Jack Curry has covered baseball for the The New York Times for 18 seasons. Author You may change your billing preferences at any time in the Customer Center or call If Aaron Judge eclipses him, itll be quite an accomplishment. Or in life, for that matter. Barry Bonds was trained to be a baseball player since he was a child. 1961 was the same season that Mantle missed time due to the botched steroid injection he received during the season. I think what his critics are saying is that his body of work isnt sufficient to be a Hall of Famer. career falls short of Hall of Fame standards, but I am impressed by the knowledgeable fans who believe Maris belongs. In 1961, Maris did not homer in his first ten games, but by the end of May he had hit 12. Mazeroski, like Maris, was a.260 career hitter, but hit just 138 home runs in 17 seasons and never finished higher than eighth in the MVP voting. In 15 years on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, Maris peaked at 43.1% of the vote in 1988, his 15th and final year of BBWAA eligibility. WebRoger Maris was a really good baseball player who has only a small number of Hall of Fame years, including one that included a Hall of Fame accomplishment. Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. The next season the American League added two teams and expanded the schedule to 162 games. To paraphrase: It does no good telling people that Henderson and Seaver were no good. Way back there! But claiming he is ANYWHERE near Kaline or Clemente with the glove is just silly. He previously worked for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and Major League Baseball Advanced Media. This could be it! Last night, Aaron Judge surpassed Roger Maris for both the New York Yankees' single-season home run record as well as the American League home run record. We are delighted that you'd like to resume your subscription. Shpigel received a bachelor's degree in English and journalism from Emory University and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. "If I never hit another home run - this is the one they can never take away from me.". I'm going to back away from your examples of Kell and Mazeroski and replace them with Baines and Hunter. Read2 hours ago | Michael Doran, Article viewed iconAn icon to mark the viewed articles Collector since 1978. Mariss career stats will continue to be evaluated by future veterans committees, so for those pulling for him, theres always a possibility. A Gold Glove recipient in 1960, Maris career is best remembered for hitting 61 home runs in 1961, shattering a single-season home run record previously held by Babe Ruth. 2023 www.desertsun.com. He is still the single season non juiced HR record holder. What I would like to see is retired players vote for induction in to the Hall of Fame. Or my brothers friend. There have been other Veteran's Committee selectees that compare favorably to Maris. There are players in the HOF that didnt have anywhere near the impact on Baseball & the fan excitement that Roger did, I know b/c I was alive. "We've only got a handful of people sitting out in left field," Rizzuto continued, " but in right field, man, it's hogged out there. I don't talk to people about baseball. Roger Maris played Major League Ball (MLB) for 12 seasons, from 1957-1968. Many players who were only slightly above average and for a short time were enshrined in those years. the latest updates from spring training. The arguments against Maris include his struggles with durability and longevity, with his 1,463 games played being on the very low end for a candidate. 2021-08-12. Great points & I agree with you about the Ford Prick comment! Does he deserve to be in? I do not agree with every decision the Veterans Committee makes but I am appreciative there is a mechanism to get guys in after the Voters have spoken for 10 years time. RB Roger Craig. Agree. Unless otherwise specified my posts represent only my opinion, not fact. He can be reached atpwdonovan22@yahoo.com. Or have my sister do it. But, Barry Bonds was taught by some of the best baseball players in the world. So, according to you only people who are alive at the time can comment on history? Roger Maris goes deep in the 3rd inning off Milt Pappas, a blast almost 400 feet into the bleachers in right field giving him 59 round trippers for the season, passing Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg, but two short of breaking Babe Ruth's single season home run record. I'm sure it lead to his career being so short. Roger was an outstanding outfielder if you remember the 1962 World Series against he made a play in the rightfield corner holding Willie Mays at third to preserve a Yankee World Championship. A two-time Most Valuable Player (1960, 61) and seven-time All-Star, Maris starred from 1957-68 with