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The National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 has been announced, arsenic CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner volition beryllium heading to Cooperstown to beryllium enshrined everlastingly alongside the game’s greats.
While the shot satellite celebrates these 3 astonishing ballplayers, determination are immoderate who person existent cases for the Hall of Fame that saw different twelvemonth spell by without getting a changeable astatine entering the Hall.
One of them is Kenny Lofton, the six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover who spent 17 seasons successful MLB racking up 2,428 hits and a 68.4 WAR implicit 2,103 games.
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Now, erstwhile the time comes similar Tuesday, erstwhile the Hall of Fame ballots are counted and results travel in, Lofton isn’t rubbed the incorrect way. He knows that aft not securing astatine slightest 5% of the ballot successful 2013, he’s nary longer eligible to beryllium voted connected regularly.
But there’s nary doubting that Lofton inactive feels wounded that helium didn’t get what helium believes is simply a just changeable astatine being successful Cooperstown.
"I didn’t get recognition for what I did. It’s kinda sad. I inactive don’t get credit," Lofton told Fox News Digital portion discussing his relation arsenic an advisor with Sluggball, a reimagined attack to the crippled of baseball.
"I tin lone accidental each the clip that, from my epoch and my time, I did what I was expected to do. I thought astatine that time, it was precise important for maine to bash my occupation arsenic a teammate, and that was an important portion of the game. Now you look astatine it arsenic maine doing my occupation and maine being a squad player, it kinda wounded me. Instead of maine being selfish similar different guys, the 3 and 4 hitters, it was each astir them eating. I was serving, and they were eating, but I didn’t get the recognition for serving the nutrient to them."
Lofton’s archetypal twelvemonth connected the Hall of Fame ballot was possibly 1 of the astir stacked ballots of each time, though nary surviving inductees were had for the archetypal clip since 1965. There were 10 players, including Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza and Edgar Martinez, who yet got the 75% of votes needed to get in, but guys similar Lofton and Bernie Williams were near disconnected the ballot the adjacent twelvemonth due to the fact that astatine slightest 5% of votes is required to determination on.
And similar Lofton mentioned, the epoch of shot helium played in, infamously known arsenic the Steroid Era, had players similar Barry Bonds (36.2%), Mark McGwire (16.9%), Sammy Sosa (12.5%) and Rafael Palmeiro (8.8%) besides connected the ballot with him.
Ichiro besides played successful that era, entering MLB astatine the precocious property of 27 successful 2001 and inactive putting up 3,089 hits implicit 19 seasons. Only 1 Hall of Fame elector near him disconnected their ballot despite, overmuch similar Derek Jeter, determination being a precise beardown lawsuit for a unanimous vote.
Lofton loves that Ichiro got his due, and the aforesaid goes for Tim Raines, whose 23-year vocation saw a speedy outfielder hitting for mean alternatively than location runs. But helium feels he’s successful the aforesaid conversation.
"That’s what hurts maine to spot this and seeing Ichiro with the accidental to show, OK, here’s immoderate smaller guys who are not each astir location runs tin get successful the crippled and past you comparison my numbers to Ichiro, we’re not excessively acold off," Lofton explained.
Making that case, Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is simply a people galore voters usage to spot if a subordinate should beryllium successful the Hall of Fame. Ichiro had a 60.0 WAR, portion Lofton was astatine 68.4 implicit his career.
And erstwhile you presumption their vocation play averages broadside by side, Lofton was amended with stolen bases (48 to 31), location runs (10 to 7), RBI (60 to 48), and runs (118 to 87). Ichiro beats Lofton successful batting mean (.311 to .299), but lone by 2 successful hits (189 to 187).
Then, determination is sabermetrician Jay Jaffe’s "The Cooperstown Casebook," which outlines the JAWS metric to find who should and shouldn’t beryllium successful the Hall of Fame. JAWS is simply a player’s WAR averaged with their 7-year highest WAR.
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Lofton is 10th all-time for halfway fielders with a 55.9 JAWS mark. Every subordinate supra him is successful the Hall of Fame but for Mike Trout (fifth), who inactive plays, and Carlos Beltran (ninth), who remains connected the ballot and conscionable missed getting successful this twelvemonth with 70.3% of votes.
Richie Ashburn, Andrew Dawson, Billy Hamilton, Larry Doby, Earl Averill, Max Carey and Kirby Puckett are each players with a lesser JAWS standing that are successful the Hall.
Finally, Lofton's quality to bargain bases – he's 15th all-time with 622 stolen bags – made him a menace erstwhile helium got connected base. In fact, he's 1 of lone 9 players with 600 vocation steals and 600 extra-base hits, yet he's the lone 1 not successful Cooperstown.
"All I’m asking from radical is look astatine my numbers a small spot more," Lofton said. "… That was each I wanted due to the fact that erstwhile you look astatine the stats and what radical say, I person 1 of the highest WARs successful history, particularly for halfway fielders."
If the numbers are not enough, Lofton spoke of his peers reminiscing astir his clip successful the league.
"I talked to [Hall of Famer] Barry Larkin and helium says, ‘During the epoch of erstwhile you played, Kenny, you were the champion happening retired there,’" Lofton said. "He said, ‘No 1 wanted to woody with you erstwhile you stepped astatine the sheet oregon erstwhile you were successful the outfield.’ That made maine consciousness bully for different subordinate to accidental that astir me.
"When David Justice during the World Series, helium said, ‘Kenny, our main happening was keeping you disconnected the bases.’ He said, ‘We didn’t person a large meeting. We had a gathering that said support that damn Kenny Lofton disconnected the bases and we volition triumph this series.’ So, that made maine consciousness bully to perceive that benignant of worldly from the players you played with."
There is inactive a mode for Lofton to get into the Hall, arsenic the Contemporary Committee votes successful December 2025. But the ballot is lone 8 candidates, wherever 75% of votes indispensable besides beryllium tallied to participate the Hall.
Lofton already went done that, though, successful 2022 erstwhile Fred McGriff was elected by the committee. McGriff finished his 19-year vocation with 493 homers and a 52.6 WAR.
Again, Lofton isn’t knocking immoderate of these players for getting their plaque successful the Hall. All helium wants is the information helium feels helium deserves.
Because it’s gotten to the constituent wherever helium questions if his efforts were worthy it.
"Sometimes, I look backmost astatine it like, ‘Dude, did I play the crippled the close way?’" Lofton questioned. "People are getting each these accolades for what they’re doing now. I’m like, hold a minute, what I did I conjecture was thing astatine this constituent looking astatine however they comprehend the crippled and however they look astatine it. How they look astatine it is leadoff hitter means nothing. I thought leadoff guy, that’s what you wanted your feline to bash due to the fact that helium was helping the team. RBI means tally batted in, truthful each these large guys getting each these accolades due to the fact that of their runs batted successful and they get praise from runs batted in. But however would that hap if a feline didn’t get connected basal for him to get that RBI? And helium didn’t get credit, it’s sad.
"All I privation radical to bash is look astatine my numbers and compare. And erstwhile they accidental during your epoch successful your presumption oregon whatever, were you the best? At this point, they’re looking astir that. I conscionable privation the committee to look astatine it and say, ‘He’s the champion astatine it.’ But I don’t know. That’s not connected me, but look astatine my numbers and comparison maine to radical who are already successful the Hall of Fame."
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