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Does Gil Hodges Belong in the Hall of Fame? Let’s Take a Good Look!

[Ed. Note: This letter will be sent to the Golden Era committee in support of Gil Hodges’ candidacy for the Hall of Fame prior to their vote in 2020. If you can think of any other information that should be included in this article, please let me know -GL]

I’m going to examine the case for and against Gil Hodges’ induction into the Hall of Fame.  I’ll try to look at Gil’s career in its totality, both offensive and defense, and post-season play. I’ll also address some of the usual objections. Is Gil Hodges Hall-of-Fame worthy or just a very good player? I’ll try to answer that question.

Gil Hodges’ Major League Record

Gil Hodges played 18 seasons in the major leagues (1943, 1947-1963) for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1943, 1948-1961), and the New York Mets (1962-1963). After retiring, he later managed the Washington Senators (1963-1967) and the Mets (1968-1971).   

Over his career, the Princeton, Indiana native hit .273, with 370 home runs, 1274 RBIs, 1105 runs, 1921 hits, .359 on-base percentage, .487 slugging average, 44.9 WAR, .846 OPS and 120 OPS+ (100 being the major league average). At the time he retired, Gil’s 370 home runs ranked 11th in history (3rd for right-handed batters and 3rd for first basemen).  Some of his cumulative statistical totals, like hits, RBIs, and home runs, are undoubtedly diminished by nearly three prime years lost to military service during World War II.

Please sign the petition in support of Gil Hodges’ candidacy for the Hall of Fame

Other notable offensive accomplishments: An eight-time All-Star, he drove in 100-or-more runs in seven straight seasons, and had 11 straight seasons with at least 20 home runs. In one span from 1949-’59, he averaged 30 home runs and 101 RBIs.  His 361 home runs with the Dodgers remain second in team history to Duke Snider’s 389. He set a National League record for career grand slams, breaking the mark of 12 shared by Rogers Hornsby and Ralph Kiner. On August 31, 1950, he joined Lou Gehrig as the second post-1900 player to hit four home runs in a nine inning game, and one of only 18 players in major league history to accomplish the feat. He hit for the cycle on June 25, 1949, a game in which he actually had two home runs. His number 14 has been retired by the New York Mets and he has been elected to the New York Mets Hall of Fame. 

How Does Gil Stack Up Offensively Against the First Basemen Already In the Hall?

There are currently 24 players who were primarily first basemen enshrined, so if he were elected, he’d be one of 25.  

Probably the most important offensive category for Hall of Fame consideration is home runs. Here Gil does very well. His 370 home runs would place him a very respectable 12^th out of 25.  In all the other important offensive categories, he’d be in the bottom third tier (Average, Hits, Runs, RBI, OBP, and Slugging). Overall, his offensive statistics are a bit low by Hall-of-Fame standards, although they are certainly “in the ball park.” And again, it must be remembered that he lost nearly three prime seasons to military service.

Gil Hodges and Defense

Many baseball historians consider Gil Hodges the best first baseman of his era and possibly the best ever.

In important defensive categories for first basemen (putouts, assists, double plays, and fielding percentage), Gil excelled. He led the National league three times in putouts with 10 top-10 finishes; led the league three times in assists with 10 top-ten finishes; led the league four times in double plays with 12 top-10 finishes; and led the league three times in fielding percentage with 11 top-ten finishes. He also did well in numerous range factor categories; and he won three Gold Glove awards (the award wasn’t created until the last years of Gil’s career. Had it existed earlier, he would have won many more).

Other notable defensive achievements: His 1,614 career double plays places him behind only Charlie Grimm (1733) in National League history. His 1,281 career assists rank second in National League history to Fred Tenney’s 1,363, and trail only Ed Konetchy’s 1,292 among all right-handed first basemen. Only a handful of the first basemen already in the Hall of Fame have a higher career fielding average than Gil’s .9925.

