Should Roger Maris be in the Hall of Fame?

[rurallib]

Poll question: Should Roger Maris be in the Hall of Fame?

I know, I know sports question. But I am curious.
If it is a Hall of Fame, few baseball players were or are as famous as Maris.
Me? I think he should easily be in the Hall.
It was 50 years ago yesterday he hit #61 to become the single season home run king.

[HopeHoops]

1. How many touchdowns did he get?

:sarcasm:

[Chan790]

2. He didn't have the substantial sustained career-long success to merit it.

That's just my opinion...one season or a brief career of great success shouldn't get you into Cooperstown. If it did, we'd have to discuss whether people like Brady Anderson and Tony Conigliaro merit it too.

Longevity alone or fame isn't it either, there are people they've let in recently who clearly don't belong there because they're simply not in the prime echelon of performance.

[siligut]

3. He is always in the crossword puzzles

Shouldn't that be enough? Really, I voted yes, induct the guy already.

[tblue]

4. Yeah! He's legendary!

I don't know the HOF criteria, but Maris was something of a household name and has a great story. He was a heck of a talent even if he was not the warmest fuzziest guy with the press.

I've been to Cooperstown but I don't recall if there's anything on Maris there. He and Mantle should have a special section about that year. There's a cool one of Ichiro, for example, just because he's, well, Ichiro.

[rurallib]

5. Folks who say that Maris did not have the stats forget that when he was

traded to St. Louis, he was the piece that turned them into a pennant winner.
No he didn't hit the homers any more, but he was a solid bat and an out standing fielder.
I believe a hand injury in '62 muted his power, but he was still a good player.

[fishwax]

6. he doesn't have the career numbers, but might get in someday

1961 was a season for the ages, but his career totals (while solid) aren't hall-worth, imo. At .260, his career average would be the lowest of any outfielder in the hall. Most in the hall are over .300. Other than Reggie Jackson (.262), the next lowest is .279.

He hit 61 homers in 1961, but only had two other seasons with 30+ and wound up with a total of 260. 300 used to be considered a kind of magic number for the hall of fame (back before the steroids era). Some have gotten in with less than that, but most are from the dead-ball era. Those from the live ball era with under 300 are usually high average hitters (like Tony Gwynn).

Maris wound up with 850 RBIs. Few outfielders from the live ball era (and even fewer from after WWII) made it in with less than 1000.

Maris had an outstanding year in 1960 and an unbelievable year in 1961, but outside of those years he never led the league in a meaningful statistical category. Only one other year did he have more than 21 home runs or 80 RBIs. He wasn't a terror on the base paths like Rickey Henderson or Lou Brock (outfielders whose HR and RBI numbers are, while better than Maris's, lower than the magic numbers), and while he did win one gold glove, he didn't have a reputation as an outstanding defensive player.

All in all he was a great player for two years and one of the best seasons in history in 1961, but didn't have a hall of fame career.

[rurallib]

10. two other arguments that many make:

1) he was seldom walked in 1961. Someone named Mantle hit behind him
2) 1961 was the first expansion year which left many pitching staffs watered down.

Still I find it odd that the (legitimate) owner of what is probably baseball's most cherished stat is not just not in the hall, but mostly ignored.
BTW yesterday was the 50th anniversary of #61.

[fishwax]

11. that's true -- I've heard those too

There's no doubt he benefited from having Mantle behind him in the best years of his career. 1961 was actually his career high in walks, but I'm still sure that with Mantle coming up he saw pitches that he wouldn't have seen otherwise. I've heard the expansion argument too, but I find it hard to give it too much credit. The man hit 61 home runs in a season. That's an amazing feat, and no argument can change that fact. I don't think his career numbers merit the hall of fame, but attempts to diminish the greatness of 1961 are suspect, imo.

"BTW yesterday was the 50th anniversary of #61."

I didn't know yesterday was the anniversary. It is rather strange how quiet it was.

[Sanity Claws]

7. His record would still be standing

if the ones who broke it had not been using steroids.

That's way beyond one great year.
That's a year that set records and that no drugged up man ever broke. IMHO.

[Submariner]

8. Maris, the Yankee, has the best non-jacked-up-on-roids Home Run record

so of course he should be in the Hall of Fame. And that comes from a Red Sox Nation fan.

[rurallib]

9. believe it or not, he is stil #1 in the American League

Sosa, McGwire and Bonds were all NLers.
(and Henry Aaron is still #1 lifetime in my book)

[Skittles]

12. my dad named my brother after him

yes he should be in the hall of fame

[Odin2005]

13. This Fargoan says YES! He's still the TRUE home run king!

All the rest that surpassed him did so doped up.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Maris was a 2 time MVP

However, I don't think he was great over a long enough time frame to be a Hall of Famer.

[WinkyDink]

15. Is this a serious query? OF COURSE, HE SHOULD!

[Demoiselle]

16. Yes he should...

I also heartily recommend the movie "61."

[era veteran]

17. Yes

I have two of his baseball cards from '62?. The #1 card issued that year.
People forget that he had to beat Ruth who was firmly #1 in people's minds. Folks wanted an asterisk by his name because the season was longer than Ruths. Man that summer was a way back.

[provis99]

18. How many road wives did he score with?