skyking162

Joe Sheehan addressed Jime Rice’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame based on being the most feared hitter in baseball over a twelve year stretch. Sheehan agrees that Rice was having a Hall of Fame career for six seasons (’75 through ‘80), but shows that any fear over the next six was a result of bloated RBI totals and a hangover effect from the earlier seasons. Rice only finished in the top ten in slugging twice after 1980 (no fear there), but seemed to always come to the plate with runners on base (ROB):

Year ROB Rank
1981 367 1st
1982 466 7th
1983 504 2nd
1984 545 1st
1985 496 2nd
1986 514 3rd

Jim Rice voters: are you trying to elect Rice, or are you just putting Wade Boggs in a second time?

Oh, snap.

For me, the Jim Rice kicker is the huge offensive benefit he received from playing home games at Fenway Park. Oh, and playing a mediocre left field doesn’t help, either.

*******

Joe Posnanski also mentioned the absurdity of cherry-picking stats over a 12-year stretch:

[W]hat if I told you there was a player who, over a 12-year period, led all of baseball in home runs and RBIs? I’m talking all of baseball. Even Rice did not do that. And what if I further told you this guy played center field for much of his career, he stole more than 200 bases (31 in his best season) and hit one of the three most famous home runs in baseball history. That guy would be a SURE Hall of Famer, wouldn’t he?

Joe Carter (1984-1995 — that’s 12 years for you)
Homers (327), 1st in baseball
RBIs (1172), 1st in baseball

[Sky’s note:] And a career .306 OBP.

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