Baseball Hall of Famers' Sabermetrics Rankings

Career Player Overall Win Ratings (POWRs; Batter-Fielder Wins/Pitcher Wins; formerly Total Player Wins and before that Total Baseball Rankings) – as expressed in the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – for Hall of Famers, as well as those who belong in the Hall and those who appear to be headed to Cooperstown.

Current players' figures through the 2005 season.

Some things you need to know about the statistics:
• The POWRs listed here are career figures, the sums of the players' annual ratings. While they don't necessarily tell us whether Player A was better than Player B, they do indicate which player had a better career.
• POWRs factor in poor performance as well as excellence. The statistic is based on a linear-weights system, in which the average player that season would score a zero. Players are compared to others at their position in their league each season. Many great players had poor seasons that resulted in negative POWRs for those years.
• The figures reflect only regular-season performance. Postseason numbers do not affect them at all. Thus, stellar World Series performers such as Lou Brock get no POWR credit for their October exploits.
• Critics of the statistics in the ESPN book, formerly Total Baseball, point to problems with the formula for fielding. Granted, it is not perfect (no statistic is), but at least the POWRs attempt to factor in fielding, unlike other statistics used for ranking baseball players.

The ESPN book's measuring stick is the best one we've got.

For the purposes of argument, it is suggested here that a Hall of Famer with a POWR of less than 20 probably does not belong in Cooperstown, while a player not yet enshrined who has a POWR of at least 25 does belong. There are exceptions, naturally, and there are other reasons to put a player in the Hall or keep him out; nevertheless, what follows is a by-the-numbers analysis of Hall of Fame "eligibility."

Each year the editors of the encyclopedia fine-tune the statistics, resulting in different figures for most of the players. For a look at the rankings based on the seventh edition of Total Baseball, see an earlier version of this page, on a Homestead site I can no longer update.)

HALL OF FAME FIRST BASEMEN
70.9 Lou Gehrig
58.7 Jimmie Foxx
43.4 Roger Connor
42.5 Dan Brouthers
39.0 Willie McCovey
37.7 Johnny Mize
35.3 Cap Anson
35.8 Eddie Murray
32.6 Hank Greenberg
32.5 Harmon Killebrew
26.7 Bill Terry
26.5 George Sisler

22.6 Jake Beckley
22.6 Frank Chance

19.1 Orlando Cepeda
10.0 Tony Perez
  3.1 George "Highpockets" Kelly

-1.5 Jim Bottomley

BELONG IN THE HALL: Dick Allen (39.2), Keith Hernandez (34.8), Norm Cash (30.5).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Jeff Bagwell (54), Frank Thomas (48.5), Mark McGwire (36), Rafael Palmeiro (34.9), Jim Thome (33.4), Todd Helton (29.4), Albert Pujols (26.5).
ON THE VERGE: John Olerud (23.7), Jason Giambi (22.8), Carlos Delgado (20).

HALL OF FAME SECOND BASEMEN
95.1 Nap Lajoie
86.0 Rogers Hornsby
72.5 Eddie Collins
67.4 Joe Morgan
45.1 Charlie Gehringer
40.3 Rod Carew
40.3 Bobby Doerr
38.3 Bid McPhee
37.3 Frankie Frisch
36.7 Ryne Sandberg
34.3 Jackie Robinson
34.0 Bill Mazeroski
31.6 Billy Herman

17.8 Tony Lazzeri
15.9 Johnny Evers
15.8 Red Schoendienst
14.4 Nellie Fox

BELONG IN THE HALL: Bobby Grich (51.6), Willie Randolph (37.1), Lou Whitaker (35.6), Cupid Childs (30.4), Joe Gordon (28.8), Fred Dunlap (28), Hardy Richardson (26.6).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Roberto Alomar (37), Craig Biggio (35.5), Jeff Kent (35.3).

HALL OF FAME SHORTSTOPS
82.3 Honus Wagner
50.1 George Davis
45.7 Ozzie Smith
43.6 Lou Boudreau
43.3 Arky Vaughan
42.4 Luke Appling
41.2 Robin Yount
39.6 Joe Cronin
38.4 Bobby Wallace
36.2 Dave Bancroft
35.2 Joe Sewell
27.2 Ernie Banks
26.8 Hughie Jennings

22.0 Travis Jackson
19.5 Joe Tinker
18.7 Phil Rizzuto
16.3 Pee Wee Reese
14.1 Luis Aparicio
10.3 Rabbit Maranville
7.7 John Montgomery Ward

BELONG IN THE HALL: Bill Dahlen (48.5), Jack Glasscock (36.6), Alan Trammell (31.8), Art Fletcher (27.2), Jim Fregosi (25.5).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Alex Rodriguez (51.5), Cal Ripken (44.1), Barry Larkin (42.9).
ON THE VERGE: Nomar Garciaparra (24.9), Miguel Tejada (23.6).

