The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Thome elected into hall
Over 600 home runs. More than 600 saves. A .300 career average.
In the age of baseball analytics, there’s still room in the Hall of Fame for big, round numbers you can count on.
Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman were rewarded Jan. 24, easily elected in the newest class headed for Cooperstown.
“I don’t know how you tabulate or calculate WAR,” Jones said, referring to a sabermetric stat that didn’t exist for much of his career.
“Yes, you can dig deeper,” he said. But he added: “What I want to see is batting average, on-base percentage, runs produced.”
Designated hitter Edgar Martinez came close after a grassroots campaign to promote him. Boosted by advanced metrics, he’ll get his last chance on the ballot next year.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both tainted by the steroids
scandal, edged up but again fell far short.
A switch-hitter who batted .303 with 468 home runs, Jones was an eight-time AllStar third baseman for the Atlanta Braves.
He was a force for most of the Atlanta teams that won 14 straight division titles — his election put another member of those Braves clubs in the Hall, along with pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, manager Bobby Cox and general manager John Schuerholz.
Of the four new members,
Jones was the only one to win a World Series. He joined Ken Griffey Jr. as the lone overall No. 1 draft picks to reach the Hall.
Jones and Thome made it 54 players elected in their first year of eligibility by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Jones drew 97.2 percent (410 of 422) of the vote and Thome was at 89.8 percent — 75 percent is needed for election.
“It was waterworks,” Jones said after receiving the call.
Thome hit 612 home runs, ranking him eighth on the career list, and launched a record 13 walk-off homers. The five-time All-Star played mostly for the Cleveland Indians.
Thome was known for his pre-swing routine, standing absolutely still in the box while pointing his bat at the pitcher. He said the posture helped him relax, slow down and “not be so tense.”
The slugger praised his longtime hitting coach, Charlie Manuel, for all the work they did together.
“It’s about sweat equity, and getting after it,” Thome said on MLB Network.
Guerrero was elected in his second try, getting 92.9 percent. The nine-time All-Star played half his career with the Montreal Expos.
The outfielder batted .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIs, and was a notorious bad-ball hitter. He said he developed
that talent as a kid in the Dominican Republic, playing a game similar to cricket in which hitters swung broomsticks while pitchers tried to bounce balls past them and knock over folded license plates.
Hoffman was chosen in his third year, getting 79.9 percent after missing by just five votes last time. The former Padres closer used an outstanding changeup to post 601 saves, second to Mariano Rivera’s 652, and revved up fans in San Diego with rocking entrances to “Hells Bells” by AC/DC.
Omar Vizquel (37 percent), Scott Rolen (10.2) and Andruw Jones (7.3) were firsttime candidates.