MLB: Hall of Famers that do not belong
By Mark Howe
Leading off the discussion is Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski. His bottom-of-the-ninth, World Series-clinching home run in 1960 is among baseball’s top iconic moments. But would anyone know who he was if not for that moment?
Mazeroski didn’t hit for average; his career average is .260 and he never his .300 in a single season. (In fairness, he did amass 2,016 hits in a 17-year career.) He didn’t hit for power; 138 career homers and 294 doubles. He didn’t walk much, but to be fair he didn’t strike out much, either.
In fact, looking at his career, Mazeroski was quite similar to another glove first second baseman in the Kansas City Royals Frank White. While White was on the ballot for one year, Mazeroski was enshrined despite similar production and the same defensive reputation. So, what got him in to Cooperstown?
The thing that got Bill Mazeroski into the Hall Of Fame is his glove and his popularity with Pirate Nation; Mazeroski finished his career with a fielding percentage of .983, and anyone who ends a World Series with a walk-off home run in a seventh game would have to intentionally give away his status as a hometown hero.
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