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One player made it into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame with the 1974 ballot as DH Ron Koehler earned first ballot honors at 81.9%. Four others were above 50%, but below 60%. SP Jeremiah Rutledge got 57.0% on his third attempt, C Gray Caraway received 56.1% on his fourth ballot, LF C.J. West grabbed 52.8% on his second attempt, and SP Richard Thieman in his debut earned 51.9%.



One player was dumped after ten failed attempts in closer Hubert McCloud. He won Reliever of the Year once and in 17 MLB seasons with nine teams, he had 292 saves, a 2.02 ERA, 989 strikeouts, and 30.2 WAR. He ended on a peak at 45.2% after sinking as low as 21.8% the prior year. A decent career, but firmly someone who should be outside.



Ron Koehler – Designated Hitter – Oakland Owls – 81.9% First Ballot

Ron Koehler was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed designed hitter from Harrison, Arkansas; a small city with about 13,000 people in the northern part of the state. In his prime, he was arguably the best home run hitter in the game. He had an excellent eye and ability to draw walks with above average to good contact skills, although he did strike out a bit more than the average batter. Koehler hit a lot of homers, but didn’t double terribly often and was a comically slow baserunner. He technically was a left fielder, but he only made 25 starts his entire MLB career in the field due to being an atrocious fielder. That said, Koehler was a terrific leader, a hard worker, and very durable; making him a valuable piece despite his deficiencies.

Koehler was a surprisingly late bloomer who in college at Tulane had pretty pedestrian numbers, posting only 22 home runs, 72 RBI, and a .258 average over 140 college games. With average-at-best hitting and no fielding ability to speak of, he wasn’t a hot commodity. Miami picked him in the sixth round of the 1949 MLB Draft, 257^th overall. At induction, only closer Noah Pugliese (275^th pick) had been picked later and gone into the Hall. Koehler spent his first six pro seasons largely as a backup in minor league Fort Myers, only making 18 starts and playing 215 minor league games from 1950-55.

Koehler debuted in 1955 at age 26, an incredibly late debut for a later prominent player in a tenured league. He made 50 starts with unremarkable stats. However, in 1956, everything clicked for Koehler. He refined his swing, changed his habits, and starting eating a balanced breakfast. He went from being graded a 6/5/6 potential for contract/power/eye to being viewed as 9/10/9. In his second year with the Mallards, he hit 30 home runs in 113 games. From there, he’d smack 40+ dingers in ten of his remaining twelve seasons.

In 1958, Koehler won his first Silver Slugger at DH for Miami, leading the American Association with 55 home runs. He’d lead in dingers seven times in his career, RBI four times, walks twice, total bases thrice, runs twice, and OPS twice. In 1959, he smacked 54 homers, won his second Silver Slugger, and took second in MVP voting. In total with Miami, he had 663 hits, 423 runs, 185 home runs, 456 RBI, and 17.5 WAR.

MLB teams were now excited about Koehler’s hitting potential and middling Miami figured they couldn’t keep him around with free agency looming. The Mallards traded Koehler before the 1960 season for two players and a draft pick to Las Vegas. Although brief, his Vipers run his most impactful. He won Silver Sluggers in each of this three seasons in Vegas and took home the MVP in both 1961 and 1962; along with a third place in 1960. In three seasons, he had 162 home runs and 430 RBI. Around this time, he also provided power to the United States team in the World Baseball Championship. From 1959-62, he had 86 starts, 94 hits, 84 runs, 44 home runs, 1114 RBI, and 7.5 WAR. Koehler was tournament MVP in 1962 and won world titles in 1960, 1961, and 1962.

Sadly for Koehler, the WBC was the only postseason success he’d see in his career. Las Vegas had won the World Series the year before his arrival, but fell off to start the 1960s despite his efforts. Now a free agent at age 34, he signed for the 1963 season with Oakland on a five-year, $1,060,000 contract. Koehler was never award conversations with the Owls and they never made the playoffs, but he still led the American Association in home runs thrice. In 1964, he had one of the rare MLB four home run games, smacking them against Vancouver.

Oakland was his longest tenure and the one he went into the Hall with, posting 798 hits, 514 runs, 218 home runs, 534 RBI, and 17.6 WAR. With the Owls, he passed the 500 career home runs and 2000 hits milestones. He led in both homers and RBI in 1967 at age 38 and became a free agent, opting to go back to Las Vegas for 1968 on a three-year deal. He fell off significantly in his brief Vipers return, opting to retire at age 39. In four total seasons with LV, he had 666 hits, 422 runs, 187 home runs, 495 RBI, and 20.4 WAR.

Koehler’s final stats: 2127 hits, 1359 runs, 231 doubles, 590 home runs, 1485 RBI, 1125 walks, a .272/.363/.533 slash, wRC+ of 137, and 55.5 WAR. His career was an odd one and the resume had holes, such as an incredibly low WAR relative to other Hall of Famers due to his lack of any defensive or baserunning value. Koehler never got to the playoffs either. However, he had five 50+ home run seasons and two MVPs and for a stretch was the most feared power hitter out there. His totals are fairly solid considering a late start to his stats and he was very well liked by fans and players, thus Koehler earned the first ballot nod at 81.9%.