Yes, this is one of those hall of fame posts

Some time ago I wrote a post proposing revised magic numbers for entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame. One thing I didn't do in the original post was list the excluded players who would merit inclusion given my proposals, so I've posted that list after the jump.

Looking back, I think a couple of the numbers I proposed might be a little bit on the low side, and that there are others -- 4750 total bases for example -- that few players reach without also passing one of the more established benchmarks. One number, 4000 strikeouts, jumps out as being on the high side. Only four players have hit that plateau: Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Steve Carlton. If the number were lowered to 3000, only three players not currently in the hall would be added to the list: Bert Blyleven, Greg Maddux, and Curt Shilling.

Of the purely statistical benchmarks proposed, the one I'm most perplexed by are triples. There are lots of pre-modern players with more than 150 triples, along with a handful of players whose careers went into the 1930s, but the only unambiguously modern players to hit that mark are Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, and Lou Gehrig. The change, I'm given to understand, has something to do with advances in glove and fence technology. Among players active in my lifetime, Willie Wilson is the career triples leader with 147. Among active players, the aging Steve Finley is way out in front with 124. I guess my thinking when writing the original post was that anybody who could hit 150 in the modern era must be a hall of famer.

The numbers that commenters gave me the hardest time about in response to the original post were gold gloves and all-star appearances. You can follow the link to the original post to read my dismissive response to those criticisms. Looking now at the list of excluded players that those benchmarks would include, though, inclines me to agree that they are too permissive.

(Key: * - active player, + - has exhausted HOF eligibility, @#!% - Pete Rose)

• 10 Gold Gloves
  
  • Jim Kaat, 16 LHP+
    
  • Greg Maddux, 16 RHP*
    
  • Ivan Rodriguez,12 C*
    
  • Keith Hernandez, 11 1B+
    
  • Roberto Alomar, 10 2B
    
  • Omar Vizquel, 11 SS*
    
  • Ken Griffey Jr., 10 OF*
  
  
• 12 All-Star games
  
  • Cal Ripkin Jr., 19
    
  • Pete Rose, 17@#!%
    
  • Tony Gwynne, 15
    
  • Barry Bonds, 13
    
  • Ivan Rodriguez, 12*
    
  • Roberto Alomar, 12
    
  • Ken Griffey Jr., 12*
    
  • Barry Larkin, 12
    
  • Mark McGwire, 12
    
  • Mike Piazza, 12*
  
  
• 1600 Runs
  
  • Ricky Henderson, 2295
    
  • Pete Rose, 2165@#!%
    
  • Barry Bonds, 2152*
    
  • Craig Biggio, 1776*
    
  • Rafael Palmeiro, 1663
    
  • Cal Ripkin Jr., 1647
    
  • Jimmy Ryan, 1642+
    
  • George Van Haltren, 1639+
  
  
• 4750 Total Bases
  
  • Barry Bonds, 5784*
    
  • Pete Rose, 5752@#!%
    
  • Rafael Palmeiro, 5388
    
  • Cal Ripkin Jr., 5168
    
  • Andre Dawson, 4787
  
  
• 550 Doubles
  
  • Pete Rose, 746@#!%
    
  • Craig Biggio, 637*
    
  • Cal Ripkin Jr., 603
    
  • Barry Bonds, 587*
    
  • Rafael Palmeiro, 585
  
  
• 150 modern Triples
  
  • none
  
  
• 1600 RBI
  
  • Barry Bonds, 1930*
    
  • Rafael Palmeiro, 1835
    
  • Cal Ripkin Jr., 1695
    
  • Harold Baines, 1628
    
  • Ken Griffey Jr., 1608*
  
  
• 700 Stolen Bases
  
  • Ricky Henderson, 1406
    
  • Tim Raines, 808
    
  • Vince Coleman, 752+
    
  • Arlie Latham, 739+
  
  
• 450 Saves
  
  • Trevor Hoffman, 482*
    
  • Lee Smith, 478
  
  
• 50 Shutouts
  
  • Bert Blyleven, 60
  
  
• 4000 Strikeouts
  
  • Roger Clemens, 4604*
    
  • Randy Johnson, 4544*