Yankees and the Hall of Fame: Mel Stottlemyre
by James Vlietstra
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I am reviewing the credentials of a ton of former Yankees and highlighting their careers. Many of their accomplishments have been forgotten.
Even if some are not future Hall of Famers, it's good to remember what they did accomplish.
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.
Today we are going to be looking at...
Mel Stottlemyre:
He played all 11 seasons of his career on the Yankees.
His WAR was 43.1, with three seasons of 5.0+.
He was a five time All-Star.
He pitched 250+ innings in nine different years.
He was the best pitcher on some bad Yankees teams.
He threw 40 shutouts, tied with Sandy Koufax for 44th all time.
After his playing days, he was a pitching coach for four teams spanning 23 seasons, and winning five World Series.
He has a plaque in Monument Park.
In 1980, he only received three HOF votes.
Hes another guy who's playing career just isn't good enough, but being the PC for both the WSC 1986 Mets, and all those Yankees WSC, he probably deserves it, the same way Joe Torres did. But for whatever the reason the Baseball writers don't look at the totality of a guy's career.