Baseball Hall of Fame: Best of the one-vote guys since 1988

OAKLAND, CA - 1989: Tony Phillips of the Oakland Athletics runs the bases during a game in the 1989 season at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - 1989: Tony Phillips of the Oakland Athletics runs the bases during a game in the 1989 season at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
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Baseball Hall of Fame
29 Apr 1993: Outfielder Lenny Dykstra of the Philadelphia Phillies stands on the field during a game against the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.

Baseball Hall of Fame: Center Field

Best—Chet Lemon, 52.0 fWAR, 24th among center fielders

Chet Lemon became well known in Chicago and Detroit for his hard-nosed play in center field, but he came up as an infielder. Legend has it that he once ranged so far to his left on a ground ball from his position at third base that he ended up at the second base position. The next day, White Sox manager Chuck Tanner told him he would be moving to the outfield because “if you stay an infielder you’re gonna kill somebody.” It would prove to be a right decision.

With the White Sox in 1978 and 1979, Lemon was a two-time All-Star. He made a third All-Star game as a member of the Detroit Tigers in their World Series-winning year in 1984. That team is being recognized this year with the induction of Jack Morris and Alan Trammel to the Hall of Fame through the veterans committee. Another 1984 Tiger, Lou Whitaker, has a strong case for the Baseball Hall of Fame as well.

Lemon doesn’t have the Baseball Hall of Fame case that Whitaker does, but he was a good center fielder for a long time. Based on FanGraphs WAR, he’s within a few wins above replacement of Jimmy Wynn, Mike Cameron, and Cesar Cedeno. They could win all battle it out for center fielder of a mythical “Hall of Very Good” team.

Others—Lenny Dysktra (59th), Darin Erstad (93rd)

Dykstra was part of two iconic World Series teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was a bright-eyed, second-year center fielder with the 1986 New York Mets team that beat the Red Sox in an epic World Series that turned on a ground ball between Bill Buckner’s legs. He hit .296/.345/.519, with four runs scored and two home runs in the series.

Seven years later, he was the tough-as-nails veteran on the 1993 “No Fear” Philadelphia Phillies. That team lost the World Series in six games when Mitch Williams gave up a walk-off home run to dancing Joe Carter. Dykstra hit .348/.500/.913, with nine runs, four homers, and eight RBI in that series.

After having a tremendous success that year, including finishing second in NL MVP voting, he was out of baseball after just three more seasons. His post-career life has been a wild mix of drug use, prison, financial losses, and a quest for redemption and forgiveness from the people he burned along the way.