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I believe that the reasons that you do not wish to delve into the stats are:
A) You do not understand WAR
and
B) If you did, you would reconize that you are in error.
There are numerous inductees in the Hall who were poor defensive players and only there because they were great offensive players. Ted Williams was -2.0 defensive WAR for his career, a below average outfielder. Harmon Killibrew was -7.6 defensive WAR, Lou Brock was -4.8 defensive WAR...yet they are in the Hall. Would you throw Ted Williams out of the HoF because he was below average defensively?
What counts in winning ballgames isn't how great you were in a particular aspect, it is your overall contribution. If you were below average defensively, but made a massive contribution offensively, your value is everything that you did, not just your offense or just your defense. Thus, players who are below average offensively, but who compensate by immensely large defensive contributions, may be of the same value as an offensive star with a stone glove.
Finally, your "not going to delve into stats" statement is an absurdity, is it not? Exactly how do you know that Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio and the others you listed in your post, were great players if you are not looking at their stats? You didn't see them play, and even if you had, you would still need to have kept track of their hitting feats in order to know how much superior they were to other players. If you wish to understand how silly the "don't need stats" concept is, try making an argument for who the top five hitters of all time were, without using any statistics.
You took my comment out of context, I did not say stats were not important, the numbers don't lie as I previously stated, hence, speak for themselves, which is exactly why the Greats should not be pared with the rest in the MLB HOF.
At anyrate, I will not engage this subject again, it's gets rather redundant and I may not be as well versed as yourself, but my opinion will not differ plus it's almost time for the big games at Heinz/Soldier fields.
At anyrate, I will not engage this subject again, it's gets rather redundant and I may not be as well versed as yourself, but my opinion will not differ :
You didn't answer my question. Would you keep Ted Williams out of the Hall of Fame on the basis of his below average defense? Your stated clearly that your notion of a Hall of Famer was someone who excelled in defense and offense. Ted Williams excelled in offense like few others ever have, but was subpar with his glovework.
So, if you meant what you have written, then you do not think Ted Williams was good enough to be in the Hall. If on the other hand you are willing to overlook Williams' below average defense in favor of his enormous offensive contributions, then you are rejecting your own premise.
So, which is it? Williams...in or out in your opinion?
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