I have also heard it from Red Sox fans that Rice should be in the HOF but I never really thought of him as a Hall of Famer.

But today I looked at his career stats and he had a very good career.

Now my question is do you guys consider him a HOF player? I'm still undecided on it and would like to hear your thoughts. If you need his career stats I can post them.

Well, Here are his stats:

16 seasons; 1249 runs; 2452 hits; 373 doubles; 382 homers; 1451 RBIs; 0.298 BA;

He's an 8-time All Star, and 1978 MVP

Here's more of his stats

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/riceji01.shtml

I say he is NOT a Hall of Famer.

Why?

b/c there isn't much that shouts out Hall of Fame.

We shouldn't let everyone in the Hall b/c of stats. They should contribute something memorable.

Cal Ripken and his streak
Nolan Ryan and his no-hitters, strike outs, nnd longevity
Wade Boggs/Tony Gwynn for their incredible hitting consistency
Mark McGwire/Barry Bonds for their home run prowess

You can't ask Red Sox fans if Jim Rice should be in the Hall. Ask non-Red Sox fans such as myself.

I am not an Orioles fan, but Cal Ripken defintely goes into the Hall.

Nor am I a Padres/Giants fans, but Gwynn and Bonds are deserving of that honor.

I believe that the Hall of Fame is an exclusive club, and you can't just go in b/c you had similar stats to previous Hall of Famers. Otherwise, Canseco will be in there; so will Fred McGriff.

When you consider Cal Ripken, is there ANYTHING you can say AGAINST him? Probably not, unless you enjoy nit-picking.

When you think Hall of Fame, you think about the best of the best. Don't let borderline superstars get in.

Rice played well; Rice made a lot of money. That's it.

The only Rice of recent memory that gets into the Hall of Fame is JERRY RICE.

Now, if ever there was a no-brainer Hall of Fame pick, it's Jerry Rice, who's SHATTERED every receiving record in regular season, playoffs, and Super Bowls, who's helped his team win 3 titles. To break Rice's records, you have to be at your best for 13-15 years (Rice will be in his 19th season this coming year).

Randy Moss so far has had the best 5-6 years, even better than Rice (primarily b/c Rice 1st year saw him mostly as a bench player). Now, does anyone who knows sports think that Randy "I play when I wanna play" Moss can keep up that pace for about 7-9 more years? If so, he's gonna break most of Rice's regular season records in only 14-16 years (whereas it took Rice 18 years to make all these records).

And then there are the play-offs and Super Bowl stats that are just absolutely mind-boggling. Even at 40 y/o, and with Oakland getting devastated by the Buccaneers, Rice still managed to score a TD against that defense.

Every football fan would agree Jerry Rice is a Hall of Famer. It doesn't matter whether you are a die-hard Cowboys / Steelers / Bills fans; if you know football, and you're not drunk/sniffing coke, you'll agree Jerry Rice belongs in the Hall.

For regular season:
#1 in receiving catches
#1 in receiving yards
#1 in TDs, overall, counting running backs

For play-offs:
see above

For Super Bowl,
see above

1987 MVP; 1989 Super Bowl MVP; 3 Super Bowl rings.

Look at his stats, then look to see how far away current players are from getting near to those stats.

Jerry Rice is MIND-BOGGLING. The dedication all-year round; the legendary off-season work out session climbing the hills of San Jose.

That is how you should get elected into the Hall of Fame.

If there's so much controversy regarding whether or not you deserve to get in, then you shouldn't be admitted.

You insult the current Hall of Famers by electing borderline superstars.

Thus, Jim Rice is NOT a Hall of Famer.

Sorry if I typed in wrong in my first post. I didn't mean that I asked Red Sox fans. Its just that all my friends are Red Sox fans and they always complain about everything Red Sox. We aren't going to win the World Series, the Yankees are evil, kill Bill Buckner, Jim Rice isn't in the hall of fame and etc.

Thanks for your input though. You made a lot of really good points.

If Jim Rice goes into the HOF, then Al Oliver, Dave Parker, Dale Murphy, Alan Trammell and Don Mattingly should also be in the HOF.

Bob

Bob...exactly my point.

And the list goes on and on..until the Hall of Fame is expanded to the size of California state.

Originally posted by NYJeterFan
If Jim Rice goes into the HOF, then Al Oliver, Dave Parker, Dale Murphy, Alan Trammell and Don Mattingly should also be in the HOF.

Bob

Good point.

I think podstock put it best when he said

"When you think Hall of Fame, you think about the best of the best. Don't let borderline superstars get in."

That is in all honesty one of the best and smartest quotes I have ever heard by a sports fan on any message board.

The Hall of Fame should be for the great baseball players and if there is any question whether or not the player should go in then that tells you that they shouldn't.

Originally posted by pwaldo
Good point.

