Re-Ranking the Hall of Famers: #229- Bill Mazeroski, 2B

Class of: 2001 (Veterans Committee)

Team: Pirates

Key Stats: 82 wRC+, 200.5 DEF runs, 2016 hits

Bill Mazeroski is one of the most decorated second basemen of all-time.  Eight gold gloves, two World Series titles and of course induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He was obviously a phenomenal defender, with great traditional fielding numbers and, unlike Ray Schalk, his advanced fielding numbers back up the reputation.  And yet, his election to the Hall of Fame was met with, not only instant scorn, but a radical change in the Veterans Committee process.  In fact, it wasn’t until Joe Gordon’s election in 2009 that the Veterans Committee successfully inducted another player.  In that time, the Veterans Committee went under several radical changes due to a lot of external pressure.  And all because Mazeroski was inducted.

Mazeroski shares several traits with Ray Schalk.  Great defensive reputation, great traditional defensive numbers and both were offensive black holes.  Maz put up a better slash-line than Schalk (.260/.299/.367), but Schalk’s bar isn’t a high one to clear.  Maz at least displayed decent power, belting over 100 homers while playing most of his career at Forbes Field, one of the most cavernous parks in history.  Unfortunately, Mazeroski never had a single season where he put up league average offensive numbers or better, with his highest wRC+ being 97.  He also had two seasons of 90 and one 95.  Everything else was not even close to league average, meaning that any defensive value he gained was almost entirely wiped out due to his anemic offense.

Of course, Mazeroski had the moment that echoed in several fans’ minds, and is still easily one of the five most iconic moments in baseball history.  Maz’s Game Seven winning homerun off of Ralph Terry is still the only walkoff homerun in Game Seven history, and one of two World Series ending homeruns (Joe Carter’s Game Six shot being the other).  To make it even more special, it happened to one of the teams that people either love or love to hate, the New York Yankees.  To make it even more more special, it occurred right in the middle of another streak of Yankee championships (1958, 1961, 1962) when the Yankees were probably the favorites to win the World Series every year.  But, one moment shouldn’t be what a Hall of Fame case is based on.  That’s how mistakes like this:

If you were to ask me whose induction made me angrier between Morris and Baines, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

keep getting made.

Mazeroski was one of the best defensive second basemen ever, but his offensive shortcomings made him a poor choice for induction.