[FuzzyRussianHat]

First Baseman Sawyer Williams was the lone inductee for Major League Baseball’s 1990 Hall of Fame classic, getting the first ballot nod at 77.0%. Two other guys nearly got in on their debut, but fell just short of the 66% requirement. LF Tim Morgan received 64.7% and closer Dominic Thurman got 63.3%. Two other returners were above 60% on their eighth tries with 2B Bobby Davis at 61.8% and C Gavin Geogham at 60.8%. Three others were above 50% with C Russ Spratt at 58.7% on his fifth try, CL Angel Kiernan at 53.0% in his fourth, and C Earl Tucker at 50.2% on his eighth ballot.



One player fell off the ballot after ten failed tried in pitcher Dale Conrod. He pitched 17 seasons primarily with Kansas City with a 198-171 record, 3.45 ERA, 3422.1 innings, 3309 strikeouts, 802 walks, a 86 FIP-, and 70.0 WAR. Conrod did lead in strikeouts three times, but he was never an award winner and his 105 ERA+ suggests more sustained above averageness. The voters agreed, he never got higher than his debut at 17.2%, although he managed to never fall below 5% to stay on the ballot.



Sawyer “Trooper” Williams – First Base – Tampa Thunderbirds – 77.0% First Ballot

Sawyer Williams was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Arlington, Virginia; a city within metropolitan Washington, D.C. The city is known for hosting The Pentagon and Williams’ nickname “Trooper,” comes from his family’s military background. He was a very solid contact hitter that was excellent at avoiding strikeouts and good at drawing walks. Williams wasn’t a prolific slugger, but still got you around 25 home runs and around 35 doubles/triples per season on average. He also had deceptively decent speed for a guy of his frame. Williams was a career first baseman and viewed as a firmly below average defender. He also made about 1/6 of his starts as a designated hitter with a small few in right field. Williams was one of the most durable of his era, starting 105+ games every year for 21 years. That and his tireless work ethic helped make him a fan favorite.

Williams went to college at Mississippi State won a Silver Slugger as a sophomore. In 146 college games, he had a .323/.396/.551 slash, 183 hits, 90 runs, 29 home runs, 93 RBI, and 8.2 WAR. This made him one of the best hitting prospects in the 1963 MLB Draft and Tampa picked him eighth overall. He was immediately in the lineup regularly with 118 starts, 138 games, and 4.3 WAR to push him to 1964 Rookie of the Year honors. He was a regular for the struggling Tampa franchise for seven seasons, which was surprisingly his longest tenure of his 21 year career.

In 1968, the Thunderbirds snapped a nearly decade long playoff drought, falling in the American Association Championship Series. This was Williams’ best year, earning his only MVP and his first Silver Slugger. He led the AA in total bases (352) and posted a career high 6.3 WAR. This was his only time in his career as a league leader in any notable stat, as he was more about sustained solid quality. He’d win Silver Slugger again in 1969 with career bests in home runs (34), RBI (139), and batting average (.348). Williams wouldn’t win the award again for the rest of his career, nor was he ever a MVP finalist again.

For his Tampa tenure, Williams had 1323 hits, 676 runs, 172 home runs, 709 RBI, a .325/.389/.525 slash, and 31.7 WAR. It was a nice tenure and he’s popular with Thunderbirds fans, but it wasn’t notable enough to get his jersey retired. At age 28, Williams was eligible for free agency and decided to leave Florida. He found a buyer in Seattle, signing an eight-year, $2,640,000 deal. Williams only played five seasons with the Grizzlies, but provided the steady production that was expected of him.

Seattle made the playoffs in 1973, 1974, and 1975; but got no deeper than the AACS in the latter two years. Williams had strong playoff numbers with 35 hits, 15 runs, 4 home runs, 11 RBI, and 1.0 WAR. Sadly, 1975 would be the last time he’d get to play in the postseason. In total with the Grizzlies, Williams had 946 hits, 513 runs, 116 home runs, 492 RBI, a .315/.371/.511 slash and 22.5 WAR.

Williams opted out of his remaining seasons on his Seattle contract and at age 33, went up the road to Vancouver on a five-year, $2,750,000 deal. He ended up with four seasons as a Volcano and was still steady, albeit slightly worse from age. Williams had 12.8 WAR, 681 hits, 357 runs, and 83 home runs in Vancouver. The signing didn’t get the Volcanoes over the hump and he failed to meet the vesting criteria in his contact, making him a free agent after the 1979 season at age 37. Williams signed with Memphis for 1980 and had his best season since his 20s with 5.2 WAR.

Next, Williams spent 1981 and 1982 with Charlotte. He was still a decent starter with the Canaries, but didn’t have the power you’d often expect from the position. He carried on and played two more seasons with Oakland, although Williams had fallen to below average by then. Notably with the Owls, he became the 11^th batter to reach 3500 career hits. He retired after the 1984 season at age 41.

Williams final stats: 3655 hits, 1928 runs, 615 doubles, 100 triples, 458 home runs, 1887 RBI, 1215 walks, a .306/.368/.489 slash, 131 wRC+, and 75.6 WAR. His longevity allowed him to quietly climb leaderboards and at induction, he was fifth in games played (3122), fourth in hits, fifth in runs scored, second in doubles, and 11^th in RBI. As of 2037, he’s still fifth all-time in hits, tenth in runs scored, and third in doubles. There were detractors though who dismissed Williams as a compiler, pointing to his lack of black ink and his low WAR and wRC+ totals. Still, there is value in longevity and sustaining respectable play and that value earned Williams a first ballot selection at 77.0% as the lone member of MLB’s 1990 Hall of Fame class.