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PLAYER BIOS
Here are the first time names on the ballot:
TED WILLIAMS Drafted first overall by the Athletics in 1939, Williams would go on to win 3 MVP awards, 8 batting titles, 5 gold gloves and make 15 allstar teams. He was the MVP of the 1950 allstar game.
In his rookie year Williams hit .315 and at the age of 20 was named the league's top newcomer. He would finish his career 21 years later with 3294 hits, 381 homers and a .330 career batting average. At his retirement Williams ranked 7th alltime in hits, 13th in career batting average and 1st alltime in walks and on base percentage.
He was traded from the Athletics to the Tigers in July of 1949 in what was considered one of the biggest deals of alltime. Williams was sent to Detroit in exchange for hall of famer Joe Dimaggio. In 1951, he left Detroit to sign with the White Sox as a free agent. Williams would finally make the postseason with the Chisox after years of coming up just short in Philadelphia and Detroit.
Williams played in 18 World Series games, all with the White Sox, winning 2 rings and batting .387 with 5 homers.
He finished his career in 1958 after signing a free agent contract with Pittsburgh.
- 1939-59 PHA,DET,CHW,PIT
-.330 career average with 3294 hits and 381 Homers
- 3 MVP, 8 batting titles, 15 time allstar, 5 gold gloves
- ROY in 1939, MVP of 1950 allstar game
- hit .387 with 5 homers in 18 WS games. Won 2 rings
- 7th alltime in hits and games played, 13th in career batting average
- 1st alltime in walks and on base pct, 3rd alltime in doubles
STAN MUSIAL Musial played 25 games as a rookie for the Reds in 1941 but did not become an everyday player until 1943. He won his first of 8 National League MVP awards in 1945. He made 13 allstar teams and won 5 gold gloves at first base. He helped the Reds to three straight World Series in the early fifties, batting .286 in the 1954 classic. The Reds won that year but lost the other 2 when Musial hit under .200.
In 1959, at the age of 39 the Reds let him leave for the Phillies via free agency. He had a decent 59 season but stuggled the next two years. He was selected by the Mets in the 1962 expansion draft and played the final 15 games of his career with New York, hitting his last 2 homers to bring his career total to 504.
He won 7 batting titles and at his retirement his career .329 average is 14th best alltime. He is 10th in games played, 7th in runs scored, 8th in hits, 5th in both homers and rbi's and 4th in walks.
RED SCHOENDIENST 10 time gold glove winning second baseman began his career in 1945 with the Cardinals but spent the bulk of his time in a Phillies uniform. He would end his 18 year career with 2 seasons in Los Angeles with the Dodgers and a final 21 games with the 1962 expansion Mets.
The 5 time allstar led the National League in hits in 1955 and finished his career with 2482 hits, good for 49th best alltime. He appeared in 2 World Series, batting .256 in 10 games but was on the losing end both times. Schoendienst was a steady hitter batting .306 for his career, finishing in the top 5 of the National League in hitting 6 seasons.
EDDIE WAITKUS 2639 hits in 2322 games. Waitkus won 6 gold gloves and was a 6 time allstar at first base for the White Sox, Tigers and Cardinals from 1942 to 1959. He led the National League in batting in 1956 and was MVP of the 1947 World Series when he hit .435 with 2 homers for the Tigers. He was on the losing end of the 1957 series with the Cardinals batting just .240 in the 6 game series with Cleveland.
VERN STEPHENS 2018 hits with 544 homers and a .240 batting average.
Stephens is the greatest slugging shortstop in league history. His 544 homers rank him 4th alltime. He hit a career high 49 round trippers in 1957 and led his league in homers 5 times. He ranks 23rd alltime in rbi's.
He was selected third overall by the Braves in 1941 but didn't become an everyday player until 1945. He would move to the Cardinals as a free agent in 1954 and got his 500th homer in a St Louis uniform in June of 1958. A week later he was traded to Pittsburgh for Gus Zerniel. The following season he was dealt to the Indians for Buddy Kerr. He would get his 2000th hit in the final game of the 1959 season off of the Yankees Niles Jordan.
Stephens hit 4 homers but batted just .195 in 13 World Series games, winning his only ring with the Braves in 1944.
He was a decent defensive shortstop winning 1 gold glove in his career. What Hall of Fame voters must decide is can they elect a .240 lifetime hitter to the Hall? But he is one of only 6 men to hit 500 career homers.
RALPH KINER Best remembered for his record setting 1949 season when he smashed 62 homers for the Phillies, breaking Babe Ruth's 1930 mark by one. Kiner would hit as many as 48 homers just one more time in his 16 year career but finished with 501, making him just the sixth player to accomplish that feat. He left the Phillies as a free agent for Washington in 1951 and would finish his career with that organization in 1961. He won 1 American League MVP award, 1 gold glove and made 4 allstar appearances.
Kiner, selected first overall in the 1946 draft, led his league in homers 7 times. He never played a postseason game. He ranks 38th with 1327 career rbi's and had 1867 career hits with a .252 average.
DAVE PHILLEY The late second round pick did not become a regular until he was 25. He began his career with Detroit and was named American League MVP in 1946 at the age of 26. The next season he signed with the Yankees where he enjoyed 9 productive seasons. He finished his career up in the National League with stops in Chicago and Milwaukee.
Philley played in 3 World Series, hitting .321 in 15 games. He was on the winning side twice. He made 13 allstar teams in his career and was MVP of the 1951 midseason classic.
His 370 career homers rank him 19th alltime at the time of his retirement. He had 2282 hits and a .297 career average.
WARREN SPAHN 289-278 in 18 years with the Tigers, Cubs and Indians. Spahn was a first round pick of the Tigers in 1942. He would enjoy 5 straight 20 win seasons in helping the Tigers to 3 World Series in the late forties. Spahn was 5-1 in World Series play as the Tigers won two of the 3 Series. His career record would suffer as he pitched on some bad Detroit and Cubs teams in later years.
An 8 time allstar, Spahn also won 6 Gold Gloves. He ranks 3rd alltime in games started and 3rd in career losses. His 289 wins are good for 7th alltime. He ranks 4th in shutouts with 54, 5th in complete games and 22nd in career strikeouts.
TOMMY HUGHES First round pick of the Red Sox in 1941, Hughes pitched for Boston until 1959 when he ended his career with 5 games for Cincinnati. He appeared in just one postseason game, pitching 2/3 of an inning for the Red Sox as a rookie. He compiled a 271-230 record with a 3.13 career era. The 5-time allstar ranks 7th alltime in games started and 13th in victories.
EARLY WYNN Second overall pick of the Phillies in 1939, Wynn made the big leagues in 1941 and lasted until the 1958 season. He spent 5 years with the Phillies before moving to Brooklyn where he would remain until making 1 final appearance for the Yankees in '58. Bothered by injuries much of his career, Wynn managed to win 20 or more only 3 times. His career record was an impressive 265-174...even more impressive when you consider he pitched for second division clubs his entire career. Wynn never played a postseason game but did make 5 allstar appearances. He missed the equivilant of nearly 3 seasons with injuries.
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