Cooperstown Chances examines the Baseball Hall of Fame case of one candidate each week. This week: Jim Edmonds.
Who he is: Jim Edmonds received just 2.5 percent of the Hall of Fame vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America this year, which means he can’t be considered by the writers in future elections and won’t be eligible again for Cooperstown until 2026 when the Expansion Era Committee can take up his case.
The former Angels and Cardinals centerfielder never won an MVP and finished with 393 home runs, a .284 batting average, and 60.3 WAR, all stats that might have painted him as good but not legendary and doomed him with the notoriously fickle BBWAA. Edmonds is far more impressive upon closer inspection, which is the case with many overlooked candidates from Dwight Evans to Ted Simmons to Bobby Grich.
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To his manager on the Cardinals Tony La Russa, Edmonds belongs in Cooperstown. The Hall of Fame manager, inducted in 2014, didn’t hold back in his praise for Edmonds when contacted by Sporting News.
“I think no matter how you measure him, whether it’s through analytical data or just scouts who observed him or his career record, especially what he did in clutch moments, yes, I definitely think he’s an outstanding candidate,” La Russa said.
Edmonds won eight Gold Glove awards during his career. Just seven outfielders in baseball history have won more than that. Managers and coaches vote on the award, and while they can't vote for their own players, one gets the impression La Russa would have if he could have while Edmonds played for him.“He just took great pride in his defense,” La Russa said. “Nobody plays defense like he did with that concentration, a lot of of anticipation. He would work before the game to see what our game plan was so he knew what the pitch was. He was always kind of leaning in that direction. That’s why he made so many impossible catches, because he got great jumps.”
In an era of big hitting, Edmonds was never a Barry Bonds or teammate Albert Pujols. While Edmonds topped 40 home runs twice, he averaged 23 homers, 71 RBIs, and a .284 batting average lifetime. While there are outfielders in the Hall of Fame with worse averages for these three stats than this, such as Tony Perez, it’s difficult to get someone in Cooperstown by saying they’re better than a handful of the worst selections.
But to La Russa, Edmonds was a Hall of Fame hitter.
“Yeah, I think he was because his stats are definitely, they qualify,” La Russa said. “The important thing was, in the clutch moments, big-time games, you could count on him to get the big-time hit.”
The Hall of Fame is about more than just stats, of course. While a player has never been inducted without some kind of justification for their on-field play and generally their statistics, voters are instructed to consider character as well. Edmonds meets the Hall of Fame standard for this, in La Russa’s eyes.
Asked about his presence in the clubhouse, La Russa called Edmonds, “Outstanding. One of our leaders. Great personality. Cared a lot about his teammates.”
Edmonds was an easy selection for the Hall of Stats, whose creator Adam Darowski rates him as the 12th-best centerfielder in baseball history. But Edmonds faces long odds of ever going in the Hall of Fame.
Cooperstown chances: 20 percent
Why: The best thing Edmonds has going for his Hall of Fame case is that La Russa might be on the Expansion Era Committee when he becomes eligible in 2026. While cronyism isn’t what it was in the 1970s, when Veterans Committee members like Frankie Frisch helped get a number of former teammates inducted, the potential for it still exists. Hall of Fame committees still consist of relatively small groups, 16 former players, executives, writers, and historians vested with sweeping power and the ability to meet confidentially.
It’s still possible for one eloquent, persuasive speaker on a Hall of Fame committee to exert influence and win over the other 15 members of the committee and get a player they like enshrined. Enter La Russa, who went to law school and might rank as the greatest living manager with 2,728 wins, six pennants, and three World Series titles. He could have a mangerial job tomorrow if he wanted it. At this point in his life, he’s baseball royalty.
It’s going to be interesting to see what the 71-year-old La Russa does if he becomes involved with a Hall of Fame committee over the next 10 or 20 years. La Russa might be able to help Edmonds or another underrated teammate very likely to fall short with the BBWAA, third baseman Scott Rolen, though Rolen’s name didn’t come up in La Russa’s brief discussion with Sporting News. (It shouldn’t take cronyism for either Edmonds or Rolen to be celebrated, by the way, though there’ve been worse snubs. A fairly decent Hall of Fame could be put together just based on one-and-done candidates.)
La Russa mentioned just one other player during his interview. This player is much more controversial than Edmonds and, while it’s a topic for another time, he might have a better chance at enshrinement. Asked if there was another player he’d like to see in the Hall of Fame, La Russa had two words: “Mark McGwire.”Cooperstown Chances examines the Baseball Hall of Fame case of one candidate each week. Series author and Sporting News contributor Graham Womack writes regularly about the Hall of Fame and other topics related to baseball history at his website, Baseball: Past and Present. Follow him on Twitter: @grahamdude.