Marvin Miller is probably not who most fans would pick for the HOF. He was the founding director of the MLBPA, an organization many fans, probably falsely, feel vicimized by. The MLBPA is probably the strongest players union in a major sport and that is largely due to Marvin Miller's efforts on their behalf. Fans may long for the day when players would spend their whole career with one team and didn't get paid in numbers that don't even make sense to most people. On the other hand, the Reserve Clause was a highly regressive rule which should never have been legal in the first place. Once the Reserve Clause was abolished, the owners have benefitted as much from the contracts they have signed with the MLBPA because the alternative would be unrestricted free agency. Marvin Miller deserves to be in the HOF. The only shame in it is he was elected posthumously.
Once upon a time, I thought Ted Simmons was the best hitter in baseball. Modern defensive metrics would probably not be kind to him, but the man sure could hit. He was a switch-hitter who had almost identical career slash lines from both sides of the plate. He was a Joey Votto type hitter who walked more than he struck out with a high BA and decent power. His breakout season came in 1975 when he slashed .332/.396/.491 with 18 HR. He then had a down season in 1976, but bounced back with 4 consecutive seasons in which he hit over .280 with at least 20 HR's, OBP's of at least .369 and SLG%'s above .500. Remember, all this occurred when pitching was still dominant in MLB. His best seasons were with the Cardinals. He won an AL Pennant with the Brewers but his production at the plate tailed off dramatically after being traded from the Cardinals. So, I'm all in for Ted Simmons, one of my favorite players from when I was a lot younger.
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