Gil Hodges’ Post-Season Play

Over his career, Gil played on seven pennant winners and managed another. He was a member of three World Series championships, two as a player and one as a manger. He posted very respectable numbers in post-season play: In 39 games, he hit .267, with 35 hits, five home runs, 21 RBIs, .349 on-base percentage, .412 slugging average and homered in each of his last four World Series games.To be the starting first baseman on this many pennant winners and championships is extremely noteworthy. It says a lot about his value to his team and how he performed when the pressure and the spotlight were really turned on. There are very few Hall-of-Famers with this level of significant post-season experience, and many who have none at all. This has to be taken into consideration.

He had a bad series in 1952 (0-21), but he made up for it in subsequent years. In 1953 he hit .364 and led all Dodger hitters; in 1955 he hit .292 and drove in both runs in the Dodgers’ decisive 2-0 victory in the seventh game of the Series; in 1956 he hit .304 and tied with Duke Snider for top Dodger hitting honors; in 1959 he hit .391 and again led all Dodger hitters. 

Objections to His Hall-of-Fame Election

1. He never led the National League in any important offensive category.

True, but the same can be said about recent inductees Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, Alan Trammell, and Harold Baines, and I’m sure there are many others. By any fair measurement, he was unquestionably the dominant first basemen during the Golden Era of baseball, the 1950s. Plus he did lead in many defensive categories.

2. He never won an MVP award.

True, but neither did Eddie Mathews, Al Kaline, Billy Williams, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, and Harold Baines among many others. He received MVP votes in nine different seasons. Part of the reason he never won an MVP is that he had some of his best seasons in years the Dodgers didn’t win the pennant. Although maybe not quite MVP worthy, he was still a very significant contributor in the seasons in which they did win pennants, particularly 1949, 1953, 1955 and 1959. 

3. He went 0-21 in the 1952 World Series

True but numerous other Hall of Famers endured severe batting slumps in World Series play, including Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, and Ted Williams. And, as mentioned above, he more than made up for this slump with stellar, clutch performances in other World Series.

4. His home run total is not high enough

As mentioned above, his 370 home runs place him 12^th among the 24 primarily first basemen already in the Hall of Fame. I wonder how many current Hall-of-Famers can match his 11-year span of averaging 30 homers and 101 RBIs? And he remains the only one of the 21 players who had 300 or more home runs by the time of retirement who has not yet been elected.

Another way to look at it is that Gil Hodges’ 370 home runs is currently 80th all-time in major league history. Were he elected to the Hall of Fame, his 370 home runs would rank a very respectable 39th among elected members, behind Carlton Fisk in 38th place with 376, and ahead of Ralph Kiner in 40th place with 369.

Also, his career home runs-to-at-bats ratio (19) is virtually the same as Joe DiMaggio’s (18.97); and higher than Hall-of-Fame sluggers such as Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, Billy Williams, Johnny Bench, Orlando Cepeda, Yogi Berra, Tony Perez, Chuck Klein, Rogers Hornsby, Hack Wilson, Al Simmons, and more recent inductees Dave Winfield, Frank Thomas, Chipper Jones, and Harold Baines.

5. His career batting average of .273 is low by Hall-of-Fame standards.

True, but again, he was not just an outstanding offensive player. He was also an excellent defensive player, as was Brooks Robinson whose average was lower than Gil’s. Another defensive player, Rabbit Maranville also had a career average lower than Gil’s; and there are many others, including such notables as Luis Aparicio, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Morgan, and Johnny Bench. I’ve attached an addendum listing the names of position players in the Hall of Fame who have batting averages below Gil Hodges’ .273. (see enclosure). There is at least 20. Granted many of them have qualifications other than batting average that make them Hall-of-Fame worthy. The same can be said for Gil Hodges.

