Hall of Fame: Worst One and Done Snubs in MLB History
By Adam Tabakin
Rick Reuschel – SP – 1972-1991 – 0.4% in 1997
Rick Reuschel doesn’t really stand out. He won 20 games only once, in 1977, and never struck out more than 168 in a season. He was durable, though, and put up great value for the Cubs, with whom he spent much of his career, by making at least 35 starts each year from 1973-1980. Reuschel won a respectable 214 games in his career against 191 losses, putting up a 3.37 ERA and 114 ERA+.
The Cubs sent Reuschel to the Yankees during the 1981 season, and he appeared in his first World Series that season. As a testament to Reuschel’s longevity, he returned to the World Series in 1989 as the ace of the San Francisco Giants at the age of 40. That season he made his third all-star team and posted a sub-3.00 ERA while garnering Cy Young award votes for the third time in his career.
Big Daddy put up an impressive 70.0 bWAR and 68.2 fWAR in his 19 seasons. Big Daddy was more of a career accumulator than a bona fide star, but one can’t ignore the fact that there is value in being able to accumulate. Actually, the voters did ignore the fact, and he received just two votes in 1997.