With tonight’s rainout, the Yankees will play a split doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 12:35. So instead of a game recap, for a change of pace I’m going to show you something I didn’t write.
Over at the Hardball Times, Chris Jaffe recognized Derek Jeter’s delayed milestone and looked at other delayed milestones in history.
In Jaffe’s article, he says, “There are three clubs that matter: 3,000 hits, 500 homers, and 300 wins.” Every player retired for more than five years who has achieved these milestones are in the Hall of Fame, or are in someway tainted by steroids. I agree with all three benchmarks except for the last one.
Due to the evolution of the bullpen in our beloved game, three hundred wins is a number no pitcher will ever reach. The only active candidate with a reasonable career record is CC Sabathia, who needs about 15 wins a year until he’s 40 to reach 300. I think the benchmark should be lowered to 250, and even that is a little high.
Some may argue that 500 homers aren’t enough to deserve an automatic bid to the Hall because of the inflated numbers in the steroid era. I still think 500 is a safe number.
What do you think, are these three key numbers still reasonable for Hall of Fame qualifications?
