The forgotten Pirates infielder who deserves a spot in Cooperstown

In the coming weeks, baseball fans from around the world will see who the next players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be. At the time of writing this, the contents ofnearly 100 ballots have been confirmed. Ichiro Suzuki has been unanimous thus far, with CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, and Carlos Beltran each being included on at least 75% of the ballots, which would be enough to make the Hall of Fame. Russell Martin, the one and only former Pittsburgh Pirate on the ballot, has only been included on 6.5% of the known ballots.

Despite all this thorough public tracking, the Baseball Writers Association of America is oftentimes criticized by the very same fans for their voting decisions, and can often leave some very deserving players out of the Hall of Fame. That describes Kenny Lofton, who didn’t even get a second round of balloting. But Lofton isn’t the only player who spent a short amount of time with the Pirates who deserves serious re-consideration for the Hall of Fame. Willie Randolph got even less voting support than Lofton did, as he got named on just 1.1% of ballots, then dropped. Despite that early disrespect, Randolph, a well-known Yankee, truly deserves a plaque in Cooperstown.

Randolph’s tenure in Pittsburgh was even shorter than Lofton’s. A former seventh-round pick by the Bucs in 1972, Randolph made his debut in 1975 at just 20 years old. He only had 70 plate appearances with ten hits but, was traded to the New York Yankees that offseason, along with two other players (including the memorable Dock Ellis) for Doc Medich.

The Yankees would become the team Randolph is most known for. He spent 13 of his 18 seasons in Major League Baseball in pinstripes. Randolph would also appear in seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and finally, the New York Mets in 1992. Randolph was a solid hitter throughout his career, batting .276/.373/.351 with a 104 OPS+. He racked up over 2,000 hits, with 2,210, and had over 250 stolen bases, finishing with 271.

However, Randolph’s biggest strength was his defense. He ended his career with +20.2 defensive WAR, +114 fielding runs, and +114 total zone runs. There are currently only 54 players all-time with at least +20 dWAR. 58 players have also reached the +100 TZR milestone. Randolph is arguably the best defender to have never won a Gold Glove. Ironically, he did win a Silver Slugger award in 1976.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates (and Yankees) infielder Willie Randolph deserves Hall of Fame consideration

Only six second basemen have more defensive WAR than Randolph. Those include Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski, Joe Gordon, Frank White, Frankie Frisch, and Nellie Fox. Of those four, only White is not in the Hall of Fame. However, Randolph has more hits, a much higher bWAR, and was a significantly better hitter than White. However, White did steal many Gold Gloves from Randolph head-to-head, given their careers had significant overlap.

Very few players in baseball history have had the sort of bat, glove, and longevity Randolph did. There have only been 22 players post-integration who have had at least 2,000 hits, +100 fielding runs, and an OPS+ of 100 or better (aka, league average or better). Of those 22, ten are not in the Hall of Fame -- but one is Barry Bonds, another is Albert Pujols, who might be another unanimous Hall of Famer when he is eligible, and a third one is Ichiro, who has a real chance of being the second unanimous Hall of Famer ever this winter. Then -- of course -- there’s Kenny Lofton, who should also be in the Hall. You could also make strong arguments for Greg Nettles and John Olerud to be included in the Hall of Fame as well.

Randolph is also as good as some of his contemporary second basemen. His +65.9 bWAR is sandwiched in between Roberto Alomar (+67.0) and Craig Biggio (+65.5). Most wouldn’t give these players' Hall of Fame legitimacy a second though, based on their playing careers. Randolph has the second-best career OBP among second basemen, with only Chuck Knoblauch surpassing him. Randolph has the most walks by a keystone fielder and the sixth-most triples with 65 (all post-integration).

Second basemen seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to Hall of Fame voting. Randolph isn’t the only all-time great second baseman to get snubbed from the Hall. Jeff Kent has the most home runs from a primary second baseman, yet never received more than 46.5% of ballots. Both Bobby Grich and Lou Whitaker were one-and-done, just like Randolph. But just because Kent, Grich, or Whitaker are not in the Hall of Fame does not mean Randolph doesn’t deserve a spot, either. He should have a plaque in Cooperstown if the chance ever arises.