Yankees on the 2020 BBWAA HoF Ballot - Stars Off the Clearance Rack
The Hall of Fame ballot is chock full of former Yankees this year and we have already covered superstar players that spent significant time with the team. In this go-around we'll cover some players that had long, productive careers before spending a year or two with the Yankees as a low-rent stop-gap.
For each player, their JAWS (Jaffe Average WAR Score, developed by Jay Jaffe) value is given along with the average Hall of Famer's JAWS at they player's position. JAWS is a Hall of Fame rating system based on WAR that incorporates both career and peak value. If you're interested in learning more about this, click here.
For each player, their JAWS (Jaffe Average WAR Score, developed by Jay Jaffe) value is given along with the average Hall of Famer's JAWS at they player's position. JAWS is a Hall of Fame rating system based on WAR that incorporates both career and peak value. If you're interested in learning more about this, click here.
Raul Ibanez - Left Field, JAWS: 20.2, HoF JAWS: 53.6
Raul Ibanez had the patience of a saint. By the time he became an everyday major league ballplayer he was 30 years old and he didn't complain about it one bit. For the next 13 years he made the most of his opportunity, maximizing his limited talent while being adored in every city he called home.
That opportunity for Ibanez was given to him by a Kansas City Royals team that lost 100 games in 2002, and only because they had run out of other viable options. He hit a straightforward .294 with 24 home runs and 103 RBI's and more or less did that every year until 2013. That run included stints in Seattle, Philadelphia, New York, and back in Seattle again. It's no coincidence that some of those teams had a lot of success.
During his lone season with the Yankees, a 40-year old Ibanez became perhaps the oldest playoff hero in Yankee history. The Yankees were tied at one game apiece with Baltimore in the 2012 ALDS and headed into the bottom of the ninth down 2-1. With one out Ibanez was sent out to pinch hit for Alex Rodriguez and tied the game with a home run to right-center that rocked Yankee Stadium.
Raul Ibanez was a playoff hero in his brief time with the Yankees.
Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons
Three innings later, Ibanez led off with the score unchanged. He sent the first pitch he saw to deep right field for a no-doubt-about-it walkoff homer that turned the tide of the series for the Yankees. They simply don't win that series without the aging journeyman coming through in the clutch.
Ibanez had some very obvious limitations as a player. He lacked any kind of speed on the basepaths and couldn't field worth a damn. For those reasons, he won't get any support on the Hall of Fame ballot. But he played the game like a guy who was just happy to be there everyday. That's all you can ask from a ballplayer.
Eric Chavez - Third Base, JAWS: 34.3, HoF JAWS: 55.7
Infamously compared to Alex Rodriguez by Billy Beane in the ground-breaking book Moneyball, Eric Chavez had a lot to live up to in his career. For a brief period in the early 2000's he lived up to those unfair expectations with the low-budget Oakland A's, but his star burned out way too early, dashing any chances he had at a plaque in Cooperstown.
Chavez got his first taste of the major leagues at just 20 years old, and by 22 the lefty swinging third baseman was a key cog in the A's machine. In the seven year period from 2000 through 2006 he averaged a healthy 28 home runs and 94 RBI's per season with a .273/.352/.495 slash line that was better than it looked. When adjusting for the fact that he was playing his home games in an extremely pitcher-friendly park, those numbers shake out to be about 20% better than average.
On top of his quality bat, Chavez was a marvel at third base. During this period he earned six Gold Gloves and advanced fielding metrics back up the reputation that he was among the best fielders of his generation.
Toiling in virtual anonymity out in Oakland, splashier guys like Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, and the young A's pitching staff got most of the credit for the team's surprising success. Unfortunately, when that crew left Oakland for greener pastures, Chavez was unable to take the spotlight. At age 29, chronic back and shoulder injuries took their toll on him and he never stayed on the field with any regularity for the remainder of his career.
To Chavez's credit, he did his best to try and play through injuries until settling into being an effective bench player for the Yankees late in his career. In 2012 he served in a platoon role at third base with none other than Alex Rodriguez and hit a respectable .281 with 16 home runs, numbers he hand't approached in years. He retired two years later at age 36.
On public ballots released to date Chavez has received only one vote, so he will unsurprisingly fall off the ballot next year. That makes now the moment to celebrate Chavez for what he was in his brief prime, a slick-fielding power bat at third base in the mold of some of the all-time greats at the position.
