Cooperstown Choices: David Wells
With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.
There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time 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 2013 menu at the top of the page.
In this article, we take a look at David Wells
The man known as “Boomer” would spend a remarkable 21 years with nine different major league teams. During his long career, he would be selected to three All Star rosters and finish third in the Cy Young Award voting on two seperate occassions.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | TOR | 4 | 3 | 3.99 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29.1 | 37 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 32 | 115 | 9.8 |
| 1988 | TOR | 3 | 5 | 4.62 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64.1 | 65 | 36 | 33 | 31 | 56 | 85 | 7.8 |
| 1989 | TOR | 7 | 4 | 2.40 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86.1 | 66 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 78 | 153 | 8.1 |
| 1990 | TOR | 11 | 6 | 3.14 | 43 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 189.0 | 165 | 72 | 66 | 45 | 115 | 131 | 5.5 |
| 1991 | TOR | 15 | 10 | 3.72 | 40 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 198.1 | 188 | 88 | 82 | 49 | 106 | 114 | 4.8 |
| 1992 | TOR | 7 | 9 | 5.40 | 41 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 120.0 | 138 | 84 | 72 | 36 | 62 | 76 | 4.7 |
| 1993 | DET | 11 | 9 | 4.19 | 32 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 187.0 | 183 | 93 | 87 | 42 | 139 | 103 | 6.7 |
| 1994 | DET | 5 | 7 | 3.96 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 111.1 | 113 | 54 | 49 | 24 | 71 | 123 | 5.7 |
| 1995 | TOT | 16 | 8 | 3.24 | 29 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 203.0 | 194 | 88 | 73 | 53 | 133 | 141 | 5.9 |
| 1995 | DET | 10 | 3 | 3.04 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 130.1 | 120 | 54 | 44 | 37 | 83 | 159 | 5.7 |
| 1995 | CIN | 6 | 5 | 3.59 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 72.2 | 74 | 34 | 29 | 16 | 50 | 115 | 6.2 |
| 1996 | BAL | 11 | 14 | 5.14 | 34 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 224.1 | 247 | 132 | 128 | 51 | 130 | 97 | 5.2 |
| 1997 | NYY | 16 | 10 | 4.21 | 32 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 218.0 | 239 | 109 | 102 | 45 | 156 | 107 | 6.4 |
| 1998 | NYY | 18 | 4 | 3.49 | 30 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 214.1 | 195 | 86 | 83 | 29 | 163 | 127 | 6.8 |
| 1999 | TOR | 17 | 10 | 4.82 | 34 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 231.2 | 246 | 132 | 124 | 62 | 169 | 101 | 6.6 |
| 2000 | TOR | 20 | 8 | 4.11 | 35 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 229.2 | 266 | 115 | 105 | 31 | 166 | 123 | 6.5 |
| 2001 | CHW | 5 | 7 | 4.47 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 100.2 | 120 | 55 | 50 | 21 | 59 | 104 | 5.3 |
| 2002 | NYY | 19 | 7 | 3.75 | 31 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 206.1 | 210 | 100 | 86 | 45 | 137 | 118 | 6.0 |
| 2003 | NYY | 15 | 7 | 4.14 | 31 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 213.0 | 242 | 101 | 98 | 20 | 101 | 106 | 4.3 |
| 2004 | SDP | 12 | 8 | 3.73 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 195.2 | 203 | 85 | 81 | 20 | 101 | 104 | 4.6 |
| 2005 | BOS | 15 | 7 | 4.45 | 30 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 184.0 | 220 | 95 | 91 | 21 | 107 | 102 | 5.2 |
| 2006 | TOT | 3 | 5 | 4.42 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 75.1 | 97 | 41 | 37 | 12 | 38 | 102 | 4.5 |
| 2006 | BOS | 2 | 3 | 4.98 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 | 64 | 30 | 26 | 8 | 24 | 96 | 4.6 |
| 2006 | SDP | 1 | 2 | 3.49 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 28.1 | 33 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 14 | 117 | 4.4 |
| 2007 | TOT | 9 | 9 | 5.43 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 157.1 | 201 | 97 | 95 | 42 | 82 | 76 | 4.7 |
| 2007 | SDP | 5 | 8 | 5.54 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 118.2 | 156 | 74 | 73 | 33 | 63 | 72 | 4.8 |
| 2007 | LAD | 4 | 1 | 5.12 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 38.2 | 45 | 23 | 22 | 9 | 19 | 87 | 4.4 |
| 21 Yrs | 239 | 157 | 4.13 | 660 | 489 | 54 | 12 | 3439.0 | 3635 | 1702 | 1578 | 719 | 2201 | 108 | 5.8 | |
| 162 Game Avg. | 14 | 9 | 4.13 | 39 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 204 | 215 | 101 | 93 | 43 | 130 | 108 | 5.8 | |
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||
| TOR (8 yrs) | 84 | 55 | 4.06 | 306 | 138 | 18 | 2 | 1148.2 | 1171 | 566 | 518 | 294 | 784 | 110 | 6.1 | |
| NYY (4 yrs) | 68 | 28 | 3.90 | 124 | 123 | 19 | 9 | 851.2 | 886 | 396 | 369 | 139 | 557 | 114 | 5.9 | |
| SDP (3 yrs) | 18 | 18 | 4.33 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 342.2 | 392 | 170 | 165 | 57 | 178 | 91 | 4.7 | |
| DET (3 yrs) | 26 | 19 | 3.78 | 66 | 64 | 8 | 1 | 428.2 | 416 | 201 | 180 | 103 | 293 | 122 | 6.2 | |
| BOS (2 yrs) | 17 | 10 | 4.56 | 38 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 231.0 | 284 | 125 | 117 | 29 | 131 | 101 | 5.1 | |
| LAD (1 yr) | 4 | 1 | 5.12 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 38.2 | 45 | 23 | 22 | 9 | 19 | 87 | 4.4 | |
| CIN (1 yr) | 6 | 5 | 3.59 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 72.2 | 74 | 34 | 29 | 16 | 50 | 115 | 6.2 | |
| BAL (1 yr) | 11 | 14 | 5.14 | 34 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 224.1 | 247 | 132 | 128 | 51 | 130 | 97 | 5.2 | |
| CHW (1 yr) | 5 | 7 | 4.47 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 100.2 | 120 | 55 | 50 | 21 | 59 | 104 | 5.3 | |
| AL (19 yrs) | 211 | 133 | 4.11 | 584 | 413 | 51 | 12 | 2985.0 | 3124 | 1475 | 1362 | 637 | 1954 | 110 | 5.9 | |
| NL (4 yrs) | 28 | 24 | 4.28 | 76 | 76 | 3 | 0 | 454.0 | 511 | 227 | 216 | 82 | 247 | 94 | 4.9 | |
Why He Should Get In
Boomer’s career numbers fall just short of the typical yardsticks we use for Cooperstown enshrinement, but that’s not to say he wasn’t a solid player. While he only got to the coveted 20-win plateua once, he did find himself real close to it on multiple occassions. He spent a good portion of his career pitching for losing ball clubs, which took an impact on his numbers.
Why He Should Not Get In
Losing clubs or not, Wells is not a Hall Of Famer. His win total (239), strikeout total (2,201), strikeouts per nine innings (5.8) and earned run average (4.13) do not put him on par with his peers in Cooperstown. Wells was a good, not great, pitcher.
Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
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