who do have HOF numbers but who have not been elected to the Hall for one reason or another.

For the purpose of examining the players’ career numbers, I used the Win Shares system developed by Bill James and interpreted the numbers to create a balance between a player’s peak seasons and longevity in order to better determine who had the best careers. I came up with a career score called the NEWS score.

In examining the credentials of the players for the Hall of Fame, I discovered a small group of position players who had relatively brief careers but still were able to post impressive numbers. In the entire 20 ^th century, there were only eleven players who attained a NEWS score of 255 while playing in fewer than 1800 games . Which would imply that these eleven players must be rather special.And indeed they were. Every one of the eleven has been elected to the Hall of Fame despite playing in relatively fewer games than their contemporaries. Here are the eleven players.

All numbers include the 2007 season.

Bold print = Hall of Famer

Italic = active player in 2007

CWS = Career Win Shares

CV =Core Value (sum of win shares for 10 best seasons)

NEWS = Career Value =CV+.25(CWS – CV)

Keep in mind that there have been other outstanding players such as Ralph Kiner and Don Mattingly who also played in fewer than 1800 games in their careers – but who did not achieve the 255 NEWS benchmark.

Of course, Joe DiMaggio stands out among these players as the one who achieved the most in a relatively short career. But note that Jackie Robinson played the fewest games among this elite group – and yet was still able to achieve the NEWS benchmark.

As an interesting aside, note how close the numbers place Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby – the two players credited with integrating each league.

Consequently, if someone should suggest that Jackie Robinson is in the Hall of Fame ONLY because of his unique role in baseball history, we now know that he would deserve to be there based ONLY on his on-the field numbers.

Are there any 20 ^th century pitchers who fall into this “Short but Great” category? That is, are there any pitchers who had relatively short careers but were still able to post HOF numbers?

Yes, the NEWS HOF Gauge turned up five pitchers who accomplished something comparable to the eleven position players. That is, there were only five pitchers in the 20 ^th century who achieved a NEWS score of 180 while pitching in fewer than 2400 innings. And, like the eleven position players above, all five pitchers are in the Hall of Fame . Here they are.

Of course, there have been some other pitchers (like Don Newcombe below) who would qualify under the number of innings pitched but who come up short in the NEWS score.

So, the next time anyone asks if Jackie Robinson or Sandy Koufax actually belong in the Hall of Fame based solely on their numbers, we can answer in a definitive manner.

It does appear that the NEWS HOF Gauge has turned up a valuable piece of information in establishing that these two groups of players do have Hall of Fame numbers despite having somewhat shorter careers.

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