The Veteran's Committee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame passed over Gil Hodges again.
Excerpted from Jerry Crowe in the Los Angeles Times:
No first baseman who played the bulk of his career in the 1950s, Hodges' heyday, has been elected to the Hall of Fame. Hodges hit 370 home runs, four in one game, and batted .273 over 18 seasons with the Dodgers and Mets, with time out of baseball during World War II to serve as an anti-aircraft gunner.
The numbers are almost identical to those of Tony Perez, who is a Hall of Famer but was not equal to Hodges as a defensive first baseman.
A three-time Gold Glove winner -- the award wasn't created until 1957, his last All-Star season -- Hodges averaged 32 home runs and 108 runs batted in during a nine-year stretch from 1949 to '57 and was an eight-time All-Star. He played in seven World Series, helping the Dodgers win championships in 1955 and 1959.
The argument against Hodges' Hall of Fame worthiness is that he never led the National League in any batting category, never finished higher than seventh in voting for most valuable player and fell short of 2,000 hits.
It hasn't helped that his death at an early age took him out of the public eye. Also, it has been said that the 1950s Dodgers already are well represented in the Hall by Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson.
"So what?" says former Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine, dismissing the latter argument. "He contributed to a team that was dominant in the National League, often in ways that it's hard to tell a committee, 'Well, here's what he did.'
"Here's a point that's not in the stats, but I think it carried weight for Pee Wee. Pee Wee was often identified -- and rightly so -- to have been a champion for Jackie. But let me tell you: Hodges also played alongside Jackie, and he was the peacekeeper on that infield.
"Everybody respected Hodges. He was big and strong, and when there was a pileup at second base that could erupt into some kind of brawl, Hodges was there immediately, pulling guys off and keeping the peace."
The numbers are almost identical to those of Tony Perez, who is a Hall of Famer but was not equal to Hodges as a defensive first baseman.
A three-time Gold Glove winner -- the award wasn't created until 1957, his last All-Star season -- Hodges averaged 32 home runs and 108 runs batted in during a nine-year stretch from 1949 to '57 and was an eight-time All-Star. He played in seven World Series, helping the Dodgers win championships in 1955 and 1959.
The argument against Hodges' Hall of Fame worthiness is that he never led the National League in any batting category, never finished higher than seventh in voting for most valuable player and fell short of 2,000 hits.
It hasn't helped that his death at an early age took him out of the public eye. Also, it has been said that the 1950s Dodgers already are well represented in the Hall by Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson.
"So what?" says former Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine, dismissing the latter argument. "He contributed to a team that was dominant in the National League, often in ways that it's hard to tell a committee, 'Well, here's what he did.'
"Here's a point that's not in the stats, but I think it carried weight for Pee Wee. Pee Wee was often identified -- and rightly so -- to have been a champion for Jackie. But let me tell you: Hodges also played alongside Jackie, and he was the peacekeeper on that infield.
"Everybody respected Hodges. He was big and strong, and when there was a pileup at second base that could erupt into some kind of brawl, Hodges was there immediately, pulling guys off and keeping the peace."
My memories of Hodges are as the manager of the 1969 World Series champion Amazin' Mets. I was 10, but already a dedicated reader of the New York Daily News. Hodges and the Montreal Expos' Gene Mauch were the first baseball managers who made an impression on me.
Hodges didn't have the gaudy numbers of many Hall members, and his career batting average was less than .300, so Hall voters haven't ushered him in. But he was arguably the premier player at his position over an extended period of time and should be enshrined.
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