Acorn showdown: Who was snubbed by the Hall of Fame vote?
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If John never recovered from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on his pitching elbow, and if he didn't win even one of those 164 games after that radical procedure, the game of baseball would be very different.
Just ask A.J. Burnett if Tommy John surgery saved his career. Burnett signed a fiveyear contract for $82.5 million from the Yankees in December.
Future Hall of Famers John Smoltz and Mariano Rivera have had the surgery; so have former All-Stars Ryan Dempster, Jose Canseco and Eric Gagne.
Yet John, the man who has a surgery named after him—yes, that Tommy John surgery—is not a member of the Hall of Fame.
This is an outrage.
In this, his final year on the ballot, John received only 171 votes (31.7 percent), far below the required 75 percent needed to enter the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Looking at his career stats, he should've been a shoo-in years ago.
John has more wins (288) than any eligible pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. He has more career wins than Hall of Famers Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins and Carl Hubbell. Randy Johnson has 295 wins, and he'll probably get elected in his first year of eligibility. Pretty nice company, huh?
If John didn't miss the entire 1975 season—or need the surgery at all—he would have easily eclipsed the 300-win plateau, which typically is the voters' magic number for automatic entry through the Hall's doors.
Remarkably, he had all three of his 20-win seasons after his surgery, with the Dodgers in 1977 (207) and with the Yankees in 1979 (219) and 1980 (229). He was a fourtime AllStar in three different decades—1968, 1978, 1979 and 1980.
And it's often overlooked, but the former southpaw went 6-3 with a 2.65 ERA in the postseason, including a 2-1 mark in three World Series.
John started his career in 1963 with the Indians, and he also pitched for the White Sox, Angels and Athletics.
When he returned to the mound after the surgery in 1976, he went 10-10 with the Dodgers and was named the National League's Comeback Player of the Year.
Think of his comeback this way: John's 164 post-surgery wins are one fewer than the legendary Sandy Koufax had in his entire career.
An argument can be made about many players deserving of the Hall of Fame—notably Andre Dawson and Jack Morris—but John underwent a radical medical procedure that could have ended his career, and his determination and talent helped him thrive.
Contact Eliav Appelbaum at eliav@theacorn.com.
A decent case could be made for several guys getting the proverbial Hall Call from the baseball scribes, notably pitcher Bert Blyleven, a 287-game winner, slugging outfielder Andre Dawson and do-it-all speedster Tim Raines.
For my money, though, the guy getting stiffed is starting pitcher Jack Morris, who received only 44 percent of the latest Hall of Fame vote. A player needs at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected.
Remember Mount Morris? That intense scowl. His nasty splitter. The flowing mustache.
Morris won 254 regular-season games and four world titles during his 18-year career. He was a five-time All-Star—starting a trio of Mid-Summer Classics—who posted 20 or more victories on three occasions.
According to BaseballReference.com, the guy's 162-game per-season average was 16wins and 241 innings pitched.
A true workhorse who went on the disabled list only twice in his career, Morris struck out 2,478 batters and holds the MLB record with 14 consecutive Opening Day starts. He also threw a ton of wild pitches, 206 to be exact.
In crunch time, Morris was usually money. A 7-4 career postseason record and 3.80 playoff ERA serve as proof, as does his 1991 World Series MVP trophy.
Morris started 13 career postseason games for the Tigers, Twins and Blue Jays, and finished five of them. He worked as staff ace for two consecutive World Series winners—'91 Twins and '92 Blue Jays.
And, Morris won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980s. That, for me, is difficult to believe, but it's true—the all-time '80's win list reads Morris (162), Dave Stieb (140) and Bob Welch (137).
Why does Morris get overlooked by the voters? I don't know. Several of my buddies—average Americans with pintsized baseball brains—think I'm crazy for backing Morris.
Perhaps he was a complete jerk to anyone who dared cross his path. Or maybe he was way too nice to people, especially sick kids, and voters couldn't stomach it. We can eliminate facial hair and whirling fist-pumps as the culprits because Morris was a rock star in those departments.
Who knows why these people vote the way they do for their sacred Hall. Babe Ruth didn't receive 100 percent of the vote. Neither did Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron or Willie Mays. No one does. It's laughable.
Let me put it this way: If my team needed to win one game and I could choose between Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson or Morris, I'm taking Mount Morris. The other three will be in the Hall of Fame. Morris should be, too.
Contact Stephen Dorman at sdorman@theacorn.com.
