Gordo

Joe Gordon is one of the many old-time players on the ballot for the Veterans Committee who has no chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame this year. And that’s really shameful. I’ve never understood why Gordon wasn’t elected years ago, or why he hasn’t at least received more support. He was a terrific defensive second baseman who hit 253 career home runs, walked more times than he struck out for his career, accumulated four seasons of 100-plus RBIs, earned nine All-Star Game selections, and played on five World Championship teams. He was also a prominent member of some great Yankee teams, so it’s not like he lacked for exposure in the 1940s and 1950s. Yet, Gordon hasn’t ever come close to being elected to Cooperstown—he received a high of 29 per cent of the vote from the writers in 1969—and this year’s election on February 27 will be no different.

Gordon’s offensive numbers are impressive on the surface. They become even gaudier when one considers that he played most of his career at the old Yankee Stadium and at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, two cavernous ballparks for right-handed sluggers. And it’s not like Gordon was a one-dimensional slugger who played like Jorge Orta or Alfonso Soriano at second base. If anything, Gordon’s defensive reputation has always been brilliant. He was an acrobatic, rangy second baseman who turned the double play with quickness and precision. Phil Rizzuto loved playing with him at shortstop, and Gordon’s managers seemed to love watching him work around the bag. The statistics only back up the reputation. Gordon led American League second basemen in assists four times and also paced the league in double plays on three occasions.

So where exactly does Gordon fall short as a Hall of Famer? I just don’t know. He had considerable power, reached base at a solid clip, played well defensively, and contributed mightily to multiple championship teams. Unless he committed some kind of crime that I’m not aware of, there just doesn’t seem to be a legitimate reason to keep Joe Gordon out of Cooperstown.