[VanillaGorilla]

Timing has a lot to do with getting into the Hall, both here and IRL.

Why does a player get in when he does and another not get in at all? That's a question that will be asked as long as the RL Hall is structured as it is.

In this effort to simulate the sometimes perplexing output of the RL HOF selection process, the why answer is much simpler: timing.

A first balloter can gain eligibility but not get screened because there are no spots open that year, or there are others who take them, and he has to wait.

This year there were 3 pitchers that the computer inducted, but none get screened this year. There will be only 4 more pitchers entered between now and 2012, so it is very conceivable that a pitcher with First Ballot credentials will not get in at all. I will do a 2013 induction class once the RL class is announced in January (and this will be a VERY interesting RL class).

No hitters were inducted by the computer, this year, and none in the spread sheet met current Hall Standards. Two of those on the sheet did get in from the leader boards, and the third leader board selection came via the Way Back Machine.

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Curtis Granderson ranked the highest of any eligible player not in the HOF on the iether the VORP or WAR list. He is 65th on the WAR list. Next year other players above him will become eligible, with more coming into eligibility in following years. This was his window of opportunty to get in, and he got in.

A second rd draft pick by the White Sox in 1974, Granderson played through the 1990 season.

In his career he collected 1820 hits and 233 HRs in 6475 ABs and put up a slash of 282/367/464 for a npa OPS+ of 133.

He won a GG in CF and made 4 AS squads. In his 5th post season appearance, after a stop in Oakland, he led the Cubs to a WS win in 1985. He shared the victory cup with HOF teammates Sam Crawford and Willie Stargell.

He again won with the Cubs in 1989. So far he is the only member of that squad in the Hall.

Black Ink: 6
Gray Ink: 92
HOFm: 79
HOFs: 37

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81 years after retirement isn't the longest wait between retirement and HOF induction, and giving the speech accepting the induction at the age of 118 isn't the oldest to give the speech, but that is how long Cesar Cedeno waited and how old he is.

Cesar Cedeno was the highest ranking player on any leader board list, and that is how he gets in. There are players that had been ranked higher on the BA, OBP, and SLG lists, but current players pop in ahead of them and move them down. It was this dynamic that created this window of opportunity for Cedeno to get by virtue of being 13th on the All-Time Caught Stealing list.

To be fair to Cedeno, when he played (1899-1917) teams stole often, and runners were caught often. That he posted a SB success rate above 50% is noteworthy for this era. He stole 694 bases and was caught 669 times.

He was the 5th pick over all in 1898 and made the AS team as a rookie in 1899, the last year there was an ASG during his playing time. He stole a career high 87 bases in 1904.

His best season with the bat came in 1900 when he led the league in hits (206), doubles (36), and XBH (60) while slashing 354/390/503 for a npa OPS+ of 155.

For his career he posted a slash line of 279/329/369 for a npa OPS+ of 115.

He won WS with the Tigers in 1902, 1903, 1908, and 1910. He joins Stephen Drew and Braggo Roth in the HOF who were team mates on all 4 teams. HOF Ricky Nolasco pitched on the 1908 and 1910 squads.

Cedeno is a floor breaker.

Black: 8 (4)
Gray: 116 (70)
HOFm: 39 (42)
HOFs: 25 (28)

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We have two Johnsons in the Hall, two Bakers, two Crawfords, and now we have two Drews. Not exactly the 4 names I would have guessed would have multiple entries.

J D Drew is also a timing entry. Going back to the VORP and WARL lists, his 66th position on the VORP list gets him in. Next year, he wouldn't have been the highest eligible player. But, once you are in you are in.

Drew was the 10th player taken in 1968. In a terribly unrealistic representation of RL, he didn't hold out.

In 1969 he hit .312 with 29 HRs and an OPS over 1.000 that led the league and a npa OPS+ of 184. That was good enough to win him ROY honors.

Playing through 1984, he collected 1816 hits and 262 HRs and posted a career slash line of 279/384/464 for HOF worthy npa OPS+ of 140.

3 times he led the league in OBP and RC.

He made his only post season appearance in 1970 as the Orioles fell to the Dodgers. He hit .302 with 3 HRs in 11 games that post season.

Drew, like his namesake before him, is a floor breaker.

Black: 0 (0)
Gray: 90 (11)
HOFm: 32 (20)
HOFs: 34 (26)

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RL HOFer Ryne Sandberg makes his league debut in 2000.