Yankees and the Hall of Fame: Kenny Lofton
- James Vlietstra
- 13 hours ago
- 2 min read
by James Vlietstra
***
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 type players too for us to discuss.
Today we are going to be discussing:
Kenny Lofton
Lofton played for 11 different teams during his 17 year career. One was with the Yankees.
His 68.4 career WAR ranks 81st among position players. It is more than Ernie Banks and Duke Snider.
He had seven seasons with 5.0+ WAR.
He was a six time all star and four time Gold Glove winner.
His 2,428 hits ranks 122nd all time and is higher than Pie Traynor and Ryne Sandberg.
His 622 SBs rank 15th all time.
He was one and done on the ballot, getting 3.2% in 2013. That was one of several years that the ballot was logjammed with deserving candidates that were tainted by steroids which would have affected down ballot guys such as Lofton.
