When we start ranking players at a specific position we are going to a place The Hall of Fame Index was never designed to do. So, we have to add a few layers on analysis to get to where we want to go. First, we have to define our terms.

When we start talking about deciding who the best right handed pitcher of all-time we first have to precisely define our terms. I start by striking the term best from the record. It is impossible to compare pitchers from very different times and determine who was the best or greatest.

Baseball is rapidly approaching but we still have some time to have some fun. I didn’t classify pitchers by handedness in The Hall of Fame Index Part II. However, the debate over who is the best left-handed pitcher in baseball history is an interesting one. Most people would naturally assume

As we continue our journey through Allen Barra’s Clearing the Baseswe would like to remind everyone that it was published in 2002. The Hall of Fame Index Part IIwas published this March. Obviously one is going to have more up to date information than the other. This is important with

We continue our series of debates addressed in Allen Barra’sClearing the Bases. This was published in 2002, so we have to cut him some considerable slack on some arguments. However, these arguments are fun, so we continue with the question of where Jackie Robinson ranks among second basemen. We will

Being stuck at home with no baseball affords a man plenty of time to read. I dusted off Clearing the Basesby Allen Barra to see if the debates in that book would spark a iittle interest. It did. So, I’ve decided to write a few pieces centered on the debates

Starting pitching is a considerably more difficult group to profile when it comes to the Hall of Fame. There are just too many differences across time to effectively treat all starting pitchers the same. If we were to take the top five starting pitchers according to the index on the

The common refrain from most baseball fans is that they know a Hall of Famer when they see one. I would politely point out that this is not necessarily the case. Let’s consider the following Player A and Player B test as it pertains to a statistic called Bases Per

One of the obstacles we encounter with analysis is overcoming the notion that all skills are created equal. Scouts begin this with the so-called five tools. Each tool is treated as sacrosanct and it those five tools even leaves out the most valuable tool on top of that (plate discipline).

When we get into left field we get into one of those situations where we have to eliminate a couple of players from consideration. Barry Bonds might have the highest index score in baseball history. We covered him in great detail in the book. Manny Ramirez obviously also has the