Congratulations Rickey, Jim, and Joe

Yesterday, the Hall of Fame saw three new members inducted into its illustrious walls, and congratulations should go out to Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice, and Joe Gordon. We are not here to discuss the particular merits of each player. That has been done before. But we're here, perhaps, to put them into context of where they stand within the Hall of Fame, amongst the peers that are already there.

Rickey Henderson. This first ballot Hall of Famer is better than most people think, and most people think he was really good. There are 21 leftfielders inducted at Cooperstown, including the likes of Ted Williams, Billy Williams, and Ralph Kiner. Henderson ranks fifth in Total Regular Season PEVA amongst that 21, behind only Ted, Stan the Man Musial, Ed Delahanty, and Carl Yaztremski. With 331.490 PEVA (Career Player Rating), he ranks at #27 among all position players in history, sandwiched between Frank Thomas and Jim O'Rourke. Yes, Frank will be joining him five years or so from now. He may not have had the highest per season PEVA value @ 13.260, some of which occurred because he hung around the game for a few more years after his peak than most, but that still ranks him #12 out of the #21 leftfielders in the HOF. He was also #26 all-time in Postseason Career ranking, and had one of the Top 4 Batting Postseasons in history in 1989. Congratulations, Rickey, ... well deserved.

Jim Rice. A leftfielder as well as Mr. Henderson, Jim ranked a bit lower on the All-Time lists at #13 (224.084 PEVA Regular Season) of the #21 HOF members, although his per season PEVA average of 14.005 was higher at #10. Ranked amongst all position players for his career, Jim comes in at #93, accounting for the 15 years of waiting for Rice to be inducted. We won't belabor the point here, but there are players in this area that are in and out of the Hall. From a postseason standpoint, Rice had only 2 opportunities to shine, and didn't fare that well at #350 on the list, but it was his steadfast and consistent play near the peak of his era that eventually led to his deserved induction. Well played, Mr. Rice. Welcome to the Hall.

Joe Gordon. It took Mr. Gordon a long time to be inducted by the Veterans Committee this year, and although we're not a big fan of Veterans Committee selections over the years, the player shouldn't be given short shrift amongst today's baseball fan. Joe Gordon was a 2nd Baseman in the Yankee heydey and now sits amongst the #18 2nd sackers in the Hall of Fame. While Gordon is not near the top of the list with 127.893 PEVA Player Rating (Regular Season), ranking him #15, his per season performance raises him to #7. Joe missed two full seasons during World War II. With the addition of those War Years, his overall ranking would have pushed his total ranking to the middle of the pack. That's pretty darn good, and explains a top reason why the Veterans Committee decided that Joe should make it. Being a Yankee in that era, Gordon had a lot of opportunities to showcase his talent in the Fall Classic as well, six times in fact, ranking #23 in All-Time Postseason PEVA with 10.642. Overall, his postseason performance didn't overwhelm, but surely added to his candidacy. Great going, Joe, and congratulations on your induction.