Regardless of the holes on the team, 83 wins is the definition of mediocre (i.e., a .500 team). Besides, if you check out B-R.com, you’ll see that the 1970 Mets had a Pythagorean W-L of 88-74, while the 1971 team had a Pythagorean W-L of 86-76. So, if anything, Hodges underachived those seasons.

Hodges seems to be an emotional choice because of the magic of that 1969 year. Unfortunately, the facts just don’t seem to support his case. Aside from Jim Rice, the election of Hodges would be a selection (not including ones that have already been made) that I would regret the most (because lobbying would have overwhelmed the facts).

In one year, Hodges managed to take a perenially bad Mets team, vault them to 100-plus victories, and then postseason wins against the Braves and the Orioles, both teams with better talent. Winning a world championship with Al Weis at second base, Ed Charles platooning at third, and Ron Swoboda platooning in right field is a phenomenal accomplishment. Along with the ’88 Dodgers, the ’69 Mets are perhaps the unlikeliest world championship team in MLB history.

You say that the Mets returned to mediocrity the following two years, but they did win 83 games each of those seasons despite a lineup filled with holes (second base, third base, and right field) and fast declines from Donn Clendenon and Tommie Agee. Given the talent level that Hodges had, I’d still say the Mets overachieved those seasons, just not at the same level as the ’69 Mets.

I guess I just don’t see Hodge’s managerial record as putting him over the top. After all, his career W% was .467. Also, aside from 1969, he never managed a team higher than 3rd place (and each one of those finishes was with a .512 W%). What’s more, while the 1969 championship may have been stunning, the Mets immediately returned to being a pretty mediocre team until the mid-1980s.

Considering he won 4 rings as a Yankee and played 7 years in pinstripes and only 4 in Cleveland it’s a bit of a no-brainer that his plaque will have the interlocking NY.

Here’s a question: Will the Yankees retire his number? There’s a bunch of non-HOF Yankees (Martin, Guidry, Munson, Maris, Mattingly and Howard) whose numbers aren’t retired. It would be especially fun because Gordon wore #6, the same as Joe Torre. Of course the Yanks have set precedent of retiring the same number twice (Dickey and Berra). There are probably other Yankees with NY on their hats in the HOF whose numbers aren’t retired (Tony Lazzeri comes to mind and he also wore #6).

Perhaps they can retire the number for Gordon, Lazzeri and Torre and have 6 6 6 in monument park…that would be something…. [Evil is chuckling at his Evil wit!].

In regards to Hodges, I think that he belongs based on his combined achievements as a player and manager. I wouldn’t put him in solely for what he did as a player, but he deserves a large amount of credit for the stunning turnaround that he orchestrated with the Mets in the late sixties and early seventies.

While I could easily live with Dick Allen, I don’t have a problem with his omission because of the shorter length of his career. If your sole clame to (Hall of) fame is your bat, I think you need more than 7200 PAs. Basically, Allen is Frank Thomas with 2,700 fewer plate appearances. Those extra times at bat is the difference between a hall of famer and a near miss.

Joe Torre is another near miss for me. Had he been a catcher longer, he woud be a lock. Because he spent so much time at 1B, however, I think that knocks him down a peg. He’ll eventually get when his manager duties are taken into account.

Gil Hodges is a not a Hall of Famer, IMHO. He simply did not hit enough for a 1B…neither in his peak nor over the length of his career. Letting Hodges in would be as bad as letting Rice in. Considering that the writers are likely to enshrine the latter, it’s a good thing the Veterans didn’t compound the problem by electing the former.

Dahlen, about whom Rob Neyer had a nice blog entry today, is an interesting case because if he was as good with the glove as some accounts suggest, his offense numbers more than warrant selection. Considering that he has been bypassed for nearly 100 years, however, I am not sure if I can blame the Veterans committee for doing so again. Still, I think he definitely deserves more serious consideration than he probably received.

Good for Joe Gordon, though.

Santo getting snubbed again I just don’t understand.

Gordon is an excellent choice. He was a terrific defender at second base, had tremendous power (at a time when most middle infielders didn’t hit the long ball), and played much of his career in pennant races and/or for pennant winners.

Unfortunately, the voters did not do themselves proud with the rest of their voting, particularly in saying no to Santo, Hodges, Torre, Allen, Dahlen, and a couple of others.

What does Santo have to do? At worst, he was one of the top ten 3B of all time, at best, he was one of the top five. Either way, that’s a clearcut, no-question-about-it Hall of Famer.