the Indians, Athletics, Yankees and Cardinals. Kind of like Tiger Woods. Considering the constant crap Maris put up with from badgering sportswriters & Ford Frick, Ill disagree with you! Maybe I'm the last person on the planet who didn't know this. Lets all return every book on Abraham Lincoln or new works on World War II, because the authors werent alive then. In 1961, the defending American League Most Valuable Player won a second straight MVP. Reynolds also became the first pitcher in AL history to toss two no-hitters in the same season in 1951. I just watched 61 the other day. You judge a player by the impact he had in his time. I really don't think there are fixes to a lot of the problem in these industries. Bunch of players ahead of Maris in the HOF discussion. I don't know, but that's the sort of conversation we should have had. The right fielder, if he's in the frame at all, when the ball is hit he is standing about 1 foot from the wall. Spencer. He played for four different teams (Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals). The 1961 and 1962 seasons were unique due to the expansion, which represented the greatest immediate dilution relative to the existing talent pool in the majors and the growing total pool of talent (both expansion outside the US and core population growth). I don't think anybody can argue reasonably that it isn't. Submitted On September 02, 2011. Position players spend 1/18 of a game hitting and half of it holding down the field of play. When he hit the 61st home run I screamed so loud I had a headache for about a week." During his career Roger Maris never received the credit he deserved. One could surmise I stole the money for that card because paying that much is a statistical anomaly. Its highly unlikely that Maris will be elected by this committee in December, but his career should be remembered for more than just his very high points. It broke Babe Ruths 34-year single a double by Willie Mays on the squishy turn in right field, holding Matty Alou at third base with the tying run, just before Willie McCovey lined out to Bobby Richardson to end the Series. Or that Jose Molina or David Wells knows enough about baseball history to know who should get a plaque? Even the stars benefited from expansion, which was rational reaction to the growth of the talent pool. And, just as importantly to me, inducting Maris would be an indirect way to acknowledge that not only did Maris set that record, he holds that record to this day. He was a quiet family type guy that wanted little to do with the press & I think that hurt him! This last is simply not true. By the end of his 12-year career, Maris went on to win three World Series Championships, two MVPs, and a Gold Glove Award, as well as being named to 7 All-Star teams. David Ortiz could be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, but there will be trends worth noting even if he, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others fall short. He joined The Times in 2000 as the Mets beat writer. You have every right to admire Maris, to be his fan, to argue for his Hall of Fame election. Sure, everybody knows OF him but how is he not in the Hall? No one broke that 61 HR record until the Steroid Era & sadly those cheaters will probably be inducted eventually! He was critical for 5 pennants and 2 world series for Yankees. I have seen plenty of highlights and video footage. You could probably do the same with 90%+ of those in the hall. As we show in our 100 Greatest Right Fielders rankings, Evans is well deserving: https://baseballegg.com/all-time-player-rankings/baseballs-greatest-right-fielders-of-all-time/, Mick you have made absolutely fantastic observations. And in the early 1960s, if you drove in a lot of runs and played for the pennant-winning team, you basically won the MVP. To use an analogy in the sportscard world - I bought my most expensive card ever last year which was 3x more than I ever paid for a card. Honestly I don't care one way or the other. Maris would be a very unusual selection for the Hall of Fame. I have wavered on this myself. The HOF has really gone downhill and has become the hall of pretty good so Maris should be in. And a melee broke out as fans scuffled and scrambled, fighting for the ball and the $5,000 reward. According to reports, the reason why Roger Maris could not be inducted into the Hall of Fame was that he could not receive the vote threshold from the sixteen Given the number of legitimate reporters covering the race between him and Mantle and the number of fans attending the games, there is no possible way any of it could have been staged. It is possible that any player since steroids were invented cheated. Should say North Dakota, sorry about the error. Not, who among Kaat, Parker, and Garvey should be in, but rather