Overlooked in all of the discussion about which players belong or don't belong in the HOF, there are four active managers who are locks: Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Jim Leyland. And one pitching coach (Leo Mazzone) who should get in but won't.
You could make a case for Kelly. Certainly a great manager but he had a lot of losing seasons, albeit with subpar talent. Also, the fact that he managed in a small media market will hurt him. But was he as good as Whitey Herzog and Billy Martin, neither of whom are in? Certainly not more successful than they were.
No question Gardenhire's a very good manager. But we'll see what happens next year when he loses Torii Hunter.
Joe Torre arguably could be considered a boderline candidate for the HOF as a player. In 18 seasons mainly with the Braves and Cardinals, his final 3 seasons were with the Mets. Torre was mainly a catcher early in his career but later played 1st and 3rd bases.
Torre played 2209 games while hitting 252 homers with 1185 RBI and a lifetime ave. of .297.
Honors as a player:
All-Star in 1963-67, 70-73
Led League in RBI in 1971
Led League in BA in 1971
Most Valuable Player Award in 1971 (obviously his best year)
Gold Glove in 1965 (Catcher)
Don't get me wrong, he certainly is not or ever was a cinch HOFer as a player but that is one pretty decent career especially back then when pitching dominated the National League. In 1971 he hit .363 with 24 HRs and 137 RBI for the Cards while playing 3rd base to win the MVP that year.
wil.
Torre played 2209 games while hitting 252 homers with 1185 RBI and a lifetime ave. of .297.
Honors as a player:
All-Star in 1963-67, 70-73
Led League in RBI in 1971
Led League in BA in 1971
Most Valuable Player Award in 1971 (obviously his best year)
Gold Glove in 1965 (Catcher)
Don't get me wrong, he certainly is not or ever was a cinch HOFer as a player but that is one pretty decent career especially back then when pitching dominated the National League. In 1971 he hit .363 with 24 HRs and 137 RBI for the Cards while playing 3rd base to win the MVP that year.
wil.
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