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 Tim Salmon
Tim Salmon
An outfielder that spent his entire 14 year career playing for the same team, though the team would change it’s name three times during that span, Tim Salmon grew up in Long Beach, was drafted by the Angels, made his major league debut for the team in 1992 and retired after the 2006 campaign. He is on the ballot for the first time.
| Year | Tm | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | CAL | 23 | 79 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 23 | .177 | .283 | .266 | .548 | 55 |
| 1993 | CAL | 142 | 515 | 93 | 146 | 35 | 1 | 31 | 95 | 5 | 82 | 135 | .283 | .382 | .536 | .918 | 142 |
| 1994 | CAL | 100 | 373 | 67 | 107 | 18 | 2 | 23 | 70 | 1 | 54 | 102 | .287 | .382 | .531 | .912 | 132 |
| 1995 | CAL | 143 | 537 | 111 | 177 | 34 | 3 | 34 | 105 | 5 | 91 | 111 | .330 | .429 | .594 | 1.024 | 165 |
| 1996 | CAL | 156 | 581 | 90 | 166 | 27 | 4 | 30 | 98 | 4 | 93 | 125 | .286 | .386 | .501 | .887 | 125 |
| 1997 | ANA | 157 | 582 | 95 | 172 | 28 | 1 | 33 | 129 | 9 | 95 | 142 | .296 | .394 | .517 | .911 | 134 |
| 1998 | ANA | 136 | 463 | 84 | 139 | 28 | 1 | 26 | 88 | 0 | 90 | 100 | .300 | .410 | .533 | .943 | 142 |
| 1999 | ANA | 98 | 353 | 60 | 94 | 24 | 2 | 17 | 69 | 4 | 63 | 82 | .266 | .372 | .490 | .862 | 119 |
| 2000 | ANA | 158 | 568 | 108 | 165 | 36 | 2 | 34 | 97 | 0 | 104 | 139 | .290 | .404 | .540 | .945 | 135 |
| 2001 | ANA | 137 | 475 | 63 | 108 | 21 | 1 | 17 | 49 | 9 | 96 | 121 | .227 | .365 | .383 | .748 | 98 |
| 2002 | ANA | 138 | 483 | 84 | 138 | 37 | 1 | 22 | 88 | 6 | 71 | 102 | .286 | .380 | .503 | .883 | 133 |
| 2003 | ANA | 148 | 528 | 78 | 145 | 35 | 4 | 19 | 72 | 3 | 77 | 93 | .275 | .374 | .464 | .838 | 122 |
| 2004 | ANA | 60 | 186 | 15 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 14 | 41 | .253 | .306 | .323 | .628 | 67 |
| 2006 | LAA | 76 | 211 | 30 | 56 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 27 | 0 | 29 | 44 | .265 | .361 | .450 | .811 | 109 |
| 14 Seasons | 1672 | 5934 | 986 | 1674 | 339 | 24 | 299 | 1016 | 48 | 970 | 1360 | .282 | .385 | .498 | .884 | 128 | |
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 575 | 96 | 162 | 33 | 2 | 29 | 98 | 5 | 94 | 132 | .282 | .385 | .498 | .884 | 128 | |
Why He Should Get In
Salmon was the 1993 Rookie Of The Year and won a Silver Slugger award in 1995. He found himself in the top 15 of Most Valuable Player voting three times during his career. He finished with 299 home runs and 1016 runs batted in, while compiling a .282 batting average over his career.
Why He Should Not Get In
A star rookie and solid career do not ensure you a place in Cooperstown. Salmon was a good player for a franchise desperately searching for an identity, but he was not a stand out player across baseball. All of his counting numbers fall short of the standards for Cooperstown.
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.
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