The offseason is always a fun time on MLB Monday, and we’re filling it the best ways we know how: with plenty of randomness! Today is also kind of a rare column, a piece we only really do about once a year now. We’re looking at two lists of nominees for the Cooperstown Hall of Fame: the “Classic Era” guys who didn’t get in on the first term of eligibility and the players who still have ballot eligibility the first time around.

Let’s start with the Classic era nominees:

  • Dick Allen (58.7 WAR): He’s rated as the 17th-best third baseman in history, but he also played a lot at first base and in left field—because outside of his rookie season (1964), he was a negative defender his whole career (minus-16.3 dWAR overall). Ouch. We also didn’t buy his 1972 AL MVP vote win, either. He had enough league-leading production to warrant this nod, even with the ugly glove. VOTE: YES.
  • Ken Boyer (62.8): As a third baseman and center fielder, this guy had glove, for sure. He comes in at 14th on the all-time 3B list, so he’s ahead of Allen—and his 10.7 dWAR for his career is impressive. He won the 1964 NL MVP vote, even though we did not agree. He also won five Gold Gloves, all deserved. His bat? A 116 OPS+ is good enough for us, really, so without a doubt, he’s should be in. VOTE: YES.
  • John Donaldson (3.4): We don’t have enough data here to make a sound judgment, so … ABSTAIN.
  • Steve Garvey (38.0): Why is he even up for consideration? We have no idea, with that extremely low career WAR mark which places him 51st all time at his position (1B). He won the NL MVP vote in 1974, even though we gave it to someone else. He won four Gold Gloves despite posting negative dWAR in every one of those seasons—and minus-11.7 dWAR overall. And then? This, too, remains. VOTE: NO.
  • Dave Parker (40.1): He’s rated as the 42nd-best right fielder ever, even if that sounds way too low. He won the 1978 NL MVP vote, which we disagreed with, but then we gave him the 1979 NL MVP instead. He won two batting titles, but he finished with minus-14.8 dWAR—despite winning three Gold Gloves, only one of which was deserved. We do feel he was a transcendent leader, but … can’t do it. VOTE: NO.
  • Vic Harris (10.6): We don’t have enough data here to make a sound judgment, so … ABSTAIN.
  • Tommy John (61.6): Ranked 77th now all time among starting pitchers, he’s better known for the surgery procedure that bears his name. That’s not a good enough reason to be admitted to Cooperstown. He didn’t win any major awards; he won 288 games to fall short of the magic number (300); he never won a World Series despite pitching for six different teams over a 26-year career, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Oakland Athletics, and the New York Yankees. VOTE: NO.
  • Luis Tiant (66.1): He ends up 44th all time on the SP list, due to a high(er) peak performance. He only won 229 games, although he did win a few ERA titles. Generally, we like his profile as a candidate more than John above, but we still think he falls short of the HoF threshold. In many ways, he is a legend from the past; however, above all, his career happens to fall just short of greatness. VOTE: NO.

Next week, we will tackle the ballot-eligible players and pass judgment. Stay tuned for that fun time!