I-70 Baseball Exclusives Cardinals Classic Cooperstown Choices 2012

Cooperstown Choices: Brian Jordan

Bill Ivie

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty seven men on the ballot this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2012 menu at the top of the page.

Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.

In this article, we take a look at Brian Jordan.

Brian Jordan
The two-sport superstar trying to follow in the footsteps of Bo Jackson, Brian Jordan arrived on the Major League scene in 1992 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team would soon sign him to a baseball only contract and the former All-Pro Safety would concentrate his efforts in the outfield. He would play his final game in 2006 with the Atlanta Braves, making this his first year on the ballot.

Year Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1992 STL 55 193 17 40 9 4 5 22 7 10 48 .207 .250 .373 .623 77
1993 STL 67 223 33 69 10 6 10 44 6 12 35 .309 .351 .543 .894 138
1994 STL 53 178 14 46 8 2 5 15 4 16 40 .258 .320 .410 .730 91
1995 STL 131 490 83 145 20 4 22 81 24 22 79 .296 .339 .488 .827 116
1996 STL 140 513 82 159 36 1 17 104 22 29 84 .310 .349 .483 .833 118
1997 STL 47 145 17 34 5 0 0 10 6 10 21 .234 .311 .269 .580 55
1998 STL 150 564 100 178 34 7 25 91 17 40 66 .316 .368 .534 .902 134
1999 ATL 153 576 100 163 28 4 23 115 13 51 81 .283 .346 .465 .811 103
2000 ATL 133 489 71 129 26 0 17 77 10 38 80 .264 .320 .421 .742 85
2001 ATL 148 560 82 165 32 3 25 97 3 31 88 .295 .334 .496 .830 109
2002 LAD 128 471 65 134 27 3 18 80 2 34 86 .285 .338 .469 .807 118
2003 LAD 66 224 28 67 9 0 6 28 1 23 30 .299 .372 .420 .791 112
2004 TEX 61 212 27 47 13 1 5 23 2 16 35 .222 .275 .363 .638 60
2005 ATL 76 231 25 57 8 2 3 24 2 14 46 .247 .295 .338 .632 65
2006 ATL 48 91 11 21 2 0 3 10 0 7 23 .231 .287 .352 .639 63
15 Seasons 1456 5160 755 1454 267 37 184 821 119 353 842 .282 .333 .455 .788 104
162 Game Avg. 162 574 84 162 30 4 20 91 13 39 94 .282 .333 .455 .788 104
STL (7 yrs) 643 2306 346 671 122 24 84 367 86 139 373 .291 .339 .474 .813 114
ATL (5 yrs) 558 1947 289 535 96 9 71 323 28 141 318 .275 .327 .443 .770 94
LAD (2 yrs) 194 695 93 201 36 3 24 108 3 57 116 .289 .349 .453 .802 116
TEX (1 yr) 61 212 27 47 13 1 5 23 2 16 35 .222 .275 .363 .638 60
NL (14 yrs) 1395 4948 728 1407 254 36 179 798 117 337 807 .284 .336 .459 .795 106
AL (1 yr) 61 212 27 47 13 1 5 23 2 16 35 .222 .275 .363 .638 60
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2011.

Why He Should Get In
The case for Brian Jordan to reach Cooperstown is a fairly weak one. A career riddled with injuries towards the end, he can boast 1,454 hits and 184 home runs while driving in 821 runs. In an era where corner outfielders were power hitters that ranked high in the league in most categories, Jordan was average and had a solid career, albeit not a legendary one. His lone All Star appearance came in 1999.

Why He Should Not Get In
 Jordan, as said above, had a solid career and was a key component for many clubs. He was not, however, the central part of any of those teams. His lone All Star appearance is the only “award” he ever received and his career numbers keep him well below that of a Hall Of Famer.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

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