re: Baseball Hall of Fame Announcement Thread- Bagwell, Raines, Pudge Elected to HOF

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Vlad's case isn't quite as good as Larry Walker's. Walker has a higher career WAR, WAR7, and JAWS. He has 30 more points of career OPS and essentially the same OPS+. He stole more bases and was a far better defensive player. But Walker ain't getting in until Vlad does, but I'll also make the case for Vlad on non-statistical grounds: he is the most fun/unique player of his era and I think he is THE most important Dominican player. There were Dominicans before him, but he was the guy who really represented the island, and was the totem. I think that counts for a lot. You don't walk off the island.

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Yeah, the lack of Larry Walker love puzzles me. He was a much better overall player than Edgar Martinez who got a lot more votes than him. Walker was a legitimate 5-tool player in his prime. He could run, hit for power and average, and his arm was awesome. People bring up the Colorado advantage but Walker had a 137 OPS+ in his last three years in Montreal and had a 134 OPS+ with St. Louis when he was in the tail end of his career. The guy would have put up great offensive numbers wherever he played.