What I am saying is, it's not Ron Santo against Willie Mays. It is Ron Santo against Pete Browning,...

What I am saying is, it's not Ron Santo against Willie Mays. It is Ron Santo against Pete Browning, or Babe Herman, or Bob Meusel, or Jake Daubert, or somebody else whose only real advantage on Ron Santo is that he played so long ago his flaws are forgotten.... The Ted WIlliams/Bob Gibson/Honus Wagner standard for Hall of Fame selection has never existed anywhere except in the imaginations of people who don't know anything about the subject.

Look, certain things just do not happen. Rivers do not run uphill, iron does not become gold, time does not go backward, whores do not become virgins, pigs do not give birth to lions, supermodels to not marry auto mechanics, and politicians do not forget the next election. There is no alchemy by which the Hall of Fame may become what it never has been. Ron Santo towers above the real standard of the real Hall of Fame.

--Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, 542. James ranks Ron Santo, who was nominated for the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee earlier this week, as the 6th greatest third baseman of all time.

[What this is]

about 1 year ago devil_fingers 8 comments 1 recs |

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Whores do not become virgins?

Bill totally loses all credibility with that statement. Has he not met a born again. Geez Bill get with the times.

It takes 46 muscles to frown but only 4 to flip 'em the bird.

by kcscoliny on Sep 20, 2008 10:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Meh

“It is Ron Santo against Pete Browning, or Babe Herman, or Bob Meusel, or Jake Daubert, or somebody else whose only real advantage on Ron Santo is that he played so long ago his flaws are forgotten”

I never like these arguments for HOF. There are lots of guys better than Pete Browning who should NOT be in the Hall of Fame. People say “Frank White is just as good as Bill Mazeroski, thus Frank should be in the Hall of Fame.”

Maybe Bill Mazeroski shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame? And neither should Frank.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Sep 22, 2008 11:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That being said

Ron Santo seems like a no doubter Hall of Famer in my mind.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Sep 22, 2008 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think that was quite his point

I couldn’t figure out how to put it in there so it made sense as a quote, but the point is that Santo shouldn’t be measured by the Seaver/Mantle/DiMaggio standard, buit moreover that the actual Hall does not have that standard.

And Frank White is the greatest 2B of all-time, dang it, at least until Aviles gets moved there!!111

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Sep 22, 2008 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Anyway, I really just love the line about "Rivers dont not run uphill...."

Embarrassingly, that little concluding paragraph gives me goosebumps, a bit.

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Sep 22, 2008 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I need to grab that book, ASAP

If only I didn’t have to read these stupid senior seminar books…

A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.

by NHZ on Sep 22, 2008 4:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I wish I had had it when I was writing more papers

it has a ton of great anecdotes and reflections perfect for papers. Especially stuff like philosophy and history. Maybe not so much psychmetrics, but I’m sure it’s in there.

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Sep 22, 2008 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs