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I'm going to take some time before submitting a final ballot, but here's where I'm at now, for the sake of discussion. I'll start with the hitters.
Pedro Eires -- Home run king with two excellent seasons, two other above average seasons, and not much else. For a guy who entered the inaugural season at age 27, you need more than that.
Carel Fonkert - Very good hitting catcher who quietly had a very nice career, but was almost always overshadowed by other catches. Even with an outstanding 1983 campaign, it's tough to argue he's even one of the top ten catchers in league history. Not good enough for the Hall.
Clint Lance - A comparable offensive player to Fonkert who put together a more extended period of production at the plate. 119 OPS+ is noteworthy, but not enough. When you factor in defense -- a very important consideration for a catcher -- Lance becomes a very interesting candidate. With six Glove Wizards, and fielding metrics ranking him as one of the elite defensive catchers, he looks like a very viable candidate. Still, on a list of the BLB's best catchers, surely ranks outside the top five. With that much competition, it's tough to vote for him.
Nick Latham -- One of the five to ten best hitters in league history, both for peak and career value, despite starting his career at age 31 in the league's inaugural season. Also an outstanding defender. An easy choice for me to vote for him.
Enéas Monterola -- Like Latham, entered the BLB at age 31 with two phenomenal seasons. He had a much sharper decline, however. His 91.9 VORP in 1979 ranks as the 7th best in BLB history, ahead of any of Kellum's seasons. Also a plus defender. Still, he played seven years after that magical 1979, and despite the numerous opportunities, never really added to his resumé. Had he retired after 1979, would have my vote as a Founder's Wing guy. As is, not quite good enough.
Tim Murcott -- A quality outfielder, but never one of the best at his position. Even in his best year, 1979, was only maybe the fifth best outfielder in the game. A good career, but not good enough.
Dave O'Brien -- Baserunning ability and solid defense not enough to overshadow his .683 career OPS. Pass.
Malachi Stiver -- Despite starting his career at age 31 in 1978, will go down as one of the BLB's best hitting catchers. He'd probably rank second on that list after Sergio Lumar, and maybe Gonzalez. Won a Stout Slugger. Below-average defense. The Mike Piazza of the BLB. He has my vote.
Graham Tandy -- Good hitter. Excellent speed. Good defense. A better candidate than I thought. How many second basemen are better than him? Geoff Scott. Nate Bermeo. Wilton Harcourt. Neil Hildebrand. Jorge Taracena is kind of a man without a position, but was better than Tandy. That puts Tandy outside the top five. Do you vote for a guy who wasn't one of the five best at his position during his playing career? I don't.
I'll write up my thoughts on the pitchers this weekend.
Pedro Eires -- Home run king with two excellent seasons, two other above average seasons, and not much else. For a guy who entered the inaugural season at age 27, you need more than that.
Carel Fonkert - Very good hitting catcher who quietly had a very nice career, but was almost always overshadowed by other catches. Even with an outstanding 1983 campaign, it's tough to argue he's even one of the top ten catchers in league history. Not good enough for the Hall.
Clint Lance - A comparable offensive player to Fonkert who put together a more extended period of production at the plate. 119 OPS+ is noteworthy, but not enough. When you factor in defense -- a very important consideration for a catcher -- Lance becomes a very interesting candidate. With six Glove Wizards, and fielding metrics ranking him as one of the elite defensive catchers, he looks like a very viable candidate. Still, on a list of the BLB's best catchers, surely ranks outside the top five. With that much competition, it's tough to vote for him.
Nick Latham -- One of the five to ten best hitters in league history, both for peak and career value, despite starting his career at age 31 in the league's inaugural season. Also an outstanding defender. An easy choice for me to vote for him.
Enéas Monterola -- Like Latham, entered the BLB at age 31 with two phenomenal seasons. He had a much sharper decline, however. His 91.9 VORP in 1979 ranks as the 7th best in BLB history, ahead of any of Kellum's seasons. Also a plus defender. Still, he played seven years after that magical 1979, and despite the numerous opportunities, never really added to his resumé. Had he retired after 1979, would have my vote as a Founder's Wing guy. As is, not quite good enough.
Tim Murcott -- A quality outfielder, but never one of the best at his position. Even in his best year, 1979, was only maybe the fifth best outfielder in the game. A good career, but not good enough.
Dave O'Brien -- Baserunning ability and solid defense not enough to overshadow his .683 career OPS. Pass.
Malachi Stiver -- Despite starting his career at age 31 in 1978, will go down as one of the BLB's best hitting catchers. He'd probably rank second on that list after Sergio Lumar, and maybe Gonzalez. Won a Stout Slugger. Below-average defense. The Mike Piazza of the BLB. He has my vote.
Graham Tandy -- Good hitter. Excellent speed. Good defense. A better candidate than I thought. How many second basemen are better than him? Geoff Scott. Nate Bermeo. Wilton Harcourt. Neil Hildebrand. Jorge Taracena is kind of a man without a position, but was better than Tandy. That puts Tandy outside the top five. Do you vote for a guy who wasn't one of the five best at his position during his playing career? I don't.
I'll write up my thoughts on the pitchers this weekend.
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