NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE HOF ANNOUNCEMENT. With voting on the early days and golden age baseball taking place this weekend, I thought I would look back on some players who had careers that were on a Hall of Fame path derailed by injuries. There will always be debates about players who are in, and those who so far have not been elected. For years I have bemoaned the fact that Gil Hodges is not in. And I am not alone in that belief. Hodges is once again on the Golden age list along with guys like Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Minnie Minoso, Roger Maris, Maury Wills, Jim Kaat, Danny Murtaugh, Tony Olivo, and Billy Pierce. In the early days, the pre-1950 ballot has Bill Dahlen, John Donaldson, Bud Fowler, Vic Harris, Grant” Home Run Johnson”, Lefty O’Doul, Buck O’Neil, Cannonball Redding, Allie Reynolds, and Tubby Scales. All but O’Doul, Dahlen, and Reynolds played in the Negro Leagues.
So here are some star players who had injuries derail their march towards the Hall.
Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia was well on his way to building a compelling case for Cooperstown when Manny Machado, then playing for the Orioles, slid into him on a play at second base in April of 2017. That incident led to a series of knee problems and surgeries. That kept Pedroia out of all but 9 games in 2018-19. After missing all of 2020, Pedroia retired in February of 21 with one year left on his contract. It was an unfortunate end to a career that included a ROY in 07, MVP in 08, four Gold Gloves at second, four All-Star games, and three World Series rings, 07-13-18. Through his age 32 seasons, 2016, Pedroia had a 49.8 WAR, 1683 hits, 375 doubles, 133 HRs, and a .811 OPS. Stats comparable to Craig Biggio at the same point in his career, 51.1 WAR, 1680 hits, 333 doubles, 136 HRs, and a .814 OPS. Biggio would play 9 more years, collect 3000 hits and make the Hall. Pedroia never had that chance.
Troy Tulowitzki
Injuries were almost always an issue for Tulo starting with multiple stints on the injured list in what would have been his second full season in 2008. For a while, the talented SS overcame his issues and from 2007-2014 he combined well-above-average offense, 127 OPS+ with stellar defense winning two gold gloves becoming one of the league’s most productive players with a 38.2 WAR. Tulo is one of only 5 shortstops since integration in 1947 to put up six seasons of 5 WAR by age 29. In his 30’s though, he played in just 330 games as his IL stints stretched into double figures.
David Wright
Over the first 10 seasons of his career, David Wright slashed .301/.382/.506 (137 OPS+). He averaged 22 HR’s, 88 RBI’s. and 18 steals. His career WAR of 47.2 put him in the top 10 all-time third basemen through their age 30 seasons and ahead of the likes of Adrian Beltre and Chipper Jones at the same point in their careers. That changed when he suffered a stress fracture in his back in 2011 and spent two months on the disabled list. He managed to play at a high level in 12-13. He slipped some in 2014, but since 2015 he has appeared in only 77 games. He missed the entire 2017 season. In 2018 he played in two games and has since retired. His career slash line is still pretty good .296/.376/.491 with a .867 OPS. He has 242 HR’s, 970 RBIs, and 1777 hits.
Grady Sizemore
He was a long way from Cooperstown, but Sizemore’s first four full seasons were electric. He had a short debut in 2004, then from 2005-08, he established himself as an all-around star for the Indians. He was strong defensively and slashed .281/.372/.496 (128 OPS+) averaging 20 HR’s and 20 steals over those 4 seasons. His 24.6 WAR was 4th among all MLB position players at that time behind only Pujols, Utley, and Alex Rodriguez. Injuries began to interfere in 09 and it only got worse from there. He played only 313 games from 2010 on while enduring numerous surgeries including both knees.
Johan Santana
Like Wright, Johan had a last hurrah as a Met. No one knew it at the time. On June 1, 2012, he tossed the first no-hitter in franchise history at Citi Field beating the Cardinals. He was 33 at the time. He made 10 more starts that season and has not pitched in the majors since despite several comeback attempts. Yet from 2004-08 with the Twins and Mets he put together a Hall caliber peak, going 86-39 with a 2.82 ERA, (157ERA+) more than a strikeout per inning and 2 American League Cy Young awards.
