BuckeyeFlorida
Resident Science Dork
Before the forum nazis get on me, I put this here because the baseball forum is dead (aka the offseason). Shoot me if you'd like.
What do you guys think about this? I was never a big Belle fan, but always appreciated what he did for the team in the mid 90's. Based on the numbers, it doesn't seem so far fetched.
Belle for Hall? - From the Daily Quickie Page 2 ESPN
I got a fascinating e-mail from my ESPN.com colleague Michael Knisley, who pointed out that my HOF commentary yesterday about Gooden and Hershiser is eclipsed by the Great Albert Belle Debate.
Your knee-jerk reaction is probably to insist he couldn't possibly be a Hall of Famer, but as Knisley pointed out, his stats are more than comparable with first-ballot HOF'er Kirby Puckett, who, like Belle, played 12 seasons:
Edge Belle:
HR: 381-207
RBI: 1,239-1,085
OBP: .369-.360
SLG: .564-.477
Edge Puckett:
BA: .318-.295
SB: 134-88
Rings: 2-0
It begs the question of whether Hall status should ever be a popularity contest (which Belle would never win). If not, Belle has got a decent shot, at least by the "Puckett standard."
What do you guys think about this? I was never a big Belle fan, but always appreciated what he did for the team in the mid 90's. Based on the numbers, it doesn't seem so far fetched.
Belle for Hall? - From the Daily Quickie Page 2 ESPN
I got a fascinating e-mail from my ESPN.com colleague Michael Knisley, who pointed out that my HOF commentary yesterday about Gooden and Hershiser is eclipsed by the Great Albert Belle Debate.
Your knee-jerk reaction is probably to insist he couldn't possibly be a Hall of Famer, but as Knisley pointed out, his stats are more than comparable with first-ballot HOF'er Kirby Puckett, who, like Belle, played 12 seasons:
Edge Belle:
HR: 381-207
RBI: 1,239-1,085
OBP: .369-.360
SLG: .564-.477
Edge Puckett:
BA: .318-.295
SB: 134-88
Rings: 2-0
It begs the question of whether Hall status should ever be a popularity contest (which Belle would never win). If not, Belle has got a decent shot, at least by the "Puckett standard."