if we're considering players from that era why aren't we looking at Grich, Nettles, Bell, Randolph, Dwight Evans, or Reuschel? With a resume such as his, and the attention brought to Maris by Aaron Judge, has left many fans asking: why is Maris not in the Hall of Fame? Already a subscriber? I wouldn't mind players getting into the HOF for extraordinary accomplishments.. Maris, Mattingly, Munson, Garvey, Dave Parker, Dale Murphy (another back to back MVP winner like Maris was), Keith Hernandez ~ all of them MVP's ~ all of them huge stars in their time. 500 homer's and 3k hits arent the only qualifications certainly. The voice of Phil Rizzuto broadcast the moment. However, he had many skills that were hidden. He was an MVP the year before he broke the HR record (and the year he broke it too). But all Roger Maris was known for was 61 swings that produced 61 homers in 1961. @ElvisP said: No, for decades the RBI stat (and homers) were extremely important to MVP voters. He batted third in their lineup. Last Friday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum named baseball legend Roger Maris to their 10-person Golden Days Era Committee ballot. Holy Cow, he did it! Why has he been passed over? Should Roger Maris (left) be in the Hall of Fame with Mickey Mantle? Maris broke babe Ruths single season home run record, but then you never hear much else in fact, it puts me very much in mind of Brady Anderson in the mid 90s. My Man Taxerman, a faithful Yankees fan, also reinforced my observation that Maris was a superb right fielder. If Joe Namath is in the Football HOF, then I believe Roger Maris should also be in the baseball HOF. However, the stories were not true. WebNot because he did or didn't use steroids (the HoF is full of cheaters, and many of the legends of the game played at a time when some of the best players in the country were barred from the sport for being black), but because he simply did not have a HoF-worthy career. We could all stipulate that anybody who experienced an injury during the grueling season could have done it. But what makes you think Chet Lemon would know who belongs in the Hall of Fame? He played his final Major League game at age 34, retiring with a career .260/.345/.476 slash line. Still other readers say that Mariss relatively short career should not Yes, clearly they got every fan in the stadium to react at the same time and be in on the scam. This video would be real easy to edit too. But, sportswriters didnt know that in 1960. And that lots of people hated him for the rest of his career for having the nerve to break Babe Ruths record. He was a two time (consecutive) American League MVP, a seven time All Star (1959-1962 2 All Star games a year), and a Gold Glove outfielder. I disagree. While the Yankees lost the World Series in seven games to the Pirates, Maris hit two homers. Johnny Vander Meer: Pitched back-to-back no hitters in 1938. There were over 500 other baseball players during this expansion era and they did not hit 61 home runs. Maris hit 13 homers against the Senators and Angels. I dont claim to be an expert but I am a huge baseball fan. The dude in the stands has a ball. Most Yankees fans were rooting for his home-grown teammate, Mickey Mantle. Granted, it has been a few years since I have been to the HOF, but I would argue that, sans a plaque, Maris is as much in the HOF as some of those with plaques. Maris hit 58 homers in the first 154 games (the length of the schedule when Babe Ruth set the single-season record), and finished with 61. I was actually thinking you're the only person on the planet that thinks this since I have NEVER heard this in my almost 50 years of following baseball as closely and as deep as anyone can. How We Ranked Baseballs Greatest Players, Election of Baines lowers the bar for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Golden Days Era Ballot for Baseball Hall of Fame, The 100 Greatest Right Fielders of All-Time >, VIDEO: Curt Flood Misplays Ball in Game 7 of 1968 World Series, VIDEO: Montreal Expos First Game and First Home Opener, from 1969, https://baseballegg.com/all-time-player-rankings/baseballs-greatest-right-fielders-of-all-time/, Mo Vaughns Exit From the Red Sox was not Pretty, In 1969, Experts Thought These Were the Greatest Third Basemen, VIDEO: Fred McGriffs First Home Run for Tampa Bay. Bo Jackson: Maybe the best of all two-sport athletes. Collectors Corner | For years I thought that breaking Ruths record all by itself should qualify him for the Hall, but you make a good argument. . The Veteran's Committee elected former Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski in to the Hall. Take out the fact that he was a Yankee, he would not have anyone thinking he belongs in the Hall. "He threw me a pitch outside and I just went with it," Maris would say