Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

[AROD313]

With all the steriod junkies out there it would be nice to see a pure hitter like Grace get into Cooperstown. He has over 2400 hits, a lifetime average of .303 and the most hits during the 90's
What are his chances?

[reed1216]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I love Grace. He was credit to the game as a player and he continues to be an ambassador to the game as a broadcaster and personality. He was a very, very good player, both offensively and defensively and was a leader on the 2001 world champion Diamondbacks team. Prior to that, he established himself as an all time Cubs great.

With all that said, Grace doesn't have a shot. He didn't hit for power and while he put up some good numbers, he was never a dominant player. When I think of a Hall of Fame type player, I think of a guy who dominated his position over a period of 5-10 years. I think milestones are somewhat overrated, that's why I am a big believer that a player like Jim Rice deserves enshrinement. He was the most feared hitter in the American League for a significant portion of his career.

Grace, on the other hand, was never considered the best player at his position. He was good, but that shouldn't get you into the Hall. Maybe in time, as he continues to work within baseball, he will get some consideration for overall contributions to the game. I'd like to see that happen. But, as a player, he falls short as a HOFer.

[frikativ54]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

Mark Grace is a HOFer on the same day as I am a bikini model.

Me in a two piece?!?!

[Vintagedeputy]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I'd love for Gracie to make it so that I could start off a nice HOF collection with this gamer....

[RobSteinmetz]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I'm not campaigning for Grace, as I don't think he'll ever make the HOF. He wasn't flashy, but he was a rock solid player both offensively and defensively. It's difficult to dismiss the fact that he collected more hits during the decade of the 1990's than any other player.

[ndevlin22]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I really liked Mark Grace a lot. Another real classy guy. But, he has no chance. If you put him in, you have to put someone like John Olerud in as well.

[bigtruck260]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I put Mark Grace in the same category as Luis Gonzales and John Olerud.

A very solid, professional player with some great years who will always be remembered as such. Can't say a bad word about Gracie's baseball career - he played to the best of his ability...which unfortunately was just shy of having enough hits to be considered as a HOF player.

He was a throwback player, and I wished for the longest time that we had him as a Cardinal. He was also funny in Mr. Destiny - Jim Belushi attacked him and blamed him for the '84 season..."I wasn't even on that team!"

Dave

[suave1477]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

BigTruck are you sure Mark Grace was in Mr Destiny? I don't remember that part. I remember he hit the home run Belushi caught in the movie Taking care of Business.

[ndevlin22]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

You're right suave, he was only in taking care of business. Along with Joe Torre and Bert Blyleven. Looks like its time to rent a movie!!

[bigtruck260]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

BigTruck are you sure Mark Grace was in Mr Destiny? I don't remember that part. I remember he hit the home run Belushi caught in the movie Taking care of Business.

Taking Care of Biz - THAT'S IT. Thanks for correcting me Jason.

[bscott]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I don't know if I agree that Grace was truly the "class act" he's purported to be.

It's really hard to know for sure, but Grace did supposedly coin the term "slumpbuster." Pretty unGRACEful.

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2006/06/19/the-slump-buster/

Or, even if he didn't coin the term, he brought it back to life:

http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/slump_buster/

Even if it was a joke or just one dumb comment, it's not the legacy that Hall voters covet.

-bscott.

[suave1477]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

BScott I am almost positive the Hall could care less about one little comment made on air that barely got any recognition from any well recognized news media except for a love novel site.

Don't quite think that would be what keeps him out.

[bscott]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

I agree, his statistics will keep him out. His numbers just aren't Hall-of-Fame caliber. He's a borderline guy much like: Dale Murphy, Mattingly, Harold Baines... etc.

I was just pointing it out to make sure Grace didn't go down in history as the game's nicest guy ever. Other than that one thing, by all accounts he was/is a good guy.

-bscott.

[bigtruck260]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

...Yeah Suave - they must have forgotten that Wade Boggs made it in.

[5kRunner]

Re: Mark Grace Hall of Fame 2009???????

The hall isn't exactly made up of saints. So I doubt that one comment keeps him out.

I had never even heard about this before, and I'm a Cubs fan. So I'd bet most of the voters never heard about it. Especially because it happened ten years ago.

I'll echo what has already been said. Good solid player. Not great. Great swing, loved watching him bat. In my mind probably underrated. Always seemed to be overshadowed by other players (Sandberg, Dawson, Sosa).