HALL OF FAME THIRD BASEMEN
78.6 Mike Schmidt
52.1 Eddie Mathews
50.6 Wade Boggs
43.5 George Brett
33.7 Frank "Home Run" Baker

23.0 Jimmy Collins

18.4 Pie Traynor
14.3 Brooks Robinson
  9.9 Freddie Lindstrom
  8.5 George Kell

BELONG IN THE HALL: Ron Santo (45.3), Darrell Evans (41.2), Heinie Groh (30.4), Stan Hack (29.4), Buddy Bell (28.7), Harlond Clift (26.3).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Scott Rolen (33.6), Robin Ventura (25).
ON THE VERGE: Chipper Jones (23.9).

HALL OF FAME OUTFIELDERS
129.0 Babe Ruth
86.8 Ted Williams
85.8 Ty Cobb
84.6 Willie Mays
82.7 Tris Speaker
81.3 Hank Aaron
76.0 Stan Musial
72.5 Mickey Mantle
64.7 Frank Robinson
60.7 Mel Ott
45.8 Joe DiMaggio
43.2 Al Kaline
43.1 Ed Delahanty
42.6 Carl Yastrzemski
39.5 Reggie Jackson
34.0 Roberto Clemente
33.8 Paul Waner
33.2 Harry Heilmann
30.8 Willie Stargell
30.8 Dave Winfield
29.7 Elmer Flick
29.5 Sam Thompson
29.3 Sam Crawford
28.4 King Kelly
27.9 Fred Clarke
27.3 Billy Hamilton
25.6 Joe "Ducky" Medwick
25.9 Jesse Burkett

24.2 Ralph Kiner
24.1 Zack Wheat
23.8 Billy Williams
23.7 Kirby Puckett
23.3 Goose Goslin
23.0 Al Simmons
22.6 Richie Ashburn
22.6 Duke Snider
21.1 Chuck Klein
20.6 Joe Kelley

18.2 Hack Wilson
18.1 Larry Doby
18.0 Max Carey
17.3 Earl Averill
16.0 Jim O'Rourke
15.0 Willie Keeler
14.5 Enos Slaughter
13.5 Kiki Cuyler
13.5 Chick Hafey
12.0 Earle Combs
12.0 Harry Hooper
11.2 Ross Youngs
9.7 Edd Roush
  8.4 Sam Rice
  5.1 Hugh Duffy
  4.5 Heinie Manush
  2.4 Lou Brock
-2.7 Tommy McCarthy
-5.6 Lloyd Waner

BELONG IN THE HALL: Shoeless Joe Jackson (38.3), Indian Bob Johnson (35.7), Reggie Smith (31.9), Jim Wynn (30), Jack Clark (29.6), Pete Browning (27.7), Billy Hamilton (27.3), Bobby Bonds (27.2), Sherry Magee (26.2).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Barry Bonds (123.6), Rickey Henderson (72.1), Ken Griffey Jr. (48.5), Gary Sheffield (42.6), Tim Raines (38.8), Tony Gwynn (38.5), Jim Edmonds (36.6), Manny Ramirez (35.8), Larry Walker (31.3), Brian Giles (31.2), Vladimir Guerrero (29.9), Albert Belle (29.6), Sammy Sosa (25.7), Bernie Williams (25.4), Bobby Abreu (25.2).
ON THE VERGE: Tim Salmon (21), Luis Gonzalez (20.6), Andruw Jones (19.8).

HALL OF FAME CATCHERS
44.3 Gabby Hartnett
42.5 Johnny Bench
39.2 Gary Carter
38.8 Carlton Fisk
38.6 Yogi Berra
38.5 Bill Dickey
34.7 Mickey Cochrane
29.3 Buck Ewing

24.1 Roy Campanella
22.8 Roger Bresnahan
20.6 Ernie Lombardi

16.1 Ray Schalk
11.5 Rick Ferrell

BELONG IN THE HALL: Gene Tenace (26.3), Thurman Munson (25.4).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Mike Piazza (42.2), Ivan Rodriguez (40).
ON THE VERGE: Javy Lopez (22.8), Jorge Posada (19.8).

HALL OF FAME PITCHERS
89.9 Walter Johnson
77.0 Cy Young
62.9 Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander
59.1 Lefty Grove
56.3 Christy Mathewson
56.2 Kid Nichols
51.4 Warren Spahn
49.1 Tom Seaver
44.9 Bob Gibson
42.5 John Clarkson
40.2 Carl Hubbell
37.7 Ed Walsh
37.2 Whitey Ford
37.2 Hal Newhouser
37.1 Hoyt Wilhelm
36.7 Amos Rusie
35.6 Tim Keefe
34.3 Jim Palmer
34.0 Bob Lemon
33.5 Ted Lyons
33.2 Steve Carlton
32.8 Gaylord Perry
32.7 Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown
32.4 Don Drysdale
31.6 Bob Feller
31.5 Charley Radbourn
31.2 Red Ruffing
30.3 Ferguson Jenkins
30.3 Eddie Plank
30.3 Robin Roberts
29.8 Dennis Eckersley
29.2 Phil Niekro
29.2 Dazzy Vance
27.5 Juan Marichal
26.0 Stan Coveleski