later. Was he cheating? But he fizzled out after that and was finished at age 28. Maybe he's the chosen one. Ruth was on fire, hitting five HRs in his last three games and nine in his last 11. Maris was a two-time MVP saddled with the reputation of a slugger, and those 61 home runs hung around his neck like a bowling ball. I wouldn't mind players getting into the HOF for extraordinary accomplishments.. Maris, Mattingly, Munson, Garvey, Dave Parker, Dale Murphy (another back to back MVP winner like Maris was), Keith Hernandez ~ all of them MVP's ~ all of them huge stars in their time. 500 homer's and 3k hits arent the only qualifications certainly. Since it was established in 1936, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has amassed 333 elected members. Among those honored are some of the greatest MLB players to ever play. Yet not everyone makes it into the Hall of Fame, prompting outcries from fans. One hotly debated omission involves former New York Yankees great Roger Maris. In 1999 the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Roger Maris. On September 20, a night game, the 154th game of the season the Yankees clinch the American League pennant with a win over the Orioles in Baltimore 4-2. Personally, I regard Maris still to be baseballs season Home Run Leader, excluding Bonds, McGuire and Sosa. We didnt mention the NL expansion in the article. Potentially one of the biggest days in baseball history. In the fourth inning, Maris came to bat again. Why isn't Roger Maris in the hall of fame? Mickey Mantle was my hero. I remember the pressure he was under from Mantle fans and the sports writers who didnt want him breaking the Babes record because he was not a hoeeme grown Yankee ( brutal treatment everyday in 1961) hes a hall of fame human being if not a ballplayer but in my boo hes both!!! I wouldnt agree that Maris was the best right fielder in baseball for half his career. On the one hand, youll be remembered. Maris pursuit enthralled a generation as he and teammate Mickey Mantle -- The M&M Boys -- spent a summer aiming for what was then considered to be an unbreakable mark. @CardGeek said: Maris has 1.325 hits in his 12-year career, which by the way, would be one of the shorter careers for a position player in the Hall of Fame. "They're standing; waiting to see if Maris is gonna hit Number Sixty-one." I was too young to have see Maris play,but what I have heard an seen,he is not a H O F. If you put Maris in, Juan Gonzalez, Dave Parker and Frank Howard all need to get the H O F ! Players like Hack Wilson, Cardinal Red Schoendienst, Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, and Philly Richie Ashburn. Yes I know Namath is already in. Archived post. However, he met the 10 year minimum and those 6 great years propelled him over the top. Too young to see Maris in his best years. The announcer and the right fielder had no doubt. Because except for a a couple seasons, he basically was average https://bleacherreport.com/articles/221894-the-king-without-a-crown-should-roger-maris-be-in-the-hall-of-fame. Maris was also a 7 time Allstar selection with Gold Gloves. Then look at Larry Bowa when he retired he had the highest fielding percentage of all shortstops that ever played in MLB and set the record two times for fewest errors by shortstop in a season he also had the most hits by a shortstop in the history of MLB and the writers didnt like him and you guessed it hes not in the HoF. They cite the 12 seasons (six mediocre, six increasingly brilliant) by Sandy Koufax and the injury-shortened career of Dizzy Dean (nine full seasons and only one Before last night, both of these records were shared by both Maris and Judge for 61 total home runs. Read21 hours ago | The Editorial Board, Article viewed iconAn icon to mark the viewed articles Put them both in. Mantle was the favorite; Maris who had come to the Yankees in a trade with Kansas City was the outsider. I changed the contrast on this image. Where did you get the idea that Larry Bowa had the most hits by a shortstop? I have no doubt that it if had been 1959, he would have hit 55 or 54 homers, or whatever. Clearly, Maris was a very good player as evidenced by his 1960 MVP. Maris doesnt have incredible career numbers 275 homers and 851. homers in 61. Maris also retired at a very early age (just 33) because of his nagging injuries and the opportunity to earn more money as a businessman. It was Maris versus Ruth. I believe that Josh was referring to Right Field defensive play: Maris arrived a few years after Al.Kaline had already established himself as the American Leagues RightField defensive Gold Glove Champion.They were both all- time greats, defensively, but you would have had to knock out Al Kaline for Roger Maris to win the Gold Glove Award.Maris was very fast, tracked very well