[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two players grabbed first ballot inductions into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1996. Pitcher Mike Lee was a no-doubter, receiving 98.2%. OF Lindsey Garcia joined him with a very respectable 78.4%. Six others were above 50%, but short of the 66% requirement. Closer Devin Ivey was the highest of that group at 61.5% on his second ballot. LF Aiden Hertlein had 59.7% in his second go. 1B Aranha Carlos had 56.8% on his debut, 1B Jonah Mabile was at 56.4% for his third ballot, LF Xiandong He had 52.4% for his fourth attempt, and 1B Kymani Massey earned 52.7% on his fourth try.

Closer Angelo Kiernan fell off the ballot after ten tries. He peaked at 59.7% and stayed in the 40-60% range for his run, ending at 49.8%. Kiernan had 14 MLB seasons with two Reliever of the Year awards along with 299 saves, 2.10 ERA, 860.2 innings, 938 strikeouts, and 35.0 WAR. His numbers weren’t too far off from other relievers that previously got in, but the accumulations were just low enough to keep him out.

SP Val Moscow also fell off after ten ballots, peaking at 45.5% in 1989 but ending at a low of 28.9%. He was the 1978 Pitcher of the Year with Louisville and helped them win that year’s World Series. Moscow had a 15 year career, posting a 221-188 record, 3.29 ERA, 3769.2 innings, 2761 strikeouts, 83 FIP-, and 84.1 WAR. Moscow’s case was another were there had been some previous inductees with similar stats, but the tallies were on the lower end. He also lacked dominant stats or accolades apart from the one big season, banishing him to the Hall of Very Good.

A third player dropped was closer Herbert Eve, who peaked at 38.4% on his second ballot but ended at 8.8%. His MLB run had 276 saves over 782.2 innings, a 2.44 ERA, 906 strikeouts, and 22.9 WAR. Eve was essentially a weaker version of Kiernan’s resume and if the former couldn’t get in, the latter had no chance.



Mike Lee – Starting Pitcher – Kansas City Cougars – 98.2% First Ballot

Mike Lee was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Tyler, Texas; a city with around 100,000 people in the northeastern part of the state. Lee was known for having phenomenal stuff with very good control and above average movement. He had a legendary 98-100 mph fastball and mixed it expertly with two other stellar pitches; a curveball and a forkball. Lee had great stamina and was very good at holding runners. There were work ethic criticisms at points in his career, but Lee was still plenty effective even when he was dogging it.

Lee went to Ohio University and was respectable in college, but not dominant. As a Bobcat, he had a 19-13 record, 3.10 ERA, 287 innings, 248 strikeouts, and 5.7 WAR. Lee wasn’t at the top of the draft boards and wasn’t selected until late in the fourth round of the 1967 MLB Draft. Kansas City picked him 187^th overall with the 36^th pick of the fourth round. He saw limited use with positive results as a reliever in his rookie year. Lee would be moved to the rotation full-time after that and would be a starter for the rest of his career.

In his first season as a starter, Lee stunk with a 5.01 ERA. In these first few seasons, he ate innings, but had middling production at best for some bad Kansas City teams. Lee didn’t really put it all together until a breakout 1974 season, where he led the National Association in WHIP, innings, and WAR. This got him the Pitcher of the Year award and a third place in MVP voting. The Cougars also made the playoffs for the second straight season, although they again were one-and-done.

It was a major turning point, as all of a sudden, Lee was looked at as an ace. He made it back onto the United States team for the World Baseball Championship after making a few appearances from 1970-72. He was a regular from 1975-85 and in total had a 3.56 ERA, 34-11 record, 387.1 innings, 586 strikeouts, and 9.2 WAR. Lee led the tournament in strikeouts six times and earned nine championship rings with the American team. He was also rewarded financially by Kansas City just before the 1975 season started, signing a seven-year, $3,870,000 contract extension.

Lee repeated as Pitcher of the Year and had his finest season with career and league bests in ERA (2.21), strikeouts (329), WHIP (0.87), quality starts (31), and WAR (9.8). He was one win short of a Triple Crown season and Kansas City was a playoff team again, although they fell in round two. 1976 would be a disaster though as Lee suffered a torn flexor tendon in his third start, knocking him out for seven months. Impressively, he worked his way back in time for the postseason, although he was terrible with a 11.34 ERA over four starts. Despite this, Kansas City won the National Association pennant, falling in the World Series to Las Vegas.

Lee bounced back with an excellent 1977, winning his third Pitcher of the Year and leading again in wins, strikeouts, innings, and quality starts. The Cougars would narrowly miss the postseason though. Lee’s 1978 was respectable, but ended with a fractured shoulder blade in August. To the surprise of many, he decided to opt out of the rest of his Kansas City deal. For the tenure, Lee had a 128-134 record, 3.23 ERA, 2315.1 innings, 2334 strikeouts, 85 FIP-, and 50.0 WAR. Despite the awkward end, Lee would still see his #10 uniform later retired by the Cougars.

Now aged 31, Lee signed a six-year, $4,110,000 deal with Houston. He would take third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1979, second in 1980, and second again in 1983. Injuries cost him roughly half of both 1981 and 1982. 1983 saw an impressive 27-4 record, becoming the fifth pitcher in MLB history to have 27+ wins in a year. Houston tacked on a two-year extension after this. The Hornets made the playoffs five times in Lee’s tenure, although his stats were average and they never advanced beyond the second round. For his playoff career, he had a lackluster 4.92 ERA over 106 innings.

