“Other Views” writer Artemus Ward refers to Sammy Sosa as a Hall of Famer (Tribune, Aug. 14), and indeed, the sportswriters will probably elect him because of his 500-plus home runs. But that doesn’t make him a Hall of Famer. His career, just like Mark McGwire’s and Reggie Jackson’s, has been of mediocre-to-journeyman status at best, with a few exceptional seasons.
Lifetime batting averages and total strikeouts: Sosa, .277 and 2,074 strikeouts, McGwire, .267 and 1,478, Jackson, .262 and 2,597. Those numbers reveal their mediocrity. And none of them could run, throw, or field more than adequately. Outfielders and first basemen with these numbers merit no consideration for the Hall.
Five hundred homers has long been out of line as a criterion for Hall of Fame ranking, just as 100 RBIs in a season is no longer that great a feat. There are three to four times as many dingers hit per game and at least 30 percent more runs scored per game than there were only 40 years ago.
But “Total Baseball” (7th edition) ranks Frank Thomas No. 62 on its all-time list, while it ranks George Brett, a .305 hitter and a superb third baseman, No. 65 and Joe Jackson, whom Ty Cobb called “the best there ever was,” No. 72. So much for the “experts.”