and had a great arm. He was never a "scrawny kid" or "thin" like Bonds and McGuire were in their first few seasons. He also worked at The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., and for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read3 hours ago | Gerard Baker, Article viewed iconAn icon to mark the viewed articles I thnk Roger should b in the Hall. What has happened to sports cards in the past 20 years really bothers me. Take out the 2-year span in which he hit 100 HR and he averages 17.5 HR per year the rest of his career (which only lasted 12 years total). Before then, he was a staff writer for the Dallas Morning News for two years. Dwight Evans.. Should Be In The Hall Of Fame. The record may be broken, but many younger fans are finding the answer to an important: Who was Roger Maris? I would not be shocked if either/both made it someday from the Veterans committee. A very valuable player indeed. When Is A Future Hall Of Fame Manager Not Missed? Maris is to Clemente, Kaline, Aaron, and Robinson as Kirk Gibson is to Reggie Jackson. He During the 1961 season, Maris hit 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs (set in 1927), a record that stood for 37 years. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Its the Hall of Significant Achievement. This is manifestly not true. "Maz" was inducted mainly due to his eight Gold Gloves and World Series clinching home run in Game 7 of 1960 World Series. If Judge breaks the record this year, it will be 61 years after Maris hit 61 in '61. Solid major leaguer with a real impact on mid 20th century MLB, but not a HOFer. Dwight Evans and Frank Howard, to name just two. By the end of June he had hit 27 and by the end of July Maris had hit 40 home runs. Sarcasm in text is tough. a few of his seasons were Hall of Fame level. Unfortunately for Maris he wasn't the people's choice to break the 34-year-old record. In the video his uniform is remarkably white for an away uniform. The camera probably wasn't supposed to capture the upper deck. He held the home run crown for so many years and his contribution to baseball probably should have given him what he needed; the call to Cooperstown. But it was only a matter of time before the Yankees would yank him (sorry) from Kansas City. PSE | 2 seasons does not a career make. Since 1998, he has served as the newspaper's national baseball writer. His best argument comes from his two MVP awards and for breaking Babe Ruths single-season home run record. All though looking at the teammates that Roger played with he was a key player on the Yankees and Cardinals. @ScoobyDoo2 said: WebHe had 4 very good seasons. I liked baseball and baseball cards when I was a kid. I think to speculate on anyone cheating is unfair. More critics claim that he only played at the Hall of Fame level for 2 or 3 seasons, with the remainder of his career being average. Everything is relative, he led the majors in HR eight times). A kid grabbed his hand as he turned past first - Maris shook hands and then did the same thing with third base coach Frank Crosetti as he turned past third base and headed home. Kirk Gibson: In a season that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened said Vin Scully as a hobbling Gibson circled the bases after hitting his game-winning home run for the Dodgers in the first game of the 1988 World Series. Maris stood out, but many had career years in these two years - Cash, Gentile, Davis among others. Read22 hours ago | Allan Ripp, Article viewed iconAn icon to mark the viewed articles It's also interesting to me that the wall in that video is about 3 feet high. I remember the newspapers and sports magazines were trying to create an adversary relationship between Roger and Mickey. But agreed with your thought, it would be an interesting thing to consider Barry Bonds seeing Maris in first. in fact, it puts me very much in mind of Brady Anderson in the He's short across the board IMO except for the fame part, which he does have. I've been researching sports and sports cards again for the past couple years and watching all the Dodgers games I can. I wrote a whole long rant and deleted it. Aaron Judge is on pace for 65+. Ford Frick was a good buddy of Babe Ruth's he did not want anyone breaking the Babe's record. He really had little baseball left in him when he played his final games for the Cardinals in 1968. Where have you gone, Red Barrett? Stallard got Maris out in his first at bat. Some fans disagreed with my saying Maris does not quite reach the standards of the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his modest batting average (.260), Please put in The Cobra and Munson! I've always been a big Maris fan, but don't see how it would be possible to make it into the Hall after an 11-year career. 