Brandon Webb
He was not a strikeout pitcher, but Webb rode his sinker to loads of grounders and great success with the D-Backs. He began his career by producing 87 wins, a 3.24 ERA, (143ERA+), and a 33.2 WAR, the sixth most WAR for a pitcher since 1947. Webb won the Cy Young in 2006 and was the runner-up in 07 and 08. His opening day start in 2009 turned out to be the final outing of his career. He subsequently underwent shoulder surgery and never made it back to a major league mound.
Eric Davis
Eric Davis was a special talent. Those who saw him early in his career believed he was a lock for the hall. Through his first seven seasons, he had a 140 OPS+, 166 HR’s, 233 steals, and 3 gold glove awards. But injuries suppressed his talent. Although he played 17 years in the majors, he never played more than 135 games in a year, averaged only 86 a year after age 28, and missed all of 1995 fighting colon cancer. He still finished with 282 HRs and 349 steals in his career.
Dave Stieb
Stieb’s career WAR is 56.8. What is impressive is that he accrued almost all of it through his age 32 season. That is HOF trajectory. But shoulder and back injuries struck at age 33 and he threw barely 200 more MLB innings including 50.1 as a 40-year-old. He authored the only no-hitter in Blue Jay history and had two others broken up in the 9th inning.
Nomar Garciaparra
He was the Red Sox answer to Derek Jeter. Nomar broke in and won the AL ROY in 1997. He racked up 209 hits. It was the first of four consecutive seasons in which he was worth at least a 6.6 WAR. He won back-to-back batting titles in 99-2000 slashing .365/.426/.601 over those two seasons. A wrist problem cost him most of 2001 and accounted for two of his fourteen stints on the DL in his career. Although he enjoyed productive seasons with the Cubs, Dodgers, and A’s, his last full season was 2003.
J R Richard
James Rodney Richard, or simply J.R. 6’8″ tall. it took him a while to harness his wildness. He was 26 before he started at least 10 games, being a late bloomer, it would be an uphill climb. But he became one of the toughest pitchers in the National League. He struck out more than 300 hitters in 78 and 79. Richard had a 1.90 ERA through 17 starts in 1980 when a stroke ended his career at age 30.
Don Mattingly
Donnie Baseball. His first six seasons were about as good as any player can be. He was a six-time All-Star, nine-time gold glove winner, and the 1985 AL MVP. From 82-89 he slashed .323/.368/.521 (144 OPS+) and was over .300 in each of his first six seasons. But chronic back issues plagued him and he had to retire at 34. He won 4 of his gold gloves after 1990 and remained above average at the plate, he never regained his elite status.
Tony Conigliaro
Tony C. is one of the saddest stories on this list. More than 50 years before Juan Soto debuted, Conigliaro set a record for homers by a teenager blasting 24 for the Red Sox in 1964 at the age of 19. He hit 32 the next season to lead the American league and still ranks 4th all-time in HR’s through age 22, 104, behind only Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews, and Alex Rodriguez. On August 18, 1967, Conigliaro was hit in the face by an errant Jack Hamilton fastball. Hamilton was pitching for the Angels at the time. That pitch stopped his promising career in its tracks. While Conigliaro managed to return and hit 56 HR’s over the next two years, the injury damaged his eyesight and he played only 95 games after the age of 25. In January of 1982 37-year-old Conigliaro suffered a heart attack while on his way to the airport. Shortly thereafter he suffered a stroke and lapsed into a coma. He never fully recovered and had slight brain damage. He died 8 years late in February of 1990 of kidney failure and pneumonia at the age of 45. The Red Sox wore black armbands in his memory that season.
Well there they are, some of the better players who had injuries rob them of the best years of their lives.
Discussion (11)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The Wild Horse signs with a KBO team for one year, one million dollars.
Kike is gone, but Kekai is here….
Andrew is slowly acquiring all of the first round picks in the 2015 draft:
Buehler (24th), Bickford (18th), Beau Burrows (22nd), Fullmer (8th)
For those who were hoping we would add Duffy to the staff for 2022, the good news is he managed to avoid another TJ surgery. The bad news is he had flexor surgery in October and is not expected back until June. Plans to pitch out of the bullpen in 2022 and possibly return to starting in 2023.
Sounds like a 2 year contract from a team willing to take a chance. Maybe that team is based in Chavez Ravine………….or not.
