#41- Cap Anson, 1B

Year Inducted: 1939 (Veterans Committee)

Score: 33138

Record keeping has always been the lifeblood of baseball statistics.  This was, of course, insanely difficult in the era before computers and electronic databases.  In the pre-1900’s era, every team had their own scorekeeper, and there weren’t any overseers from the league.  As such, many errors were made that for a long time were passed down from generation to generation.  Along with that, with baseball in its infancy, rules and stats were constantly in a state of flux.  For example, there was at least one season where walks were counted as hits.  Many historians have gone back and modified the stats for those old time players, but controversy remains.  Some sites will use the old totals, some will use some of the corrections, some use all of the corrections and it can get confusing for studies such as this.  The player that suffers the most from this is Cap Anson.

#44- Ernie Banks, SS

Year Inducted: 1977 (BBWAA, ballot #1, 321/383)

Score: 32367

When the Cubs won the World Series this year, many people felt it was vindication for a lot of their greatest players that either never got to play in the World Series or even a postseason series.  Players like Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins never got to play in the World Series for the Cubs, and the team made absolutely sure to honor their past legends during the World Series.  Unfortunately, the greatest Cub of all-time didn’t live to see his team bring home the trophy.  That player was, of course, Ernie Banks.

#52- Billy Williams, LF

Year Inducted: 1987 (BBWAA, ballot #6, 354/413)

Score: 31005

In the mid-2000’s, Albert Pujols’ consistency with the Cardinals led to the nickname “The Machine”.  For 10 years, Pujols hit 30 homers, had a .300 batting average and drove in 100 runs, with 100 runs scored nearly every year, too.  Very few players can have that sort of consistency.  Hank Aaron was one of those players, as was Eddie Murray.  But, so was Chicago Cubs left fielder Billy Williams, who year after year put up great numbers while toiling for a poor Cubs team.

#76- Mordecai Brown, SP2

Year Inducted: 1949 (Veterans Committee)

Score: 27836

It seems like, ever since the Cubs won the World Series this year, there’s no escaping them.  And, to be honest that’s a good thing.  The Cubs championship was historic, and it’s good for baseball to have the World Series title bounce around a little bit, instead of dynasties forming strong holds on it.  But, and this may surprise a lot of people, they have won the World Series before.  Twice, in fact.  In the late 1900’s, the Cubs were poised to become a dynasty.  They had a strong double play combination and one of the best pitchers of all-time anchoring their staff.  That was, of course, Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown.

#87- Ryne Sandberg, 2B

Year Inducted: 2005 (BBWAA, ballot #3, 393/516)

Score: 26751

Some trades are instantly panned when they are made.  The Red Sox trading Jeff Bagwell away was seen as an overpay since all they got was 22 innings of Larry Anderson.  Ditto with the Cardinals’ trade of Steve Carlton.  And yet, there are times when the seemingly key piece in the trade becomes a huge steal.  In 1982 the Cubs traded Ivan DeJesus to the Phillies for Larry Bowa and a 22-year old infielder.  Bowa, a fairly big name at the time, put up a 66 OPS+ in roughly 500 games for the Cubs while DeJesus put up similar stats for the Phillies.  The real gem in that trade was the middle infielder, Ryne Sandberg, who would put up great numbers and go on to the Hall of Fame.

#90- Ron Santo, 3B

Year Inducted: 2012 (Veterans Committee)

Score: 26476

Who would have ever thought that this day would come?  The Chicago Cubs are World Champions.  An historic and dramatic Game 7 victory brought the Cubs their first World Series title in 108 years.  Within that time, the Cubs have had many Hall of Fame players that either played very little in the postseason, or never played in it at all.  From pitchers like Fergie Jenkins to everyday players like Ernie Banks, many never even competing for the postseason.  Many players that are linked to the Cubs, even if they didn’t play their entire careers there, became icons for the city and franchise, and the recent victory for the Cubs feels bittersweet when cherished members of the franchise like Banks, Harry Caray and of course Ron Santo aren’t here to see it.

#104- Fergie Jenkins, SP4

Year Inducted: 1991 (BBWAA, ballot #3, 334/443)

Score: 24827

There are some players that have heart breaking stories; stories that make people cry and stories that movies should be made out of.  Today’s pitcher lost his mother when she was 52, was divorced once, lost his second wife to an automobile accident, then lost his fiance to suicide while she also killed their 3-year old daughter.  Through it all, instead of going clinically insane he dominated the game and became an ambassador for several charities and the first Canadian in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  That man was Ferguson Jenkins.

#115- Gabby Hartnett, Catcher

Year Inducted: 1955 (BBWAA, 12th ballot, 195/251)

Score: 23651

Sometimes, in order to make it to the Hall of Fame a player needs a great moment.  It’s what has helped players like Bill Mazeroski, Kirby Puckett and Joe Medwick be remembered for all eternity.  Baseball lore from the 1930’s is filled with legendary moments.  Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” in the 1932 World Series, Carl Hubbell’s domination at the 1934 All-Star Game and of course the Homer in the Gloamin.  One man unites all these moments; Cubs legendary catcher Gabby Hartnett.

#129- Billy Herman, 2B

Year Inducted: 1975 (Veterans Committee)

Score: 21160

There are times when some players in the Hall of Fame feel redundant (for lack of a better word).  Many of the First Generation Starting Pitchers, for instance, feel similar.  A fair question to ask is, if Player A is already a Hall of Famer, should Player B be as well, if they have similar numbers?  The answer is not always easy.  If both players had similar competition, or both had similar offensive environments, then they absolutely should be inducted together.  One of the best reasons to not induct Jack Morris (3.90 ERA, 95 ERA-) is that his career has similar numbers (or worse) to players like David Wells (4.13 ERA, 93 ERA-), Dennis Martinez (3.70 ERA, 94 ERA-) or Jim Kaat (3.45 ERA, 93 ERA-), instead of all-time greats like Tom Seaver or Phil Niekro.  A great example of this is Bobby Doerr (covered yesterday) and Billy Herman, today’s player.

#161-Kiki Cuyler, RF

Year Inducted: 1968 (Veterans Committee)

Score: 16463

Players are often talked about as having some combination of 5 basic tools.  Hitting for average, hitting for power, defensive ability, throwing arm and speed.  Of those 5, speed is always a tough one because fans often overvalue it due to the excitement it brings.  It’s rare that a team of speedsters, like last year’s Royals, can be the best team in baseball (getting some power out of Hosmer and Morales, as well as actually getting a good start out of Cueto and a fantastic bullpen helped more than the speed, by the way).  Speed can even make some players more memorable.  Vince Coleman and Maury Wills would be lost to the sands of time, had it not been for their stolen base exploits, for example.  Very few players can combine speed and power.  Willie Mays probably did it best, but before him there was Kiki Cuyler.