1. Aaron Judge is almost certainly on something, theyre just better about avoiding tests these days. The numbers never lie These numbers are just average across the board. Maury Wills:In 1962, he stole a record-shattering 104 bases while being caught only 13 times. RSVP at Plays4pars@aol.com. Two players who were incredibly famous for a few short years. There were many others who hit 40 plus, that year. His 38.2 WAR ranks him 595th overall, tied with Ray Langford and Bill Madlock. WebDuring his career Roger Maris never received the credit he deserved. His Wins Above Replacement in 1960 was 7.5, the highest in the American League. He had a 32-home run, 105 RBIs and 26 stolen bases season for KC and ran for 221 yards in a game for the Raiders, a record for Monday Night Football which still stands. You don't think Barry Bonds could have hit 73 in 2001 without cheating when Maris hit 61 in 1961? While fans largely celebrated Mantle, Maris received hate mail and threats from fans who thought he was unworthy of the Great Bambinos record. It was the Yankees versus the Red Sox. The underlying current, of course, is the apparent involvement of latter-day sluggers with body-building steroids, which were not used in the day of Henry Aaron, Maris and Ruth. @coolstanley said: Sign In. His legacy remains those 61 homers, with or without an infamous asterisk imposed by the commissioner of baseball.*. And yet you call yourself CardGeek. But, on this day nearly all the reporters covering the story got the report off the wire. also the beat writer for the New Jersey Nets' 1990-1991 season and covered college basketball, college football and wrote for the Metro section. Its a blessing and a curse to have a signature accomplishment as an athlete or an artist. Around the same time, Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that an asterisk would be placed next to Maris' name in the record books if he broke the Babe's record after the 154th game of the season. The HOF has really gone downhill and has become the hall of pretty good so Maris should be in. Have you heard of Honus Wagner, Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken and host of others? I stand by what I wrote about Maris: there isnt enough of a career there to merit Hall of Fame election. Similarly, at least in my opinion, Hank Aaron remains baseballs all time Home Run leader to this day, regardless of Bud Selig, who was complicit in the era of rampant steroid abuse. Check out the movie *61 that Billy Crystal did in 2001. Nothing like that in MLB since I've been watching baseball. Thanks for the article. The commissioner, Ford Frick, refused to attend any of the games during his historic chase, and even decided to place the ridiculous asterisk in the record book. He played at the same time as Frank Robinson, Henry Aaron, Al Kaline, Roberto Clemente, and Rocky Colavito, all of whom were better players. As well as modest. Maris two MVP seasons were part of a six-year stretch (1959-64) in which he produced 198 home runs, 549 RBIs and an .890 OPS (142 OPS+) over 807 games. This also helped to counter the negative impact from the shift in the National League from smaller stadiums to the larger multi-purpose stadiums. I agree that one great season does not make a Hall of Famer. Maybe he doesn't have the greatest career stats. Number 60 came at Yankee Stadium off Baltimore's Bill Fisher on September 26. I wouldn't say he's more famous than Pete Rose. He would finish his career with a total of 11 home runs. It takes decades often for the narratives to soften for the MLB HOF voting members to offer their "peace pipe" & get excellence recognized. He was now eight games ahead of the Ruth pace and the anticipation of what could happen was growing every day. Please at least get your facts correct? Who needs time?. I hate that Golden Gloves are just throw away facts when considering the HOF. All rights reserved. The game took 1 hour, 15 minutes. The HR record non- withstanding, Maris was a 7-time all-star and 2-time MVP. Nobody seated in the upper deck. If you watch the video it's obviously fake. Reynolds pitched 10 dominant innings of one-run ball in Game 2, lifting New York to a 2-1 victory. Maris received three or fewer votes from the 16-member committee appointed by the Hall of Fame to review a 10-candidate Golden Era ballot. The catcher has a ball. He would hit two home runs in his first game as a Yankee, finishing the season with 39 home runs, a .283 batting average, and an MVP award. Quick Links: Does Roberto Alomar Deserve To Be Inducted Into The Hall of Fame? F Craig was a three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowl player. PCGS | But he actually only had five seasons where he qualified for the batting title. If Aaron Judge eclipses him, itll be quite an
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