24.2 Eppa Rixey
23.0 Addie Joss
22.7 Rollie Fingers
22.3 Dizzy Dean
23.3 Red Faber
22.3 Sandy Koufax
22.2 Rube Waddell
21.5 Nolan Ryan
20.1 Lefty Gomez
20.0 Vic Willis

19.5 Early Wynn
18.9 Joe McGinnity
18.9 Mickey Welch
18.3 Burleigh Grimes
17.9 Bruce Sutter
16.8 Don Sutton
16.4 Jim Bunning
15.7 Waite Hoyt
14.9 Chief Bender
11.0 Jack Chesbro
  9.8 Jim "Pud" Galvin
  9.8 Jim "Catfish" Hunter
  7.3 Jesse Haines
  7.3 Herb Pennock
  0.5 Rube Marquard

BELONG IN THE HALL: Bob Caruthers (33.6), Wes Ferrell (31.2), Bert Blyleven (31.1), Dizzy Trout (29.7), Rich "Goose" Gossage (29.5), Clark Griffith (28.3; Griffith is in as an executive; could be in as a pitcher), Tommy Bridges (27.3), Urban Shocker (27), Dolf Luque (26.2), Billy Pierce (25.6), Dave Stieb (25.1).
NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Roger Clemens (70.4), Greg Maddux (63.9), Pedro Martinez (50.2), Randy Johnson (49.1), Tom Glavine (39.9), Mariano Rivera (36.6), Kevin Brown (32.8), John Smoltz (33.6), Mike Mussina (32.5), Curt Schilling (28.8), Bret Saberhagen (27.8), John Franco (25.8).
ON THE VERGE: Trevor Hoffman (23.3), Roberto Hernandez (23), Billy Wagner (21.4), Tim Hudson (18.3).

HALL OF FAME DESIGNATED HITTERS
36.6 Paul Molitor

NOT YET ELIGIBLE: Edgar Martinez (44.6).

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CONGRATULATIONS TO BRUCE SUTTER

The baseball writers selected the overrated Sutter for the Hall of Fame. He is to be enshrined in July. That's his 1984 Fleer card above.

Sutter, the worst choice since Don Sutton, did have three monster years, plus several above-average ones, and he is credited with revolutionizing the game with his split-finger pitch.

Here's the vote announced in January (the players' POWs are in parentheses):

400 Bruce Sutter (18.5)
337 Jim Rice (18.4)
336 Rich Gossage (29.7)
317 Andre Dawson (17.2)
277 Bert Blyleven (31.1)
234 Lee Smith (22.9)
214 Jack Morris (9.3)
154 Tommy John (20.4)
135 Steve Garvey (-6.1)
  92 Alan Trammell (31.8)
  75 Dave Parker (14)
  65 Dave Concepcion (18)
  64 Don Mattingly (15.4)
  58 Orel Hershiser (19.4)
  56 Dale Murphy (11.4)
  40 Albert Belle (29.3)

23 Will Clark (25)
17 Dwight Gooden (17.7)
12 Willie McGee (-4.7)
  5 Hal Morris (0.5)
  5 Ozzie Guillen (-14.6)
  4 Gary Gaetti (2)
  4 John Wetteland (20.7)
  3 Rick Aguilera (16.8)
  2 Doug Jones (19.3)
  2 Greg Jefferies (-3.1)
  1 Walt Weiss (-3.6)
  0 Gary DiSarcina (-13.8)
  0 Alex Fernandez (12.3)

Clearly underrated: Blyleven, Trammell, Belle.
Clearly overrated: Morris, Garvey.

The TPW ballot would have read:
Trammell
Blyleven
Gossage
Belle
Clark

The big names on the next ballot, to be distributed this year, are Cal Ripken (44.1), Tony Gwynn (38.5), Mark "I'm not here to talk about the past" McGwire (36) and Bret Saberhagen (27.8).

Will Clark and all those who finished behind him in the most recent vote will not appear on another writers' ballot. Those players are relegated to Veterans Committee status. The committee can consider them once they have been retired for 21 years.

It will be interesting to see how the writers handle McGwire's candidacy, as we roam the steroid jungle. Jose Canseco (23.2) and Ken Caminiti (20.4) are also on the 2007 ballot. I doubt they'll let McGwire share the stage with Ripken. Except for Rickey Henderson, there are no huge names due for eligibility through 2010. There are a few other candidates on the 2007 ballot who might get attention (or not, as these things work): Harold Baines (13.3), Bobby Bonilla (16.2) and Eric Davis (20.3).

This year's TPW ballot would read:
Ripken
Gwynn
McGwire
Trammell
Blyleven
Saberhagen
Clark

The results of the Veterans Committee vote are to be released March 2. The ballot includes the deserving Ron Santo, Dick Allen, Joe Gordon, Wes Ferrell and Bobby Bonds.

For more on the Veterans Committee, see the Hall of Fame site.