The Curious Hall of Fame Case of Steve Garvey
Every year from 1993 until 2007, Steve Garvey and his supporters alike painstakingly waited for the Baseball Writers Association of America to cast their Hall of Fame votes for him. Each year on the ballot, he was denied.
Even though all may seem lost for Garvey, his road to Cooperstown is not completely destroyed. While he failed to garner enough votes, he was nominated by the Modern Era Committee, and many other guys, like Harold Baines and Lee Smith, were able to get into the Hall using other committees.
Since all hope is not lost, it is still a worthwhile debate whether or not Steve Garvey should get the call from the Hall.
Baseball, after all, is a game of statistics and accomplishments, so let us start there.
*All statistics provided by Baseball Reference
Steve Garvey’s career stats and accomplishments are as follows:
- .294 AVG, 272 HR, 1308 RBI, 2599 H, .329 OBP, 38.1 WAR
- 1x MVP, 10x All Star, 4x Gold Glove
Let us break down his statistics first, then take a look at his accomplishments.
Steve Garvey finished his career with a .294 AVG; however, in his prime, he was consistently a .300+ hitter. Every year except for one (1979) from 1973 until 1980 he hit over .300, and he even eclipsed .310 six times during that span.
However, the most lasting part of Garvey’s legacy was that he was incredibly durable, playing in 1207 consecutive games.
A combination of .300 AVG seasons and playing in a ton of games means that Garvey did something that is becoming rarer and rarer in baseball today. He had six, count them, six 200 hit seasons throughout his career. Some hall of famers went their entire careers without one of these types of seasons, and Garvey had six of them.
He was not just good, he was very good on a consistent basis.
This success translated onto the biggest stage of them all, the postseason. Garvey hit .338 in 232 postseason plate appearances to go along with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs. His efforts netted him two NLCS MVPs.
To put those statistics into perspective, if Garvey would have kept that up for a full season (he averaged roughly 679 plate appearances in his years as a full time starter), his statline would have been this:
- .338 AVG, 32 HR, 91 RBI, 220 Hits.
Steve Garvey could (theoretically) have done that against the best that Major League Baseball had to offer.
Steve Garvey’s statistics were impressive for sure, but what about that second line I mentioned earlier about his accomplishments? Sure he was an MVP in 1974, while also finishing in the top six in four of the next six seasons. He also was handy with the leather garnering four Gold Gloves.
However, there is one gaudy number that stands out. That number is his ten All-Star Games.
Garvey is one of only seven eligible guys not in the Hall of Fame with ten or more All Star Games.
The list also includes the following: Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, and Bill Freehan.
Of all guys on that list, only one of them did not have some blotch on their resume from either steroids, or, in Peter Rose’s case, an outright ban from baseball. That guy is former Tigers Catcher Bill Freehan, who was a career .262 hitter with only 1591 hits.
In essence, the only clean guy on that list that has not been elected to Cooperstown, is a guy that Steve Garvey is clearly leagues better than. That does not necessarily equate to a Hall of Fame election, but it does put Garvey in incredibly elite company with guys who are no brainer hall of famers.
I am well aware that Steve Garvey does have a relatively low career WAR, and his power numbers are not outstanding by any means. However, it is hard to ignore a guy who was one of if not the premier First Baseman in the National League for an extended period of time, and a guy who elevated his game once the stakes were highest.
Steve Garvey should without a doubt get a well-deserved, albeit way too late, call to Cooperstown.