I think podstock put it best when he said

"When you think Hall of Fame, you think about the best of the best. Don't let borderline superstars get in."

That is in all honesty one of the best and smartest quotes I have ever heard by a sports fan on any message board.

The Hall of Fame should be for the great baseball players and if there is any question whether or not the player should go in then that tells you that they shouldn't.

pwaldo..lol, thanks for the compliment.

I pound out an average of 24 points just chatting here and there. With over 1200 posts, the percentages are high in my favor that I'd say something intelligent in at least ONE post.

:D :D

Interesting point. But then there are the players who, sadly, younger people complain about being in the HOF (Bobby Doerr, Billy Herman, etc.), the true legends who make up some of the most respected and hardest working baseball players the game has ever seen. Those people never saw those legends play and therefore can't appreciate what they did for the game. They are what should make up the Hall of Fame, along with the Babe Ruths and Mickey Mantles and Ted Williams. Players who gave it their all and then some, and those had great careers.

Tim

Originally posted by NYJeterFan
If Jim Rice goes into the HOF, then Al Oliver, Dave Parker, Dale Murphy, Alan Trammell and Don Mattingly should also be in the HOF.

Bob

Yeah That is a tough call.

Like Bob stated here, if you let him in there is a whole list of guys that should in turn be allowed in as well if your looking at stats.


BGray

rice was great but HOF i dont think so

Many people here have already said that borderline players (Dave Parker, Dale Murphy, etc.) shouldn't be in the hall of fame, but there are already several borderline players in the hall such as Gary Carter, Tony Perez, and Phil Rizzuto.
Also, someone mentioned that statistics shouldn't be the only reason a player is inducted and that they should have done something memorable, like Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs hitting consistently. Personally, I don't ever remember either one of them doing anything very memorable, not on the same scale as Cal Ripken's streak or McGwire's home run record. I do agree they were both great players, and the only way you can actually show that they were consistently great hitters is through statistics such as batting average or on base percentage.

As a Red Sox fan, I would like to see Rice in the Hall. However, I am realistic about it. Rice's career flamed out too quickly. If he had not lost his bat speed after about 1987 and had continued playing for another 5 or 6 years, I think he definitely gets in the Hall. The way things transpired however, he probably will not get in. Let's not forget that he was the most feared power hitter in baseball from the late 1970's to the early 1980's. If he had continued in that, he would already be in and we would not be having this discussion.

first of all, just b/c you have borderline players into the Hall doesn't mean that you can now put in more players ---- this is not a good reason.

Second, if you do not recall the greatness that is Wade Boggs (superb hitter for a number of years, often batting 0.350 or higher, with multiple batting titles) or Tony Gwynn (the NL version of Boggs) --- then I am absolutely glad you are not a voter.

Both deserved to be in the Hall

As for Rice - he did not do enough.

Now, if Jim Rice took steroids like Barry Bonds, perhaps he might be able to put up worthy stats. But, alas, he did not "unknowingly" take steroids.

Jim Rice put up some remarkable numbers during a stretch of time where the balls were not flying out of the park like they are today. He is definitely borderline and if had maybe 2 or 3 more years like he did during the stretch of 1977-1979 he probably would get in with no problem. Unfortunately he didn't.

I agree that Rice was a great player with some really good stats but I think he just falls short. As for Boggs & Gwynn, Come on........They both have over 3,000 hits if nothing else. Are there any other players with over 3,000 hits besides Pete Rose not in the HOF ?

I agre that Rice was a great player with some really good stats but I think he just falls short. As for Boggs & Gwynn, Come on........They both have over 3,000 hits if nothing else. Are there any other players with over 3,000 hits besides Pete Rose not in the HOF ?

I feel that both Jim Rice and **** Allen should be in the Hall. I don't think that just by accumulating statistics by playing for a long time(like Carlton Fisk) should necessarily make one eligible for the Hall of Fame. Look at Sandy Koufax-he retired at the age of 32 because of an arm injury but there was no doubt that this last 5 years were as good as anyone's in baseball history.

I think anyone who gets any of these should be in...

320 BA (min 10 years)
300 BA (min 15 years)
400 hrs (career)
350 Saves (career)
35 hrs per season or 162 games (min 10 years)
250 wins (career)
ERA under 3.50 (min 10 years)
7 GG's
an MVP (unless it was a fluke)
a CY Youngs (unless it was a fluke)
2 ERA Titles
2 WHIP Titles
2 Batting Titles
3 Home Run Titles
3 Saves Titles
2 Relief Pitcher of the year Awards

I would like to see more players in the HOF, but maybe thats just me...

I think PART of the reason hes not already in is because when he played, the media didn't like him. He wouldn't talk to them, wouldn't give them fodder. The best thing the hall of fame could ever do would be to take the vote away from the media and put it in the hands of the veterans' committee. Rice, I believe, would already be in if the vets committee voted on the hall of fame.