Yankees and the Hall of Fame: Jimmy Key
- James Vlietstra
- Mar 7
- 1 min read
by James Vlietstra
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Over the next many months, I am going to review the credentials of several former Yankees.
With all that being said, I am going to review the credentials of several former Yankees. Together, we can discuss if we believe that they are deserving of being included in the Hall Of Fame or not. I hope you read along and give me your opinions over the next several weeks.
Note - Some people currently in the Hall Of Fame are not specifically in for their merits as a player alone. For instance, Joe Torre didn't get in until after his success as a manager. Phil Rizzuto made it after a career as an announcer. Overall, their careers were definitely deserving. Similarly, Bill Mazeroski was generally considered a light hitting middle infielder, however, one iconic moment got him enshrined. I am including some of these too for us to discuss.
Today we are going to be discussing:
Jimmy Key....
Key spent four of his 15 seasons on the Yankees. He accumulated a lifetime WAR of 49.0. That total is more than Dizzy Dean and Jack Morris.
Key was a two time World Series Champion. He was a top-four Cy Young finalist three times. He had eight seasons of over 200 innings pitched.
Jimmy Key's career record was 186-117, good for a .614 winning percentage.
He only received three HOF votes in his only year on the ballot, in 2004.
I would agree with the consensus that Key had a very good career that lands him just short of HOF credentials
Key was a real good pitcher. A bit lacking in the "Fame" department though.
Key was good
but not great and also
not as valuable as Guidry
Jack Morris shouldn't be in the HoF, and neither should Key be. Dean had five great peak seasons and IIRC was the last 30-game winner until Denny McLain. He probably shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, but he was a character and had a big post-career gig as a broadcaster -- basically a slightly more qualified Phil Rizzuto, which is how both of them got in.
I always felt that Key should have won the Cy Young in strike shortened season in 1994. He was the ace of the Yankees staff that year. I considered Jimmy as a very good pitcher but he's not HOF material 🤔