Season 25 Hall of Fame Candidates, Part Three

I'm finishing off our Hall contenders with seven candidates, including a plethora of closers. The closers appear stacked up. Simply put, all of the best closers are candidates.

Solid Candidates

Kane Durocher - Durocher pitched for 17 seasons in the majors, with parts of 9 coming for the Hartford/Rochester Horrorshow and parts of 6 seasons for the Tacoma Travelers/San Diego Pipeline franchise. In 879 games, he went 40-58 with 536 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Durocher was selected for 9 All-Star Games, and won the AL Fireman of the Year Award (with the San Diego Pipeline) in Season 5. Durocher is the all-time leader in saves for the league. Durocher's top votes year was Season 21, with 2 votes.

Javier Gil - Gil pitched in 17 seasons in the majors, spending 5 seasons witht the Santa Fe Express and 6 seasons with the New York Dodgers. In 1081 games, Gil went 97-83 with 479 saves, a 3.25 ERA, and a 1.17 WHIP. Gil was selected for 8 All-Star Games, won the AL Fireman of the Year (with the New York Dodgers) in Season 16, and won a World Series Ring in Season 15 (also with the Dodgers). Gil is 5th all-time in saves. Gil has never exceeded 1 vote for the Hall.

Hersh Maholm - 2B Maholm played 14 seasons in the majors, 11 coming with the Dover Destroyers. Maholm hit .266/.341/.530 with 532 home runs and 273 doubles. Maholm went to 6 All-Star Games, winning the All-Star Game MVP Award in Season 11, and won 5 Silver Slugger Awards. Maholm is 4th all-time in assists by a second baseman with 4,874, 4th all-time in putouts by a second baseman with 3,460, and 5th all-time in double plays by a second baseman with 1,063.

Luther Riggs - Riggs pitched for 17 seasons in the majors, 10 seasons with the Dover Destroyers and parts of 6 seasons with the Pawtucket Paw Sox. In 843 games, Riggs went 41-60 with 518 saves, a 3.07 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP. Riggs went to 8 All-Star Games, and won the NL Fireman of the Year Award for 4 straight seasons (Seasons 13 and 14 with the Destroyers, and 15 and 16 with the Paw Sox). Riggs is 3rd all-time in saves.

Felipe Sanchez - Sanchez pitched for 20 seasons in the majors, 10 of which went spent with a franchise that went by the names Burlington Black Bears, Rochester Red Wings, Ottawa Canucks, and Augusta Gloops. In 1217 games, Sanchez went 62-79 with 525 saves, a 3.03 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP. Sanchez went to 8 All-Star Games, was NL Fireman of the Year three consecutive seasons (7 through 9, all with the Gloops), and won a World Series Ring in Season 16 with the Anaheim Angels. Sanchez is 2nd all-time in saves, 2nd all-time in games pitched, and is tied for 4th all-time in WHIP. Sanchez's top Hall votes year was Season 21, with 5 votes.

Raul Tatis - 2B/CF Tatis played 28 seasons in the majors, including parts of 6 seasons with the Nashville Tractor Pulls and 7 seasons with the Boston Patriots. Tatis went .292/.357/.340 with 873 stolen bases and 1734 runs. He went to the All-Star Game 4 times, and won a World Series Ring in Season 6 (with the Tractor Pulls). Tatis leads all-time in at-bats (10,599), infield hits (826, nearly double the next contender), and plate appearances (11,693), is 2nd in hits (with 3,097), 3rd in stolen bases, and 4th in games played (with 2,635) and runs scored. Tati's top Hall vote came with 4 votes in Season 22.

Benito Tejada - Tejada pitched in 16 seasons in the majors, 13 of which were spent with the Oakland Bay City Bullies/Hololulu Pohaku Kekoa/Oakland Knightmare/Arizona Border Patrol franchise. in 916 major league games, he went 50-57 with 447 saves, a 2.51 ERA, and a 1.06 WIP. Tejeda went to 7 All-Star Games, won the AL Fireman of the Year Award 4 times (Seasons 7, 10, 11, and 12, all with the Bay City Bullies), and won a World Series Ring in Season 12 (also with the Bullies). Tejeda is 2nd all-time in ERA and WHIP.

The Future

It is important that we start clearing the backlog of Hall candidates (if that is what we intend to do) becuase there are a number of stellar candidates nearing the end of their careers, including pitchers Magglio Escobar, Scooter Lee, Steven Petersen, and Greg Price.