The 5-foot-9, 180-pound shortstop played Major League ball from 1890 to 1911, parts of 21 seasons until retiring at age 41. The finest years of his career were spent with the Chicago Cubs between 1891 and 1898 (predating the infielders that became more famous than he in Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance, though overlapping with them in the National League). He also played for the pugnacious McGraw with the New York Giants for several years between 1904 and 1907 and bookended his Giants commitment with stays with the Brooklyn Dodgers, including a 1910-13 managerial stint. (more…)

Good old Sam Breadon was in the forefront of one of the greatest eras in the history of that team. He owned the franchise from 1920 through 1947, and on his watch the Cardinals won nine pennants and six World Series championships. Some of the greatest players of all time, from Rogers Hornsby and Dizzy Dean, to Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter and Red Schoendienst, wore redbirds uniform during his ownership. He presided over the colorful Gas House Gang teams of the 1930s and he supervised Branch Rickey‘s assembling of the first complete farm system. (more…)

Unfortunately, the 2005 season would not prove kind to Rolen. After getting off to a slow start (he was still hitting just .226 as late as April 23), his bat was just starting to come around when he slammed into then-Dodger first baseman Hee-Seop Choi in a play at first base on May 10. The reaction was immediate. Rolen grabbed his shoulder and hunched over near the base, clearly in significant pain. He would be taken out of the game and placed on the disabled list, and although he made an attempted return to action on June 18, he was clearly not the same hitter. In addition to showing hardly any power, Rolen also let loose the occasional blood-curdling scream when he took an especially vicious cut. The shoulder was obviously not healed, and he was again shut down in late July, this team to pursue season-ending surgery.

Although Rolen’s 2006 season, the year that saw him get his first and (to date) only World Series ring, was something of a bounce back effort, he’s never fully shaken the effects of a weakened shoulder. Since turning 30 in that 2005 season, Rolen’s career numbers have taken quite a dip, albeit with a few solid seasons mixed in. All told, he’s a .274/.344/.447 hitter since turning 30, and it’s probable that the shoulder issues claim a huge role in that drop-off in production. Certainly it’s unreasonable to expect that post-30 Rolen could match the numbers he put up prior to 2005, but it’s hard to see that much of a (sudden) decline not being largely due to the injury.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Here’s something to think about, though: even with Rolen’s offensive production taking such a hit in his post-30 seasons, it still looks as though he has a good chance of getting some Hall of Fame votes. He may no longer compare favorably to the very best hitting third basemen of all-time, but he’s still more than respectable in that department, and as previously mentioned, his glove is absolutely first rate. That should be good enough for him to sneak right around the hulking Choi and into Cooperstown anyway.

Consider that in terms of UZR, Rolen has amassed the fourth most defensive production all-time among third basemen behind only the legendary Brooks Robinson, the not as legendary Buddy Bell, and Adrian Beltre, who probably doesn’t get as much attention as Rolen does for his outstanding defense — the two are literally neck-and-neck in career UZR totals. It’s not an unreasonable thing to argue that anyone who plays his position that well is worthy of some kind of Hall of Fame consideration, and it’s not like Rolen hasn’t done a little hitting, too.

Even with the decline in production since 2005, Rolen is still a hitter with a career OPS of .855, a wOBA of .368, and a wRC+ of 122, all of which point to a player who was very dangerous in the batter’s box. Maybe it’s no longer fair to compare his hitting to Mike Schmidt (a comparison Rolen — when first drafted by the Phillies — was often saddled with), but that shouldn’t change the fact that he’s still been very capable with the bat over the course of his career.

The most important thing to consider is that in terms of overall production, Rolen has been so good defensively that his hitting is more than good enough to qualify him as a Hall of Famer. Using FanGraphs’ data and sorting the statistics of all qualifying third basemen in the history of the game, Rolen’s current WAR total of 75.0 puts him 11th on the list behind 10 Hall of Famers. Even if this is Rolen’s last season, and he hinted back in April that it very well could be, he’s already done enough to be enshrined forever in Cooperstown. Just imagine where he might have ended up if it weren’t for that collision at first base in 2005.

Can’t get enough of Spencer? Check out his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @shendricks221.

Former Kansas City Royal George Brett has had a busy summer. Here he throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the 2012 All Star Game at Kauffman Stadium. Two weeks later he was one of 45 living Hall of Famers returning to Cooperstown. Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports via US PRESSWIRE

COOPERSTOWN–They are different people from different backgrounds and they played in different eras, but each year the majority of living Hall of Famers return to this upstate New York community of about 2,300 people that so reveres them. Cooperstown has been described as a timeless, never-changing place and there is a lot of truth in that.

On induction weekend every Hall of Famer is treated specially and for the most part every one of them appreciates the praise that comes his way. Being chosen as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame means you are a very rare player. Of the 297 members, only 207 are players. The rest are managers, executives, umpires and the like. (more…)

Only a few months ago one of the greatest hitters in Major League history was wondering if he would be able to speak in public again, as he was doing on a recent morning in Cooperstown in connection with a Baseball Hall of Fame event, if he would be able to coach his San Diego State University team, or if he would be around for his wife and family.

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Odds are that Rose signed more autographs than any other baseball figure throughout the weekend, if only because he set up shop at one store, Safe  At Home on Main Street, and appeared three days running. Most other willing Hall of Famers signed once, or twice, max. Probably no Hall of Famer signed more autographs in his life than the late Bob Feller. Feller maintained his active penmanship act into his 90s.

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Crying a little bit is par for the course on induction Sunday on the grounds behind the Clark Sports Center. It is almost as big a tradition as the return of Hall of Famers–what member Joe Morgan calls the most exclusive fraternity in sports–to bask in the admiration of those who love the game.

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McCarver’s upbringing was in Memphis, Tennessee, but you won’t detect much of a southern accent during his Fox national baseball broadcasts these days. Broadcasting tends to be a verbal leveling field for speech patterns. As a player, McCarver was solid as one of those catchers who are always on top of what’s going on and handling a pitching staff.

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Don’t laugh. Compared to the happenings in the trial, it seems quite possible that lawn-cutting and trash-toting might rank higher on the entertainment list for the jurors than the trial that will make a huge difference in how the former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees pitcher is perceived by baseball fans and how his legacy is treated by Hall of Fame voters.

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Or not.

There are no buildings with “Abner Doubleday Slept Here” signs. There are no footprints in the sidewalks to follow saying General Doubleday walked this way. That’s because he didn’t. He probably never set foot in Cooperstown. He might not have heard of it. He probably never saw a baseball game, much less invented the sport. The one pleasing tie to Doubleday in town is “Doubleday Field.”

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