2008 Hall of Fame Ballot: Second Base
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by Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)
On January 8th, Cooperstown will potentially open its doors to a select few new Hall of Famers. As the writers are receiving their ballots and voting, I will evaluate all of the players on the ballot, by position. The only second baseman on the ballot for 2008 is Chuck Knoblauch.
JAWS
First, each player will be evaluated by their JAWS score, which was created by Jay Jaffe at BaseballProspectus.com. The JAWS score uses the WARP (wins above replacement player) stat by adding the player's seven best seasons and their career WARP total, then dividing by two([PEAK + Career]/2).
Chuck Knoblauch
Career: 74.1 Peak: 58.3 JAWS: 66.2
According to JAWS, Knoblauch should not even sniff the Hall of Fame. All three of his numbers are well below the current Hall of Fame 2Bman. 1995 and 1996 were both Hall-of-Fame caliber years for Knoblauch, thanks to his high OBP. Both of those years were during his Minnesota days. As a Yankee, 1998 could be considered a borderline MVP type season, due to his best (only good) defensive season. In the next year, Knoblauch lost his ability to make the throw from second base to first base. Soon after this, his bat rapidly declined. Knoblauch was out of the MLB following the 2002 season, at the age of 33.
Hall of Fame Scores
Black Ink measures the number of times a player led the league in a category. Gray Ink measures a player's frequency in the top ten. HOF Standards provides a value to a player's career. HOF Monitor measures how likely it is that player will be voted in.
Further explanations can be found here: Baseball Reference explanation
Chuck Knoblauch
Black Ink: 3
Gray Ink: 67
HOF Standards: 33.8
HOF Monitor: 66.5
Knoblauch went to four All-Star games, won Rookie of the Year, and a Gold Glove. The only categories Knoblauch ever led in were doubles, triples, and hit by pitch, all one time.
Verdict
Knoblauch: Out: It really is not that hard. Knoblauch showed only a brief stint of greatness, was always a liability in the field, and was out of the league by his early-thirties. As well, the Mitchell Report accuses Knoblauch of taking PEDs at the beginning of the 2001 season.
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