I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.

That's a great poem, Dernier.

The guy can't even catch a break in his valedictory articles.

I don't know for sure if Jim Edmonds (68.3 WAR) will be inducted into the HOF. However, he is (for career value) a credible candidate. None of those other guys is even remotely close to HOF worthy.

Brett Boone* 21.40

*One thought on the Boones: while I know Aaron Boone (9.5 WAR) hit an important home run for the Yankees in the post-season (if I recall correctly, it was an extra inning walk off job to beat the Red Sox in the ALCS), it baffles me that he now has a media career.

It seems like the fact that he was born into a great baseball family and notably his brother Brett was a very good player must have aided him. It can't be based on his greatness as a player, a la Dave Winfield or Orel Hershiser. Aaron Boone doesn't speak all that well and his voice always sounds hoarse. I haven't heard him say anything remotely funny or clever on BB2night. He seems to have no chemistry with other broadcasters on games; he mostly just gets in the way as the third man in the booth. And he's not "a good old boy" like John Kruk. I don't see how he has that job.

#3--I was just gonna say, one of these things is not like the others. Edmonds is clearly a better HOF candidate than any of those guys. Only Williams even has an argument.

I love Jim Edmonds, but I suspect he's gonna get Trammelled.

*One thought on the Boones:

I was watching Game Six of the 1980 World Series the other day, and the announcer noted that Ray Boone, father of Phillies catcher Bob, had been on the field before the game playing with his grandsons Aaron and Bret. That was pretty cool.

For a second there, I thought Pearlman had written a positive article. I looked outside and pigs weren't flying so I read the excerpt.

In other words: Yawn.

It's weird, I have an entirely different reaction. I find the Hall of Very Good guys to be the most interesting players of every era. Probably because growing up I had heard all about Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Robinson etc., I find I am now more interested in the tiers below them.

I mean, how interesting is a guy who's good at everything anyway?

The 1990s was when I first started getting interested in baseball and I now understand how one era's long-time baseball stars kind of fade away into relative obscurity off-the-field after being very good professionals.

The last time I checked he was a 25-year old hot shot outfielder for the Angels or perhaps a 31-year old star in centerfield for the Cardinals.

Time flies though and I guess it is refreshing to see 40-year old Jim Edmonds get one last hurrah as an active player before falling into obscurity.

I love Jim Edmonds, but I suspect he's gonna get Trammelled.

Which is funny, because I can't stand him but I suspect he's going to get in before it's all said and done.

Pearlman is obsessed -- OBSESSED -- with pointing out how supposedly pathetic the post-athletics portion of pro athletes' lives are. This particular excuse to tear down "jocks", subjected to a life of "endless invitations to speak at Rotary breakfasts and a spot in the hometown newspaper's semi-annual What Ever Happened To ... feature spread", is disguised as a piece praising Jim Edmonds. Pearlman is truly loathable.

Pearlman is obsessed -- OBSESSED -- with pointing out how supposedly pathetic the post-athletics portion of pro athletes' lives are.

I can think of worse fates than living off investments, watching your kids grow up, playing golf, doing some charity work, and dicking around at Spring Training every year. Not that all retired ballplayers are in a position to do that, but a number of them are. Edmonds certainly will be.

Final moment of glory? How about shooting him out of a cannon?

Pearlman sometimes reminds me of Dick Young in his gratuitous nastiness. A bug up Young's ass is pretty much what killed the old sportswriter, and appears to be wearing away at this guy.

I find the Hall of Very Good guys to be the most interesting players of every era.

Me too. Unless, perhaps, the Hall of Long-Careered Journeyman guys beat them out.

Pearlman is truly loathable.

I believe one E.A. Poe put it this way: "Loathsome, detestable putrescence."

glass 1/2 full
glass half empty
lemons
lemonade
mosquitos with EEE
and mosquitos without
EEE

While I appreciate the tone of Pearlman's article, he has zero understanding of how great Edmonds was. Really, Steve Finley? The guy has a better OPS+ than Jim Rice and won eight GGs in center. He remains reviled by Carlos Zambrano and Cubs fans everywhere. A little respect, please.

And color me surprised with how poorly Shawn Green stacks up in WAR.

worst trade ever.

Highest WAR, 1300+ G in CF

Me too. Unless, perhaps, the Hall of Long-Careered Journeyman guys beat them out.

One branch of that is "Guys Who Just Keep Playing, Regardless of Level"

Rickey Henderson
Pat Borders
Julio Franco

are the three that jump to mind.

WAR:
Jim Edmonds: 68.3

What is it good for?

Deserve's got nothin' to do with it.

hard for me to believe that there prolly ARE a lot of people out there who don't think jim edmonds should go in the HOF (it figures that one of them is pearlman)

of course, there are a lot of poeple think larry walker shouldn't go in neither

to compare jim edmonds to bret boone on ANY stat is like comparing lance berkman to jeff keppinger

- makes me wonder why pearlman is such a hate filled guy. he kind of reminds me of the ugly/fat grrl who was a slumpbuster or something and found out and decided to make the rest of her life about revenging herself on the rest of the kind of female humanity who these males prefer to screw (and get as long as they are famous and have enough $$$ to keep em)

I initially read this title (in the sidebar) as "Pearlman deserves final moment of glory before riding into retirement".

I initially read this title (in the sidebar) as "Pearlman deserves final moment of glory before riding into retirement".

optimist.