[Ed. note: Complete list of position players with career batting averages below Gil Hodges’ .273: Bid McPhee, .272; Joe Morgan, .271; Johnny Evers, .270; Willie McCovey, .270 Carlton Fisk, .269, PeeWee Reese, .269; Joe Gordon, .268; Bobby Wallace, .268; Johnny Bench, .267; Brooks Robinson, .267; Mike Schmidt, .267; Luis Aparicio, .262; Gary Carter, .262; Reggie Jackson, .262; Ozzie Smith, .262; Joe Tinker, .262; Bill Mazeroski, .260; Rabbit Maranville, .258; Harmon Killebrew, .256; Ray Schalk, .253]

6. His managerial record is below .500.

True, but should he be penalized for taking on the thankless job of managing lowly expansion teams? The expansion Washington Senators improved every year Gil was at the helm.  And what about the Mets, in only their seventh year of existence when he arrived? He took a position at which even a great manager like Casey Stengel had little to no success. And what did he do with this difficult task? Within two years, he turned the team into the “Miracle Mets” and led them to an amazing 100-62 record (.617), and to a truly historic upset World Series championship over the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles. In doing so, the Mets under Gil Hodges’ leadership became the first World Series winner to have finished 15 games under .500 the previous year. Gil was named the Sporting News Manager of the Year for 1969. 

7. There are too many Dodgers from that team already in the Hall of Fame

That’s true, but should Gil Hodges be snubbed just because he was on a good team with a lot of stars? Looking at the 1955 Dodger roster, the year that represents the pinnacle of their success, we find four regulars who were later enshrined in the Hall of Fame: PeeWee Reese, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, and Jackie Robinson. Sandy Koufax played a minor role, and Don Drysdale didn’t start contributing until 1957. Two others, Tom Lasorda and Walter Alston, gained entry as managers. This is a team that won five pennants and two World championships during the Fifties. If you go back three years in the 1940s, add in another two. If elected, Gil Hodges would be the fifth regular selected from the Dodgers of this era.

By contrast, the Chicago Cubs of the Leo Durocher era never won anything, and also have four regulars in the Hall: Ron Santo, Ernie, Banks, Billy Williams, and Fergie Jenkins. I think a team with as many accomplishments as the Brooklyn Dodgers could stand to be rewarded with one more deserving Hall-of-Famer. Of those Dodgers already enshrined, Gill rates very well.

In Summary: Is It Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

In judging Gil Hodges’ qualifications for the Hall of Fame, I think it’s important to judge his career in its totality. True, some, not all, of his offensive numbers, while very good, are low by HOF standards; but he was more than just a fine offensive player. He excelled in defensive, one of the best first basemen of his generation, maybe of all time. A mainstay of many Dodger championship teams in the Golden Era of baseball, his post-season play with seven pennants and three World Series championships is very notable and, in my opinion, significantly enhances his HOF qualifications.

Consider this: Gil has also received more votes for the Hall of Fame than any other player not selected. He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot the maximum 15 times, and got 63.4% of the vote in 1983, his highest total in his final year of eligibility. Amazingly, seven players who finished behind him in voting that season eventually made it into the Hall of Fame: Nellie Fox, Billy Williams, Red Schoendienst, Jim Bunning, Orlando Cepeda, Bill Mazeroski and Joe Torre (who was pushed over the top by his managing career).

And there’s more: During his regular 15-year period of eligibility, with voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Gill appeared on the same ballot numerous times with 13 players who were later enshrined. In head-to-head voting, Gil almost always received more votes than these 13 players.  One of my readers, Mark Moreno, elaborated upon this point:

“What if I told you that 13 future Hall of Fame members regularly received less support from the baseball writers than Gil Hodges. Yes, the actual writers  – the ones who saw them all play every day – each year routinely voted Gil ahead of all 13.” (The numbers below indicate how many times Gil was on the same ballot with the named player – and how many times Gil received more votes):

“Gil was 3 for 3 vs. Bobby Doerr;  4 for 4 vs. Orlando Cepeda; 4 for 5 vs. Johnny Mize; 6 for 6 vs. Bill Mazeroski; 6 for 6 (plus 1 tie) vs. Hal Newhouser; 7 for 7 vs. Jim Bunning; 8 for 8 vs. Phil Rizzuto; 8 for 11 vs. Enos Slaughter; 9 for 9 vs. George Kell; 9 for 10 vs. Pee Wee Reese; 13 for 13 vs. Nellie Fox; 14 for 14 vs. Richie Ashburn; 15 for 15 vs. Red Schoendienst. Eventually, all these players were elected into the Hall of Fame. Gil Hodges, who out-voted every one of them, has not.”