Lee spent nine years total with Houston, posting a 130-76 record, 3.31 ERA, 1868 innings, 1662 strikeouts, and 45.1 WAR. His stats had fallen to below average numbers by the end, but he still ate innings when healthy. In April 1987, Lee suffered a torn labrum, knocking him out nine months and ending his Houston tenure. At age 40, he still wanted to pitch and try to catch a few milestones. He was four away from being only the seventh in MLB history to reach 4000 career strikeouts. Lee also hoped to be the eighth to 300 wins, although that one was ultimately unreachable.

Montreal signed Lee for 1987 and he reached the strikeout mark, but suffered another torn labrum in June, putting him out 14 more months. He was stubborn and still wanted to pitch, getting a one-year deal with Virginia Beach in April 1989. Lee split time between the majors and minors, but actually still looked good with a solid 2.79 ERA in 126 innings. For 1990, Ottawa gave him a one-year deal, but he struggled when healthy. A ruptured finger tendon in July ended that run. Lee briefly signed a minor league deal in late 1991 with Eugene, but never saw the field. He finally retired that winter at age 44.

Lee’s final stats saw a 271-228 record, 3.30 ERA, 4479 innings, 4237 strikeouts, 1027 walks, 358/595 quality starts, 221 complete games, 83 FIP-, and 101.5 WAR. At induction, Lee was sixth all-time in strikeouts and 18^th in pitching WAR. He had managed to pitch a lot of innings even with his later injury issues, giving him impressive accumulations. His career was inconsistent at times, but was a Pitcher of the Year contender reliably for about a decade. The voters were easily sold and gave Lee a no-doubt first ballot induction at 98.2%.



Lindsey Garcia – Right Field – Nashville Knights – 78.4% First Ballot

Lindsey Garcia was a 5’9’’, 195 pound left-handed hitting outfielder from McCrory, Arkansas; a tiny town with fewer than 2000 people. Garcia was an excellent contact hitter that was great at avoiding strikeouts and respectable at drawing walks. He had a solid pop in his bat, averaging around 25-30 home runs per season with another 30-40 doubles/triples per season. The stocky Garcia was deceptively fast and was one of the game’s most effective baserunners. He bounced around defensively between numerous spots in the field and designated hitter, although more than half of his starts came in right field. There, Garcia was a below average, but not atrocious defender. Despite his speed on the basepaths, it didn’t translate to range and he was considered lackluster generally as a defender.

Garcia played college baseball at Texas Tech, although he did miss much of his junior season to a strained PCL. In 111 college games, he had 127 hits, 72 runs, 24 doubles, 21 home runs, 70 RBI, a .304/.391/.517 slash, and 5.5 WAR. That earned him plenty of attention with MLB teams and Nashville would choose Garcia with the 12^th pick of the 1969 MLB Draft. He was a full-time starter immediately for the Knights, although he missed most of his rookie year to a ruptured finger tendon.

Garcia was a pretty solid, but not award winning player in his early years with Nashville. He also played in the World Baseball Championship from 1971-74, winning four title titles with the United States team. Garcia garnered fan support with a 26 hit, 14 run, 7 home run effort over 18 games in the 1973 WBC. He became extremely popular in a dark era for Nashville, who were below .500 in the majority of his seasons. A 1978 wild card was the Knights’ lone playoff berth during his tenure. 1975 was his best season, winning a Silver Slugger with a 7.2 WAR season. Nashville signed him that winter to a five-year, $3,600,000 contract extension.

In total with the Knights, Garcia had 1423 hits, 808 runs, 209 home runs, 673 RBI, a .316/.376/.524 slash, 345 stolen bases, and 37.2 WAR. He was popular enough to later see his #4 uniform retired in Nashville, remembered fondly as a bright light in a weak era. Garcia would opt out of part of his contract thought after the 1978 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 30. Kansas City signed him to a five-year, $3,100,000 deal.

With the Cougars, Garcia won a Silver Slugger in 1979 as a first baseman and one in left field in 1980. 1980 saw his only time as a league leader, posting 125 runs scored. KC made the playoffs in 1979, but missed in 1980. Garcia scored his 100^th career run there as well. For whatever reason, it just wasn’t the right fit in his mind. Garcia opted out of the remaining three years of his contract. Still, he had 12.8 WAR in two seasons and hoped to cash in even bigger off the two Silver Slugger seasons.

Las Vegas signed Garcia on a five-year, $4,550,000 deal. Some minor injuries cost him bits of his first two years as a Viper. He had steady production in his tenure, but wasn’t a league leader or awards winner. LV made the AACS in 1981, but was ousted by Atlanta. They were a wild card in 1982, but then began to rebuild after that. For his time in the desert, Garcia had 797 hits, 468 runs, 115 home runs, 420 RBI, a .306/.362/.509 slash, and 20.4 WAR.

Now 37 years old, Garcia inked a two-year deal with Denver. His production was still steady when healthy, but he missed sizeable chunks in both seasons with the Dragons. Garcia still found work in 1988-89 with San Diego and still provided a solid bat even into his 40s, but injuries again limited his games. He would pass the 3000 hit milestone while with the Seals. 1990 was his last season with Vancouver where he was again limited by injuries. Garcia wanted to play in 1991, but was unsigned and retired that winter at age 42.

Garcia’s final stats: 3078 hits, 1766 runs, 445 doubles, 131 triples, 459 home runs, 1524 RBI, 694 stolen bases, a .313/.374/.525 slash, 144 wRC+, and 84.1 WAR. His tallies surprised many voters considering he wasn’t ever one to get MVP consideration or sit atop leaderboards. However, not many guys had reached 3000 hits, 1500 runs, 1500 RBI, and 450 home runs. There were still some voters that dismissed him as a compiler and pointed to his lack of accolades or playoff notables. But there were more than enough who saw the accumulations and were sold, giving Garcia a first-ballot induction at 78.4%.