I personally don't see Edmonds as any kind of serious Hall of Fame threat at all. His counting stats simply aren't that impressive - I think he's falling through the cracks when the time comes.

he owns a horse?

or do we all get to ride into retirement?

I personally don't see Edmonds as any kind of serious Hall of Fame threat at all. His counting stats simply aren't that impressive - I think he's falling through the cracks when the time comes.

And why shouldn't his total/peak value be the standard instead of his "counting stats"?

And why shouldn't his total/peak value be the standard instead of his "counting stats"?

I'm not passing judgment on his actual value; I'm just saying what I think will happen. His peak was terrific, but my guess is that it didn't register all that strongly on the radar. It's all about perception.

@24...wondering why it took so long

I don't know if Edmonds gets into the HoF, but if he does his plaque could read, "Won eight Gold Gloves by making catches look harder than necessary."

I'll be astonished if Edmonds makes the hall, though I think he's clearly deserving (and I hope he does, as he's one of my favorite players). He'll suffer from

1) sportswriters' persistent failure to understand that CF is a much more demanding position than the corners, and thus that offense there is far more valuable
2) relative lack of ASG appearances because of the way the generic OF category works against CFers
3) low counting stats
4) lack of appreciation (or, let's be honest, even notice) of his awesome OBP
5) the fact that, outside the BTF-style serious fan base, he's never been regarded as a HOF-type player. I may be wrong, but it's hard to picture, say, Joe Morgan or any of the ESPN goons casually referring to him, even in his prime, as a future Hall of Famer.

I fear that Pearlman's misunderstanding of his value is probably representative of the membership of the BBWAA on Jimmy. If he weren't in Cincinnati, I'd wish with all my heart for his team to make the post-season and for him to go on a ridiculous tear that gives some of those all-important BIG MOMENTS that might make the writers look at him anew.

But since he's a Red, I hope he spends October golfing and ironing his pink half-shirts.

Good list, Levi, and we might add 6) Angels finally broke through to win the World Series after Edmonds left; Cardinals did win with him, but only when he was clearly in decline.

This shouldn't matter (Edmonds had a long, and good, postseason record), but sometimes a player catches the right breaks when it comes to championships and his HOF case is clearly boosted thereby (Bruce Sutter, Kirby Puckett, Jack Morris). And sometimes the timing leaves voters without a happy narrative.

I wonder if there isn't 7) some unspoken assumptions about PEDs at play here. Edmonds' rate stats in California during his 20s were good, but became incredible in his 30s after going to join Tony LaRussa, the apparent Typhoid Mary of this saga.

dlf,
I actually haven't really heard much, if any, PED speculation about Edmonds, which does seem odd given the coincidence of his best years and his joining a team with Mark McGwire on it. Maybe I'm just not hanging out in the right circles?

actually haven't really heard much, if any, PED speculation about Edmonds, which does seem odd given the coincidence of his best years and his joining a team with Mark McGwire on it. Maybe I'm just not hanging out in the right circles?

there is plenty of speculation about it in St Louis, but since this is a town that rarely likes to attack their "favorite sons" most of the speculation is kept to a minimum in printed circles.

there is plenty of speculation about it in St Louis,

Yet another way in which it's better to be a Cardinals fan living up here in Chicago than down in St. Louis itself . . .

I don't know if Edmonds gets into the HoF, but if he does his plaque could read, "Won eight Gold Gloves by making catches look harder than necessary."

RDF

I agree with those who say that Edmonds is HOF-worthy, but almost certainly won't get voted in.

Wouldn't his 40 year old performance in "steroid free" 2010 counter any PED accusations?

If he never came back from his first swoon a few years ago, he'd definitely seen be a PED-abuser.

9 Kenny Lofton 65.3 9234 1991 2007

This is the most interesting line in that table: Kenny Lofton very closely behind Duke Snider.

This is the most interesting line in that table: Kenny Lofton very closely behind Duke Snider.

If we are going solely on public impression I would think Lofton has a better chance at the HOF than Edmonds. When He and the Indians were good he was the considered the best player on that team, maybe not the best hitter but the best all around player.

5) the fact that, outside the BTF-style serious fan base, he's never been regarded as a HOF-type player. I may be wrong, but it's hard to picture, say, Joe Morgan or any of the ESPN goons casually referring to him, even in his prime, as a future Hall of Famer.

That's very true; he's certainly no Omar Vizquel.

Yet another way in which it's better to be a Cardinals fan living up here in Chicago than down in St. Louis itself . . .

Another being the fact that St. Louis had its 50th 90-degree day of the year yesterday. Jesus H Christ. I'm dying in Chicago this year as it is, and we've only had something like 18 official 90s.

My understanding is that, even at the time, Edmonds was rumored to be a heavy PED guy- even in comparison to the rest of the league. And that's consistent with the team he played on and his late, unexpectedly high peak.

He's Bernie Williams with injections. Whether that's a HoFer in the current era remains to be seen.

we've only had something like 18 official 90s

Fascinating (he says, after 13 straight 100-degree days in North Texas) :-)

Fascinating (he says, after 13 straight 100-degree days in North Texas) :-)

Tell us when your relative humidity climbs above 60%. 85 degrees at 75% humidity is far worse than 100 degrees at 30% humidity.

Edmonds was rumored to be a heavy PED guy

Yeah, definitely a circumstantial PED case around him.

Here's a good discussion of Edmonds at Fangraphs from last year.