Mark further commented:

“Please point out to the Veterans’ Golden Era committee voters that this is why there is a Veterans Committee in the first place. Their one and only job is to enshrine the most HOF worthy player who has somehow slipped through the cracks up to now. The most deserving player without a doubt is and always has been Gil Hodges!!!”

As far as intangibles like character, leadership, and integrity, there were few better than Gil Hodges. A deeply religious man, he was devoted to his family and played an active role in his community, especially with youth sports.  And how was he viewed by his teammates? To say he was admired and respected would be a gross understatement:

Jackie Robinson: “Gil was the heart and soul of the Brooklyn Dodgers.”

Duke Snider: “He was a great player but an even greater man.”

Johnny Podres: “I’ve never met a finer man.” 

Pee Wee Reese: “If you had a son, you’d want him to grow to be just like Gil Hodges.”

Roy Campanella: “Gil Hodges is a Hall-of-Fame man.”

Clem Labine: “Brooklyn fans knew their baseball and Gil was the only player I can remember whom the fans never, I mean never,  booed.” 

Other comments:

Joe Garagiola: “Gil was the best fielder I ever saw.”

HOF’er Joe Morgan: “Gil should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago.”

New York Times sportswriter, Arthur Daley: “Gil Hodges was such a noble character in so many respects that I believe him to have been one of the finest men I met in sports or out of it.” 

Not many are aware that Gil lost almost three years in his prime to military service as a decorated Marine during World War II, earning the Bronze Star with combat “V” for heroism under fire in Okinawa. I feel this is a salient point that is often overlooked and that members of the committee should be made aware of it. There is certainly a strong case to be made that Gil belongs in the Hall of Fame, but I often wonder what Gil’s statistics would look like if he had not lost these three years in his prime. When considering the careers of many other star players (DiMaggio, Williams, Musial come to mind), their military service is always mentioned and taken into consideration. Not so with Gil. This is a point that I would like to stress to the committee. 

Unfortunately, Gil’s passing at the young age of 48 removed him from the public eye and certainly diminished his exposure in baseball circles. Who knows what he might have done with another 20 years as a manager?

This paragraph from his SABR biography by John Saccoman provides perhaps the best summary of Gil’s career achievements: 

“Gil Hodges led all major-league first basemen of the 1950s in home runs (310), games (1,477), at-bats (5,313), runs (890), hits (1,491), runs batted in (1,001), total bases (2,733), strikeouts (882), and extra-base hits (585). He made the All-Star team eight times, every year from 1949-55 and again in 1957, the most of any first baseman of the time. In addition, Hodges was considered the finest defensive first baseman of the era, winning Gold Gloves the first three years they were given out (1957-59, and there were no separate AL and NL awards). Also, he was second among all players in the 1950s in home runs and RBIs, third in total bases and eighth in runs. Not to mention the managerial feat of 1969. Did his premature death cause people to forget about his greatness?”

I ask you, what other reason can there be?

Considering all factors, I feel Gil Hodges is more than qualified and would be an outstanding addition to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. On behalf of my readers, the Hodges family, and Gil Hodges’ legacy, I pledge to do my part to help correct a baseball injustice that has gone on too long. 

In this paper, I have put Gil Hodges’ credentials for selection to the Hall of Fame before the committee. It is my hope that the members will seriously consider bestowing upon Gil Hodges the posthumous honor of which he is so well-deserving: Enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Gary Livacari

Information: Excerpts edited from the Gil Hodges Wikipedia page; Statistics from Baseball-Reference.com

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire” and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation