Should Roger Maris now be inducted in the HOF, via Veterans' Committee? [Bernie Miklasz column]
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From: Terry Lomax on 16 Jan 2010 09:36 On Jan 15, 5:41 pm, "A" <a...(a)att.net> wrote: > http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/... > 'St. Louis Post-Dispatch' > > "Now's the time to speak for Maris" > > Bernie Miklasz > > 01/14/2010 > Maris doesn't have incredible career numbers - 275 homers and 851 RBIs in 12 > seasons - but a few things stand out other than the 61 homers in '61. Maris > won consecutive American League MVP awards, in 1960 and '61. He was a star > performer on five consecutive pennant-winning Yankee teams, 1960 through > '64. He appeared in seven World Series, more than any other player in the > 1960s. He won a Gold Glove. He was a four-time All-Star, a two-time RBI > champion. He had six 20-homer seasons and three 30-homer seasons. He drove > in 100 runs three times. > > Maris was a fast runner and had a strong, accurate arm at the ready in right > field. He probably saved the 1962 World Series with a defensive gem for the > Yankees in the ninth inning of Game 7. With the Yankees leading the Giants > 1-0, Willie Mays hit a ball into the right field corner for a double. Maris > made a perfect play on the carom and rifled a one-hop throw to cutoff man > Bobby Richardson to force the lead runner (Manny Alou) to stop at third. The > Yankees got out of the jam and won the World Series. Playing for the > Cardinals in the 1967 World Series against the Red Sox, Maris led both teams > with seven RBIs and batted .385. > > Teammate Mickey Mantle called Maris the best all-around player he ever saw. > > "Roger could do it all," Shannon said. "Field, throw, run the bases, hit, > hit for power. He was a very smart player. You didn't see him make mistakes. > He was just phenomenal." Good points in favor of Maris. He's more than just the single season home run record. I'm glad Maris got to escape the New York cesspool and the horribly abusive Yankee "fans" to become a World Series hero in front of real, appreciative fans in St. Louis. Maris is much more worthy of the HOF than McGwire. |