Winners and losers from Hall of Fame election night

Winners and losers from Hall of Fame election night

Griffey is in with a record 99.3%. Obviously. The man had 630 homers and 1836 RBI, was selected on 13 all-star teams, won an MVP and four homer crowns. In his prime (1993-2000, ages 23 to 30), he averaged 52 homers and 137 RBI per 162 games, with a .993 OPS. That's a lot of muscle. But he was more than a slugger. He also won ten gold gloves in centerfield. And he's a good guy. What's not to like?

Piazza is in. Piazza is not only the best offensive catcher of all time, but is one of the ten best right-handed hitters of all time. He's actually a much better hitter than you realize, because he played his entire career in pitchers' parks (mostly Shea Stadium and Dodger Stadium). His lifetime OPS on the road is .960. How does that road OPS compare to the greatest right-handed hitters of all time? Extremely well.

Joe Dimaggio 1.015
Rogers Hornsby .996
Manny Ramirez .989
Mark McGwire .972
Albert Pujols .968
Jimmy Foxx .966
Mike Piazza .960
Miguel Cabrera .938
Willie Mays .931
Frank Thomas .925
Hank Greenberg .912

Better than Willie Mays and Hank Greenberg is, to put it succinctly, pretty effin' good.

Look at Piazza's road batting averages in his individual seasons during his prime. They look like they could be from Lou Gehrig's career.

1995 .384
1996 .353
1997 .368
1998 .346
1999 .323
2000 .377

Piazza's lifetime OPS on the road is .100 higher than Griffey's - and Griffey was a great hitter. Imagine what Piazza might have done if he had played his entire career at Coors!