Certainly it isn't Scooter. Halberstam quotes an authority no less than Ted Williams as saying the only difference between the Yankees and The Redsox during his era was Rizzuto.
Scooter may not have been wholy deserving of the induction as a player, but he belongs in the Hall in some capacity and he is far from the worst player in the HoF. Far from it. Look around a little.
Chaos
This is very interesting.
Forget the game.
Right here.
Here's a guy can't see.
All right,
Gene Larkin is the NO!
Gene Larkin?
What did he do?
Base on balls.
Forever Young
Bobby Thigpen out there.
Number thirty-seven.
That's the guy in the Peanuts cartoon.
Pigpen.
That's a joke.
That guy in Peanuts with Charlie Brown.
He's always dirty.
Oh yeah.
Every day.
Orphan Annie.
You know,
She hasn't aged in thirty-two years.
i met scooter about 20 years ago at an autograph show in new jersey. my grandfather took me, we used to go to a bunch of those shows back then.
my grandfather was a real schmoozer, and engaged phil in chatter about the old days. one topic lead to another, and before we knew it, the promoters were asking us to leave because we stalled the line for autographs with our hour-plus conversation...
22.0 Travis Jackson
19.5 Joe Tinker
18.7 Phil Rizzuto
16.3 Pee Wee Reese
14.1 Luis Aparicio
10.3 Rabbit Maranville
7.7 John Montgomery Ward
Scooter's not the worst, he was a starting player on 7 WS winning teams and he lost 3 years to WWII -- so his ranking could have been higher by a point or two. Remember, in those days shortstops were there for their gloves, not their bats. Enjoy your heavenly cannolis, Scooter.
I started watching baseball in 1961, and since I lived outside of New York, my only option was Yankee games. Mel Allen, Red Barber, and Phil were in the booth. It coulda been a lot worse than three hall of famers. The team was pretty good, too, but being a Dodger fan, I didn't appreciate it as much back then as I might have.
17 He was actually a five-time All-Star and an MVP on great teams (he won the award in 1950 and finished in the top six two other times). He also would have been a regular Gold Glove winner had the award existed at the time. Again, probably short of the HoF as a player alone, but he was a star, not just a solid regular.
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I speak no ill of the dead. Merely a question. Holy Cow.
With all deference to the Splendid Splinter, my favorite baseballer of all time, perhaps he is incorrect.
Candy Cummings will be there too.
And Scooter belongs in the HOF in some capacity.
http://tinyurl.com/25ecf6
Samples of Rizzuto's work:
Chaos
This is very interesting.
Forget the game.
Right here.
Here's a guy can't see.
All right,
Gene Larkin is the NO!
Gene Larkin?
What did he do?
Base on balls.
Forever Young
Bobby Thigpen out there.
Number thirty-seven.
That's the guy in the Peanuts cartoon.
Pigpen.
That's a joke.
That guy in Peanuts with Charlie Brown.
He's always dirty.
Oh yeah.
Every day.
Orphan Annie.
You know,
She hasn't aged in thirty-two years.
i met scooter about 20 years ago at an autograph show in new jersey. my grandfather took me, we used to go to a bunch of those shows back then.
my grandfather was a real schmoozer, and engaged phil in chatter about the old days. one topic lead to another, and before we knew it, the promoters were asking us to leave because we stalled the line for autographs with our hour-plus conversation...
in other words, a real down to earth guy.
also, rirruto?
Those're Z's!
He can see now paradise by the dashboard light...
http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze2x57w/sabermetrics/id1.html
22.0 Travis Jackson
19.5 Joe Tinker
18.7 Phil Rizzuto
16.3 Pee Wee Reese
14.1 Luis Aparicio
10.3 Rabbit Maranville
7.7 John Montgomery Ward
Scooter's not the worst, he was a starting player on 7 WS winning teams and he lost 3 years to WWII -- so his ranking could have been higher by a point or two. Remember, in those days shortstops were there for their gloves, not their bats. Enjoy your heavenly cannolis, Scooter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDQHQkuv9l0&mode=related&search=
I started watching baseball in 1961, and since I lived outside of New York, my only option was Yankee games. Mel Allen, Red Barber, and Phil were in the booth. It coulda been a lot worse than three hall of famers. The team was pretty good, too, but being a Dodger fan, I didn't appreciate it as much back then as I might have.
-- Phil Rizutto, announcing the death of Pope Paul VI during a TV broadcast
He was a solid regular on great teams and to justify his inclusion you would have to place a very high premium on intangibles.
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