By the Numbers: The Best of the Rest; Which Outsiders Have Best Hall of Fame Credentials

Summary

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They're on the outside looking in, players who enjoyed long, successful careers without quite reaching the pinnacle.

There's Ron Santo. There's Bobby Grich. There's Bert Blyleven. Each of them wondering whether the Hall of Fame will ever beckon. Each of them holding resumes worthy of inclusion.

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Extract

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By the Numbers: The Best of the Rest; Which Outsiders Have Best Hall of Fame Credentials

And that's the funny thing about the Hall of Fame. The Hank Aarons and Frank Robinsons and Mickey Mantles, they're the easy ones to select. After that it gets difficult, with dozens of players worthy of consideration.

How do you distinguish between Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage? Apparently plenty of voters this year found a way.

Then, once you're in the Hall, it's for life, regardless of how long you had to wait. Suddenly, you're Tony Perez, Hall of Famer, even though you were no better than, say, Will Clark.

Why, early in the career of Darnell Coles, a friend of mine made a wager that Coles would eventually end up in the Hall of Fame. The beauty of it is that h...

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