Belated Induction

Congratulations to Gil Hodges, the newest member of the Mets Walk-Offs Hall of Fame

I realize this is of little consolation to his widow, Joan, and to those who are great supporters of his candidacy to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I think the timing is right.

Hodges got shafted again in the latest Veterans Committee vote, and it seems unlikely that he'll ever get in under the current system, which awards every living Hall of Famer a vote, requiring 75 percent of votes to get inducted.

The problem is that Hodges' supporters are old men, like Duke Snider, Yogi Berra and Tom Seaver (yes, he qualifies as old). They don't release each players Hall of Fame ballot, but I'd bet that almost every vote for Hodges came from someone who either played with, for, or against him. And those guys are dying quicker than they're getting elected.

Let's be realistic. Unless they have a finer appreciation for the game than I'm giving them credit for, the likes of Rich Gossage, Ryne Sandberg, Dennis Eckersley, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield, Bruce Sutter, and company, are much more likely to vote for their contemporaries, and that makes sense. Do you think Rickey Henderson is going to be a big Hodges supporter upon induction? Come on.

The Hall changed its system this year, breaking players down by era, essentially pre-WW II and post WW II because the "pre" selections basically had no shot. Good idea to draw the line. It got Joe Gordon his proper due. But there's a better place to draw it to find a spot for Hodges too.

Gil Hodges last games as a "good" player basically came 50 years ago. He hit .391 with a home run in the Dodgers' victory over the White Sox in the 1959 World Series. His playing career wasn't much after that, though he was afforded a curtain call for his fan base by returning to New York with the 1962 Mets, and hit the first home run in club history. The day that Hobie Landrith hit the first walk-off home run in Mets history, Hodges hit the second, in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Braves.

Look at the prime of Hodges' career, which stretches from 1949 to 1959. He hit 333 home runs, second-most in the majors to Duke Snider. His 1,116 RBI in that span were also second to Snider. Hodges .508 slugging percentage ranks 12th in that span, but the top 10 of those players are in the Hall of Fame, and the 11th is Rocky Colavito, so there's no shame in being at the bottom of that dozen. Oh, and let's not forget that the man managed the 1969 Mets, the team that all future Cinderellas shall be compared to for eternity.

Those credentials may not be enough to put Hodges into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but we're happy to add him to our class before this calendar year is out.

The Mets Walk-Offs Hall of Fame

If there were such a thing as a Mets Walk-Offs Hall of Fame (and you can consider this the creation point), I think a good number of the pickings would be quibble-free. Those in my inaugural class induction list (selected by unanimous, "one to zero" vote) are:

* Hobie Landrith
First walk-off RBI in Mets history.

* Benny Agbayani, J.C. Martin, Todd Pratt, Len Dykstra, Gary Carter, Robin Ventura
Mets Postseason walk-off heroes.

* Kevin Mitchell, Ray Knight, Mookie Wilson
Game 6 warrants separate billing.

* Kevin McReynolds and Rusty Staub
Your all-time leaders in Mets walk-off RBI with 8 and 7 respectively.

* Tommie Agee
The only Met with a walk-off steal of home.

* Darryl Strawberry
Three walk-off home runs, but more importantly, set stage for several key walk-off moments with non-walk-off shots.

* Mike Piazza
Four walk-off home runs ties Chris Jones, Cleon Jones, and Kevin McReynolds for most in team history. Earns bonus points for the majestic nature of his shots.

* Steve Henderson and Marv Throneberry

Stars in the dominant walk-off wins of their era, even if it was an era of mediocrity.

* Tom Seaver
Well, if you put the words "Mets" and "Hall of Fame" together, it's mandatory that Seaver (7 walk-off wins) be included.

* Bill Buckner
The only Mets opponent worthy of induction.

Since it's my creation, the Mets Walk-Offs Hall of Fame can have multiple wings of honor. One that we like a lot is our "Wing of Defensive Excellence."

* Al Weis
Said Bob Murphy of his game-saving play on June 4, 1969 "I've never seen a better one by an infielder." That's good enough for us.

* Cleon Jones, Wayne Garrett and Ron Hodges
For making "Ball on the Wall" what it is today.
(Jones also has the only walk-off triple in Mets history)

* Ron Swoboda
Diving catch in Game 4 of 1969 WS set up walk-off to come
(Swoboda is also the Mets all-time leader in walk-off walks)

* Rey Ordonez and Keith Hernandez
For all-around excellence in walk-off prevention

And since minutiae is our specialization, we must include an "Obscurity Wing." Those listed there are:

Kenny Greer
Earned a walk-off win in his MLB debut, a 1-0, 17-inning triumph over the Cardinals, but never won another game.

Ross Jones
His only Mets hit was a walk-off (a little voter bias here...I was at the game)

Rodney McCray
The only player to go 1-for-1 as a Met, whose only hit was a walk-off
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For those who disagree or feel that there were significant omissions, feel free to record your comments. The good thing about The Mets Walk-Offs Hall of Fame is that we have a rolling admissions policy (ie: whenever I want to induct, I will) and the criteria for inclusion is simple (if I think the person should be in, they're in. If I don't, they're not).