Baseball Hall of Fame: Best of the one-vote guys since 1988
Baseball Hall of Fame: First Base
Best—Mike Hargrove, 31.0 fWAR, 88th among first basemen
In his playing days, Mike Hargrove was best known for his lengthy between-pitch ritual. His repeated adjustments of his batting gloves were a precursor to Nomar Garciaparra years later. Hargrove had such an elaborate ritual that he became known as “The Human Rain Delay.”
Hargrove’s best asset as a player was his ability to get on base. He had a .396 career on-base percentage. He wasn’t a good fielder and didn’t hit for the power that you’d expect from a first baseman. In 1982, he played in 160 games, had 705 plate appearances and hit just four home runs. Despite his lack of power, he still had seven above average seasons, including a 5.7-WAR season in 1977.
Others—John Kruk (111th), Cecil Fielder (157th), David Segui (219th), Mike Jorgensen (230th)
In one of those quirky and fun baseball oddities, Cecil and Prince Fielder each finished with exactly 319 career home runs. They were also within 20 career RBI of each other, with the younger Fielder knocking in 1028 and his father driving in 1008. Cecil got one Hall of Fame vote. Will Prince outdo his dad in Hall of Fame voting?
Mike Jorgensen was one of seven players to get a single vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. That’s the most players on one ballot getting just one vote in the last 30 years. Mike Hargrove was also a one-vote guy on the 1991 ballot, as were Richie Hebner, Ellis Valentine, Jeff Burroughs, John Lowenstein, and Burt Hooton. Maybe the writers had a side bet going on who would give a Hall of Fame vote to the most obscure player.