Loading ...We’re big fans of Davey Concepcion here at Redleg Nation. While we realize the question of whether Concepcion deserves to be in the Hall of Fame is not a slam-dunk on either side, we’d still love to have seen Davey enshrined (and still hope to) in Cooperstown. What can I say? We’re Reds fans, and we’re selfish like that. We’d like to see as many Reds as possible in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On that note, Joe Posnanski has an interesting post here (start at the second paragraph) about Concepcion. As a starting point, he compares Concepcion to Omar Vizquel, who — incredibly — is generating some HOF buzz. Give me Concepcion over overrated defender Vizquel any day of the week.
Yeah. And you should meet the people who would put in Vizquel and leave Larkin out–well, you’ve probably met those people. Idiots.
Here is the thing about Davey. His stats really do not merit his inclusion. But, on the other hand, he was the best shortstop in the NL for about 10 years. A player who is the best at his position for that long usually goes into the HOF easily. He’s a hard case. Sometimes I think he clearly does not belong and sometimes I think the opposite.
I’m inclined to say no to Concepcion but yes to Omar, despite the fact that the numbers tell me to say yes to both. I think there’s something to be said for consistency and longevity. What I don’t get is the Ozzie factor. It still burns me that he has a handful of Larkin’s gold gloves sitting on his mantle. That’s the real tragedy–that Larkin will never get his full due because the fans and writers were fawning over Ozzie friggin’ Smith well past his prime, which was minute offensively.
Would Concepcion have been perceived differently if he had played in the grass field era rather than the artificial turf era?
I feel the entire starting 8 for the BIG RED MACHINE belongs in the Hall of Fame! Of course there may be some Bias to my feelings!