Chavez got his first taste of the major leagues at just 20 years old, and by 22 the lefty swinging third baseman was a key cog in the A's machine. In the seven year period from 2000 through 2006 he averaged a healthy 28 home runs and 94 RBI's per season with a .273/.352/.495 slash line that was better than it looked. When adjusting for the fact that he was playing his home games in an extremely pitcher-friendly park, those numbers shake out to be about 20% better than average.
On top of his quality bat, Chavez was a marvel at third base. During this period he earned six Gold Gloves and advanced fielding metrics back up the reputation that he was among the best fielders of his generation.
Toiling in virtual anonymity out in Oakland, splashier guys like Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, and the young A's pitching staff got most of the credit for the team's surprising success. Unfortunately, when that crew left Oakland for greener pastures, Chavez was unable to take the spotlight. At age 29, chronic back and shoulder injuries took their toll on him and he never stayed on the field with any regularity for the remainder of his career.
Eric Chavez was an effective third baseman late in his career with the Yankees.
Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons
To Chavez's credit, he did his best to try and play through injuries until settling into being an effective bench player for the Yankees late in his career. In 2012 he served in a platoon role at third base with none other than Alex Rodriguez and hit a respectable .281 with 16 home runs, numbers he hand't approached in years. He retired two years later at age 36.
On public ballots released to date Chavez has received only one vote, so he will unsurprisingly fall off the ballot next year. That makes now the moment to celebrate Chavez for what he was in his brief prime, a slick-fielding power bat at third base in the mold of some of the all-time greats at the position.
Brian Roberts - Second Base, JAWS: 29.2, HoF JAWS: 56.9
In context of the player just profiled, Brian Roberts could be considered Eric Chavez Light. They both played key infield positions at a high level and enjoyed a brief period where their quality bat made them among the more valuable players in the game. Unfortunately for Roberts, his prime was shorter and he fizzled out faster than Chavez.
After playing college ball at both UNC and South Carolina, Roberts got a late start to his major league career. He played his first full season as a switch-hitting second baseman for the Orioles in 2004 and although he hit only four home runs, he supplemented his offensive output with 71 walks and a league-high 50 doubles.
For the next five years, while playing for a bad Baltimore team that was getting worse, Roberts was one of the best keystoners in the major leagues. From 2005 through 2009 he slashed .294/.369/.451, good for a 115 OPS+ at the top of the lineup. He also averaged 37 stolen bases and 46 doubles during this time while fielding his tough position with aplomb, even if he didn't have the hardware to show for it.
Just as the Orioles began to turn their fortunes around, Roberts' career fell off a cliff. In 2012 Baltimore finally returned to the playoffs, but by that point he had spent more time on the DL than the baseball field for three years running. When he was able to get into the lineup, his play was deteriorating rapidly.
In 2014 the Yankees attempted to fill the sizable hole left by Robinson Cano at second base with a broken down Roberts who came at a huge discount. The experiment didn't work out well and he didn't even last the full season. With that, Roberts' baseball career came to a close.
With such a brief prime - plus a 2007 admission of steroid use earlier in his career - Roberts has gotten no support on publicly released ballots thus far. At least he gave the Orioles something to root for during a particularly dark period in the franchise's history.
After playing college ball at both UNC and South Carolina, Roberts got a late start to his major league career. He played his first full season as a switch-hitting second baseman for the Orioles in 2004 and although he hit only four home runs, he supplemented his offensive output with 71 walks and a league-high 50 doubles.
For the next five years, while playing for a bad Baltimore team that was getting worse, Roberts was one of the best keystoners in the major leagues. From 2005 through 2009 he slashed .294/.369/.451, good for a 115 OPS+ at the top of the lineup. He also averaged 37 stolen bases and 46 doubles during this time while fielding his tough position with aplomb, even if he didn't have the hardware to show for it.
Just as the Orioles began to turn their fortunes around, Roberts' career fell off a cliff. In 2012 Baltimore finally returned to the playoffs, but by that point he had spent more time on the DL than the baseball field for three years running. When he was able to get into the lineup, his play was deteriorating rapidly.
Brian Roberts' career came to an unceremonious end with the Yankees in 2014.
Erik Drost/Wikimedia Commons
In 2014 the Yankees attempted to fill the sizable hole left by Robinson Cano at second base with a broken down Roberts who came at a huge discount. The experiment didn't work out well and he didn't even last the full season. With that, Roberts' baseball career came to a close.
With such a brief prime - plus a 2007 admission of steroid use earlier in his career - Roberts has gotten no support on publicly released ballots thus far. At least he gave the Orioles something to root for during a particularly dark period in the franchise's history.
