New York Loves Them, Cooperstown Snubs Them

Despite the big market, bright lights and World Series rings, many Hall of Fame level players from the Mets and Yankees have been passed over by voters, often by good margins. The biggest reason: they didn’t accumulate those traditional lifetime stats in hits, home runs or wins that typically punch Hall of Fame tickets. New York fan favorites Keith Hernandez, Ron Guidry, David Cone and others had the misfortune of playing before today’s accepted measurement tools like on-base percentage, slugging percentage and ERA-plus (adjusting a pitcher’s earned run average to the league norm in a given year) became commonplace. Some players were overshadowed by bigger personalities who were better able to take advantage of the New York spotlight.
This book makes an in-depth case for the induction of seven Mets and Yankees, and evaluates many more who have been passed over for a spot in the Hall of Fame. Giving these players a fresh look, it uses advanced stats that weren’t around when these men were playing and places traditional stats in the context of their era.

Tom Van Riper wrote about the business of sports for Forbes from 2005 to 2014. He lives in Floral Park, New York.

Tom Van Riper
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 202
Bibliographic Info: 7 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7965-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4035-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Prologue 1
1. Ron Guidry 9
2. Graig Nettles 26
3. Willie Randolph 45
4. Bernie Williams 64
5. Keith Hernandez 83
6. Jerry Koosman 103
7. David Cone 122
8. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down? 141
Chapter Notes 189
Bibliography 191
Index 193