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St. Louis Cardinals: If Scott Rolen is in the HOF, then why not Jim Edmonds?

By Russ Robinson |
NLCS Game 5: New York Mets v St. Louis Cardinals
NLCS Game 5: New York Mets v St. Louis Cardinals / Jamie Squire/GettyImages
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Scott Rolen has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But if Rolen is Hall of Fame worthy, why isn't Jim Edmonds?

This week, most fans of the St. Louis Cardinals were elated when Scott Rolen was elected to the National Baseball of Fame. Needing to be named on 75% of the ballots, Rolen was named on 76.1% of the ballots by voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Scott Rolen spent six years wearing the Birds on the Bat, in what was arguably the zenith of his career. The Jasper, Indiana native won 4 of his 8 career Gold Gloves, his lone Silver Slugger Award, and made 5 of his 6 All-Star appearances while in St. Louis.

The 1997 Rookie of the Year Award winner had a 17-year career with stops in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto, and Cincinnati. He finished with a career slash line of .281/.364/.490 and an OPS+ of 122.

Nevertheless, Rolen was likely pushed over the finish line with Hall of Fame voters for his remarkable defense at third base. In fact, 10-time Gold Glover and Hall of Fame 3rd baseman, Mike Schmidt, said in 2004 that Rolen is "better than me."

So, where does Jim Edmonds fit into this debate? Looking closely, Edmonds' career mirrors Rolen's as a borderline Hall of Famer. In some stats, Rolen is better. But in others, Edmonds' is better. Nevertheless, Jim Edmonds, like Scott Rolen. was a very good offensive player and an elite defender.

I"m going to look at the statistical comparison of the two former Cardinals. However, It's not my intention to try to convince you Jim Edmonds should or should not be in Baseball's Hall of Fame. Nor is it my intention to pit a contest between Rolen and Edmonds. No, I just want to see if Edmonds' career stats vs Rolen's, at least puts him in the conversation for HOF.

I'll let you make your own opinion on Edmonds' worthiness as a potential Hall of Famer.

The Career Comparison

Comparing these two Cardinal icons is easy since their careers reflect each other in many ways. Both played 17 years in the majors, so comparisons are understandable.

When it comes to career accomplishments, such as Gold Gloves, Silver Slugger Awards, and All-Star appearances, Edmonds' career similarly compares to Rolens. The left-hander won 8 Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award, and made 4 All-Star appearances.

Edmond's career slash line also aligns with Rolen's. However, Edmonds' career SLG (.527 vs .490), OPS (.903 vs .855), and OPS+ (132 vs .122) bests Rolen's. Additionally, Edmonds has more career HR((393 vs 316), but Rolen has more career RBI(1287 vs 1199) and hits(2077 vs 1949).

If we look at postseason productivity, Edmonds stands out compared to Rolen. In 64 postseason appearances, Edmonds had a .274 BA with 13 HR, 42 RBI, and a .874 OPS. Rolen, in 39 appearances, had a .220 BA with 5 HR, 12 RBI, and a .678 RBI.

When it comes to Advanced Metrics which are now so important in baseball, both players line up closely. Nonetheless, there are a few metrics in which Rolen's stands out more than Edmonds, which might make a difference to the HOF voters.

Looking at career WAR, Rolen is clearly better with a 70.1 vs Edmonds' 60.4. WAR isn't the only consideration for entering the HOF, but it's a factor and seems to work against Edmonds.

Since 2000, the HOF has admitted 39 players, not including relief pitchers and veteran committee selections. Rolen falls between 19 players with better WAR and 19 who have less. In fact, he is between Gary Carter and Tim Raines.

Offensive WAR stats between Rolen and Edmonds is downright close( 52.8 vs 57.2), but in Defensive WAR, Rolen is clearly better(21.2 vs 6.4).

Comparing Jim Edmonds to other HOF centerfielders.

To be fair, the skill sets for centerfielders and third basemen are different. It might be better to compare Jim Edmonds' HOF credentials to other centerfielders who recently entered the HOF.

The three I compared to Edmonds were Ken Griffy, Jr, Andre Dawson, and Kirby Puckett. Although their careers didn't exactly overlap with Edmonds, they were close enough for a fair comparison.

Surprisingly, at least to me, many of Jim Edmonds' career stats stack up well against Kirby Puckett and Andre Dawson. His career OPS and OPS+ of .903 and 132+ bests Dawson's .806 and 119+, and Puckett's .837 and 124+.

When it comes to WAR, Edmonds still tops Pucket's(60.4 vs 51.2) but comes in under Dawson's( 60.4 vs 64.8). When it comes to defensive WAR, Edmonds is better( 6.4 vs -0.3) vs Puckett, and (6.4 vs 1.6) vs Dawson.

That being said, where Puckett and Dawson shine over Edmonds, both had more career hits. Edmonds had 1949 hits over his 17-year career, whereas Pucket had 2304 over his relatively short 12-year career. Dawson had 2774 over his 21-year career.

Additionally, Puckett has 6 Gold Gloves, 6 Silver Slugger Awards, and made 10 All-Star appearances. Andre Dawson has 8 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Slugger Awards, 8 All-star appearances, a Rookie of the Year Award, and an MVP Award,

Although Edmonds' slash line compares well with Griffy's, most of his other metrics really don't. Griffy's career WAR is 83.8 and has more hits, HR, Doubles, Triples, and RBI. He also has 10 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Slugger Awards, made 13 All-Star appearances, and an MVP Award.

One Final Word about Jim Edmonds and the Hall of Fame.

Where does this leave Jim Edmonds and the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Apparently just short.

Although some may disagree, the voters don't consider him the elite defender Scott Rolen is. WAR seems to back this up.

Also, it doesn't seem like he has quite enough postseason awards and honors to impress the HOF voters when compared to other HOF centerfielders.

Jim Edmonds became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2015 but was removed from the ballot after only receiving 2.5% of the votes during his first year of eligibility. His only path to the Hall of Fame at this point would be through the Today's Game Committee. However, since he was only on the ballot for one year, it's unlikely he will ever be chosen for the Hall of Fame.

But it still leaves the question. Is Jim Edmonds a Baseball Hall of Famer?

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