The Tim Salmon Hall of Fame Debate

There has been a lot of debate over the past week about whether or not Tim Salmon will even get five percent of the votes required to remain on the Hall of Ballot. Fans are divided. A recent poll at HalosHeaven.com was almost split 50/50 over the subject. I happened to be one who voted yes. I'll explain why.

In my opinion, the only thing standing in Tim Salmon's way of the Hall of Fame is injuries. His career numbers from 1993 through 2002 actually resemble that of Eddie Murray. The batting average, on-base percentage, power, speed, defense are all comparable between the two, in their prime.

In fact, Murray had five seasons with 30-plus homeruns his entire career; Salmon had five seasons with 30-plus homeruns in his first eight years.

According to Salmon's career averages, the King Fish could have reached 500 homeruns in about 16 seasons (2009), five earlier than Murray. It would've been a struggle to reach 3,000 hits; it would've taken about 19 seasons, but still one fewer than Murray. The biggest difference is that Murray stayed healthy.

There is also the argument that Salmon never made an All-Star team. Well, Murray only made one All-Star team in his final 11 seasons (1991), and only took home one award during that span (1990 Silver Slugger). That does open room for a discussion about Salmon's potential for All-Star status after his memorable postseason performance in 2002. Troy Glaus and Garrett Anderson were shoe-ins the very next season, but Salmon wasn't; he was slowed down by nagging injuries again.

One could say that where Murray added up his All-Star appearances in the first half of his career, Salmon could've done the same in the second half of his career, thus bringing home awards that spanned half of each player's careers. That's all speculation though, but I think it brings up a good point when bringing awards into a Hall of Fame discussion.

There are also those who like to say Bernie Williams was a better player and might never get in. Salmon managed 30-plus homeruns and 90-plus RBI's on teams with poor offense and in a pitchers ballpark, where-as Bernie, Juan Gonzalez, and Manny were all playing in hitters ballparks.

That's something to think about since the bag has been opened to re-evaluate Bert Blyleven's career because of the horrible teams he played for, as well as questioning Jack Morris' worth because he pitched for good/great teams his entire career. Ballpark factors are coming into play, so that I think gives Salmon another boost.

Fans have even compared Salmon with Jim Rice.

Will Clark and Don Mattingly are two other examples of players whose careers were cut short by injuries and the need to retire early. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't quite enough of an impact in the minds of voters for either to warrant a ticket into the Hall of Fame. Although, the Veterans Committee is talking about Mattingly because he still made quite an impact in the eighties.

Mattingly has been on the ballot since 2001; Will Clark didn't even receive 5% of the votes needed, which to me is mind boggling. But that does present a counter argument against Salmon reaching 5% of the votes.

Had Tim Salmon made a great impact in the first half of his career, he might have a chance. Had he also posted greater longevity to outlast the steroid era, his 2002 postseason might have thrust him into the elite, to where he the King Fish would be a representative of those who didn't tarnish their career with steroids. But it didn't happen.

You know what? Sandy Koufax may have set the bar as far as players with short stints of success that made the greatest impact. How does Tim Salmon compete with Sandy Koufax? He doesn't. He can't.

I do think Salmon will get at least five percent of the votes, but I don't think there is a chance at all he will get into the Hall of Fame. It's a shame because Salmon was basically a five-tool player who was as consistent as they come until his injuries took over later in his career.

Either way, Tim Salmon will get into the Angels Hall of Fame. I'm counting on that one.