Andruw Jones - Center Field, JAWS: 54.7, HoF JAWS: 57.8
The Hall of Fame case for Andruw Jones may have been doomed before it even started. As a young player he often drew comparisons to fellow center fielder Willie Mays, which ensured that no matter what he did he would fall short of expectations. What he did though, was pretty damn impressive.
Any conversation about Jones should always start with his supreme fielding ability. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds he had astonishing range for a big man with an arm that could gun down runners from anywhere in the outfield. Per Baseball Reference's Runs from Fielding metric, he is by far the greatest player to patrol the outfield in baseball history, and fifth all-time at any position. This would appear to be no fluke as he earned 10 straight Gold Gloves from 1998 through 2007 in support of some all-time great pitching staffs for the Atlanta Braves.
Jones still had his detractors. Some felt he played a lazy center field and could actually have been better. After all, he was not an effective fielder after age 30 and was banished strictly to corner outfield spots for the last four years of his career. However, it wasn't his fault that he made it look easy, and as a bigger than average center fielder who started his career at just 19 years old, his body simply broke down in his 30's. Jones was truly one of the great ones in his day.
When it came to hitting, Jones was no slouch. With power uncharacteristic of a center fielder, he maintained a very productive bat for an extended period. From age 21 through 29 his average season included a .270/.347/.513 slash line, a 118 OPS+, 35 home runs, 104 RBI's, and 99 runs scored. This included a major league-leading 51 home runs in 2005. For his career he hit over 400 home runs and both scored and drove in over 1,200 runs. That puts him in rare company among center fielders all-time.
For the last five years of his career, Jones was nothing more than a power bat off the bench. This included a successful season as a reserve for the Yankees in 2011 where he put up an OPS+ of 126. Still, it was a far cry from the player he had been, and five years is a long time for writers to see a once great player deteriorate into a lesser one. After a dismal 2012 season with the Yankees he would never play in the major leagues again.
Thanks to the perceived laziness and long, slow, painful decline to end his career - a 2012 domestic violence incident couldn't have helped things either - Jones got very little support in his first two years on the Hall of Fame ballot. The 7.5% of the votes he received last year was barely enough to keep him around for this cycle. Yet a less crowded ballot seems to be changing that this year. On public ballots he's at 27% of the vote for 2020. There's a long way to go, but with seven years of eligibility left, we may see one of the greatest fielders ever enshrined in Cooperstown before long.
Any conversation about Jones should always start with his supreme fielding ability. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds he had astonishing range for a big man with an arm that could gun down runners from anywhere in the outfield. Per Baseball Reference's Runs from Fielding metric, he is by far the greatest player to patrol the outfield in baseball history, and fifth all-time at any position. This would appear to be no fluke as he earned 10 straight Gold Gloves from 1998 through 2007 in support of some all-time great pitching staffs for the Atlanta Braves.
Jones still had his detractors. Some felt he played a lazy center field and could actually have been better. After all, he was not an effective fielder after age 30 and was banished strictly to corner outfield spots for the last four years of his career. However, it wasn't his fault that he made it look easy, and as a bigger than average center fielder who started his career at just 19 years old, his body simply broke down in his 30's. Jones was truly one of the great ones in his day.
When it came to hitting, Jones was no slouch. With power uncharacteristic of a center fielder, he maintained a very productive bat for an extended period. From age 21 through 29 his average season included a .270/.347/.513 slash line, a 118 OPS+, 35 home runs, 104 RBI's, and 99 runs scored. This included a major league-leading 51 home runs in 2005. For his career he hit over 400 home runs and both scored and drove in over 1,200 runs. That puts him in rare company among center fielders all-time.
Andruw Jones was a supersub for the Yankees in 2011.
Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons
For the last five years of his career, Jones was nothing more than a power bat off the bench. This included a successful season as a reserve for the Yankees in 2011 where he put up an OPS+ of 126. Still, it was a far cry from the player he had been, and five years is a long time for writers to see a once great player deteriorate into a lesser one. After a dismal 2012 season with the Yankees he would never play in the major leagues again.
Thanks to the perceived laziness and long, slow, painful decline to end his career - a 2012 domestic violence incident couldn't have helped things either - Jones got very little support in his first two years on the Hall of Fame ballot. The 7.5% of the votes he received last year was barely enough to keep him around for this cycle. Yet a less crowded ballot seems to be changing that this year. On public ballots he's at 27% of the vote for 2020. There's a long way to go, but with seven years of eligibility left, we may see one of the greatest fielders ever enshrined in Cooperstown before long.
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