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| | Wednesday, July 26 Hall of Fame fan feedback | |||||
| ESPN.com Simple. A player that is regarded as the best in his league in his time at his position, generally someone that, when you attend a game, you can point at and say "He is the best player on this field/arena/court right now."
Todd Anderson
A Hall of Famer is someone who has played their given sport with an overwhelming excellence, and consistently put up above average numbers. It should not be based on what they did off the field, but based solely on what they accomplished on the field.
Jim Buckle
I believe that acceptance into a Hall Of Fame means that you have distinguished yourself in such a way, that your performance could be held up against the very best players in any era. It's about being able to perform at the highest level for an entire career, and then knowing when it's time to leave. With the recent offensive explosion and players switching teams every three or four years, the standards will have to change.
Bob Smith
The notion that off the field activities and characteristics should keep anyone out of the Cooperstown is ludicrous at best, and truly offensive to the sport in my opinion. We have scores of unsavory characters already enshrined in the Hall of Fame. When were these "character by-laws" enacted? If we're going to live by those standards, we ought to remove those enshrined that don't live up to the same standards applied to Rose and Jackson (Shoeless Joe). There's probably only a handfull of players in the Hall that could stay there if we didn't protect them with grandfather clauses. In fact the only two players of moral high character that come to mind from the first half of this century are Walter Johnson and Lou Gehrig. The list of unsavory ones is endless - regardless of whether they're "heroes" or not - Cobb, Ruth and Hornsby; even Mays and Mantle aren't without blemish. Where do we draw the line? On field accomplishments are all that should count. This is one area where the NFL has it right...Lawrence Taylor may be a despicable human being, but he is still one of the greatest football players who ever lived.
Mike Smith
Simply put, STATS. Case closed.
Jose Sanchez
Numbers? Longevity? Fame? Maybe all three rolled into one. The one thing I am certain of is that O'Connell of the Baseball HOF Committee is definitely wrong. Only one man can dominate a position and that is what makes it domination. If you take his thought process who out of AL shortstops will not make the Hall A-Rod, Nomar, or Jeter. Domination is not the key. Try other sports the same way and see how many potential HOFamers get the boot.
Chris Hillers
A Hall-of-Famer is a player who is dominant in his era. It takes a certain amount of longevity (probably at least a decade), but the key consideration is the player's worth estimated against the other players in his time. Someone who is a mediocre player but who hangs on long enough to amass statistics does not belong in the Hall of Fame (read Jose Canseco and Harold Baines). Someone who is traded away several times obviously does not mean that much to his team, although with the small-large market disparity that is less of a yardstick anymore. In short, a player worthy of eternal praise is one who plays at a level above his peers for a somewhat extended period of time.
Bill Bristol
A Hall of Famer is someone whose career statistics are head and shoulders above the majority of his contemporaries. A few good seasons is not enough. Longevity is not enough. Standing out in only one statistical category is not enough. A Hall of Famer has good seasons year in and year out, and when his career is over, it can easily be said he was clearly one of the best of his time.
Mark Pachankis
Being a Hall of Famer should be more than just numbers. It also means to redefine the game you play, and also to give it the magic you always felt at the sandlot, or the local rink, or the playground, or the local green field.
Richard Healey
In baseball, a Hall of Fame player should be the best of his time. Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, or recent players, like George Brett. Only the very best. The very good players, like Sutton, should never be in the hall. Playing 20+ years and piling up stats doesn't make the player great. And if there isn't a worthy candidate one year, that's OK. Great players are supposed to be a rare breed so someone doesn't have to be elected each year.
Kevin Jones
Pete Rose is a Hall of Famer; He played hard and played baseball the way it was supposed to play; with grit, determination, and hard-nosed play. If you were to define Hall of Famer in a sentence or less; the essence of the sentence would include Pete Rose!!!
John Devine
A Hall of Famer is a combination of stats, longevity, and fame. There is no majic equation that autamatically demands election. However, the lofty benchmarks of 3,000 hits, 500 homeruns, and 300 wins all but ensure selection to the Hall. Obviously, players must stay in the game for a significant amount of time to accumulate the career accomplishments worthy of election. Fame and even more specifically, how a player is perceived by the media and fans, is also critical in the process. This factor can determine the difference for borderline players.
Brian Miller
Although, longevity is an important factor when evaluating a Hall of Famer, the bottom-line is what numbers did that player put-up when compared to those in his era and to those prior. The players' popularity/fame alone can be affected by too many variables. The numbers don't lied.
John Vidal
A Hall of Famer (HOF) in any sport should be someone who dominated in their sport or at their position for an extended period of time. Two to three years will not cut it, nor will a couple of good seasons sprinkled over an extended period of time. When you think of a HOF it should be someone who performed at an extremely high level of play for a number of years. The Hall of Fame should not be a place where fans will go and see players who put up good numbers because they hung around for a long period of time. The Hall of Fame is a place where fans should be able to go and see the "greats of the game", esentially players who fans will be proud to tell their grandchildren that they had a chance to see play.
Chris Arnold
At one time a Hall of Famer was someone who dominated his position, if not the sport, for an extended period of time. Now it is all about statistics and with guys playing 15 to 20 years, players who should only get into Cooperstown by paying for a ticket will be enshrined along side Ruth, Mays, Mantle, Gibson. It is only going to get worse, unfortunately, expansion, smaller ball parks and bad pitching will see too many undeserving selected based on stats that are meaningless.
Mike Clarke
I think a Hall of Famer is a person who was gifted enough with the talent to become a professional player and worked hard and had the passion to become the best.
Michael Fonseca
Pete Rose and Joe Jackson are Hall of Famers.
Dave Nyikos
I think having a longer period of excellence is much more important than winning Championships. Too much emphasis is placed on post-season activity, when TEAM character is much more important. I believe a player should be evaluated on regular season performance. All major awards are based on regular season. This is the time that seperates the true great players. For a player to exude greatness day-in and day-out, is much more important than having one great Super Bowl or Stanley Cup Final.
David Gardner
Bill Mazeroski.....
Neal Huffman
A Hall-of-Famer shohuld be someone who was a dominate force in his/her sport at the time he/she played. The player should be remebered for not only stats, but name recognition, as in a player opposing teams absolutely dreaded playing against, but would kill to play with. The player should also be someone who made a significant difference in the game, either in the style of play, or in their overall achievments. The stats should be looked at seriously, but sports is entertainment, and those that are the best at entertaining should be the one's recognized.
Mike
| ALSO SEE Garber: What is a Hall of Famer? Neyer: It depends on what 'fame' means In-depth: The Hall of Fame debate | |||||
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