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Be Sure to vote in this week’s poll question: Does Gil Hodges belong in the Hall of Fame?

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Our Readers Have Spoken: Gil Hodges Belongs in the Hall of Fame!

As we get ready to close down our weekly poll question about whether or not Gil Hodges should be in the Hall of Fame, our very intelligent and well-informed readers have come to a decisive conclusion.

By the over-whelming vote of 222-5, (97.79% in favor) our readers have emphatically cast their votes in favor of Gil’s selection. I only wish there was a way to get the results of this informal poll in front of the Golden Era Committee before their next meeting in 2020. I’m open to ideas as to how to conduct a campaign in behalf of Gil Hodges for induction into the Hall of Fame.

[Update: As of April 3, 2019, there have been 1391 votes in this poll. The results are: 1373 voting yes, and 14 votes no. Thus far, 98.9 % of our readers have voted in favor of Gil Hodges’ selection to the Hall of Fame.

I couldn’t agree more with the result. When you consider others who have made the cut in recent years, it’s nothing short of a travesty that Gil’s been overlooked.

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I’m very grateful to one of our readers for pointing out that Gil lost at least two full years at the start of his career to military service (see comment from Mark below). I wasn’t aware of that and I’ve never heard it mentioned in any discussion about Gil and the Hall.  If there’s any reason to keep him out it’s because his offense stats are slightly below Hall of Fame standards (although his home run total places him right in the middle of first basemen already enshrined). What would his stats look like if he had at least two or three more prime years in the majors? With many other stars, including DiMaggio, Williams, and even Musial, their military service is always mentioned and allowance is made for the shortfall of some stats. Not so with Gil for some reason. Mark summarizes this very nicely in his comment.

Last Fall, I posted an article discussing the pros and cons of Gil’s case for the Hall. In case you missed the article, here’s a link.  At the time, I got a good response from it with a lot of impassioned comments, mostly in Gil’s favor. Here’s a small sampling of some of the best: 

Mike Keedy: “You may be right that Gil’s batting achievements were not stellar, but he did happen to have an eleven-year run, 1949-59, when he averaged 30 homers and 101 RBIs per season, and his career home runs-to-at-bats ratio was higher than such sluggers as Stan Musial, Yaz, Al Kaline, Billy Williams, Johnny Bench, Orlando Cepeda, Yogi Berra, Tony Perez, Chuck Klein, Rogers Hornsby and Al Simmons, all HOFers remembered and honored for their power, along with other traits. It is way past time for the voters to give this amazing and unsung baseball hero his rightful due by electing him to the Hall of Fame.” [Ed. Note: Now throw into the mix at least two years lost to military service, and it’s a slam-dunk!]

Rich Goldhaber: “I watched Gil play from 1951-57 as a Brooklyn Dodger. He was, with little doubt, the best first baseman of his time. That stands for a lot. His RBI total suffered because the Dodger lineup was so strong, there were many times that Jackie Robinson, or one of the other players knocked in men on base leaving Gil with either one runner or none when he came to bat.”

Mark: “Everyone also forgets that Gil lost what would have been his first two years at least of MLB to fight as a marine for our country in WW2. Think of what his career stats would have been with at least 1500 more at bats while he was in his prime. Possibly 500 home runs and 1500 RBI’s as a righty batter before expansion and band box stadiums. Not to mention that in typical Gil style he never brought up his exploits during the war. This major loss of prime career playing time to fight for our country needs to be emphasized to all HOF voters. Gil was a hero on and off the field and needs to be recognized as such! As a country we need Gil in the baseball HOF!!!”

Couldn’t agree more, Mark!

Thanks again for all who participated in the poll. It will be up for the rest of the day, so you still have a chance to cast a vote. Also, feel free to leave a response below if you have something more to add to the discussion.

Please keep your eyes open for our next poll question, coming soon!

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Countdown until Opening Day, March 28, 2019:  68 days…and counting!

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