The Dodgers selected C Kekai Rios (Brewers) and RHPs Carson Fulmer (Reds) and Jon Duplantier (Giants) in the 2021 Minor League Rule 5 Draft.
2:49 PM · Dec 8, 2021
The Dodgers selected three players in the minor league Rule 5 Draft: Catcher Kekai Rios (24), RHP Carson Fulmer (27), RHP Jon Deplantier (27).
They lost LHP Nelfri Contreras (22) and RHP Carlos Santiago (20)
I will say one thing about the folks on Twitter. They sure know how to take a rumor and run with it. There is so much chatter on there about the Dodgers being the front runner to sign Correa when the lock out ends. Of course they said the same stuff about Seager and Scherzer. They forget LA has a pretty decent SS on the roster. I do believe one thing though, the lockout is going to cost some free agents money. Correa is not going to get the same kind of deal Seager got simply because his suitor pool has shrunk. Story is still out there at a cheaper price. Kick the tires and see if he is willing to move to third. Keep Correa away from LA. I do not care how good the guy is.
After a little thought, you missed a really big name on this list. How about Albert Belle? He retired at the ripe age of 33 years old after putting together a .281/.342/.474/.817 slash in his final year. In just 12 years, his career totals are on par or better than the recent list of inductees. A degenerative hip condition sparked his sudden retirement.
There’s two things I’ll always remember about Albert, that 100 extra base hits season and when he flattened Fernando Vino on the bases.
Interesting article. I remember the Eric Davis comparisons to Willie Mays around 1987 or so. That was when he really burst on the scene and had his best year. I was looking at his stats (and Mays’). 1987 was the closest he ever came to warrant being mentioned in the same breath as Mays. In his long prime, Mays had only one year when he hit lower than .300, consistently hit for more power, was a better defensive player and had a consistently insane. wRC+.
Interestingly, Davis had one of his best offensive years at the very end when he was with the Orioles. He and Strawberry were contemporaries – big potential, stars in their primes, decent careers, but not HOF worthy.
Another possible what-if is Joe Mauer. He was one of the best players in the game and on track for a bona fide HOF career as a catcher until his concussion.
Scrolling through the comments yesterday and noticed the Maddux Bruns back and forth. I think it’s a little early to both anoint him him as a #2 or write him off because he’s been lit up in his first minor league experience. In fact, I think citing Fangraph’s ranking as evidence that he’s a bust or a bad draft choice is not really fair.
He’s 19. He bucks the usual Dodgers habit of drafting college pitchers, probably because their low draft order necessitates looking at players with more raw talent and less college level polish, and he has raw talent. Actually Fangraphs ranks both his fastball and curveballs as 60s. It’s his control that is an issue, but as 19-year-old in the one of the best organizations for player development, you’d expect that to improve. He’s currently throwing 96 as a lefty at 19. I think you could expect that to improve a tick, too.
Also, with all the Bobby Miller love, I didn’t see much mention of Pepiot. I would put him right up there with Miller. With Devin Williams now graduated and one of the best relievers in the MLB, Pepiot now probably has the best changeup in the minor leagues.
No question injuries derailed the careers of some incredible players. Tony Conigliaro is the saddest story. Who knows how good he would have been? He certainly looked like the next great hitter.
Good write-up, Bear.
What a great list OldBear, you have a couple of my personal favorites on there and you’re very right that during their primes, they seemed like no doubt HOF’ers. My personal favorite here is Nomar Garciaparra. He’s a local boy and was my favorite of the last group of great shortstops with Jeter and A-Rod. I was so happy when the Dodgers brought him home and I’ll always remember the 4+1 game. I love him in the booth and on the pregame shows as well.
Eric Davis was another guy that I really admired when he was on top of his game in Cincinnati. Great defense in CF and a great combination of power and speed. When he came to the Dodgers, he was a shell of his former self, but I remember all those times he stole 3B, saying it’s easier to steal third because of the lead he get from second base.
The other favorite of mine on this list is David Wright. He was Chipper Jones all over again. A great fielder, hitter for both power and average, a leader on and off the field and could even steal bases. He was one of my favorite non-Dodger players and a class act.
You’re list here is awesome, I liked all the players on it, but those 3 really stood out for me.