Bob Meusel: Hall of Famer

Did you know that Adrian Beltre is tied for the all-time lead in cycles?  It's true.  He's done it three times.  And he's the only one that's done it in the Expansion Era.  In fact, the other three all did it before World War II--John Reilly in the 1800s, Babe Herman in the 1930s, and Bob Meusel.

Where am I going with all of this?  Well, seeing that article got me thinking about something that I've wondered in the past.  And that's why isn't Bob Meusel in the Hall of Fame?  He was on the Veterans Committee ballot in 1982, but wasn't elected.  I'm not sure if he's been considered since, but he should be.  Because he has better numbers and more championships than some other players from the 1920s that already have plaques in Cooperstown.

Meusel played 11 years from 1920-30, all but the last of which was with the Yankees.  He was a member of the Yankees' first six pennant-winning teams, as well as their first three World Championship teams.  On that historic "Murderer's Row" 1927 squad, Meusel batted fifth--behind two guys you might've heard of.  Their names were Ruth and Gehrig.  He also hit ahead of another Hall of Famer, Tony Lazzeri.

Was Meusel remotely near the caliber of his celebrated teammates?  Of course not.  I'm not trying to argue that he was.  But the fact that he was, at best, the fourth-best player on the 1927 Yankees shouldn't disqualify him, either.  That was one of the greatest teams in history for a reason.  And you're not going to convince me that Bob Meusel wasn't a key part of the Yankees' success as they became The Yankees.

I'm not just waxing poetic about him because he was a member of the 1927 Yankees, either.  Bob Meusel certainly has the numbers that should warrant serious Hall of Fame consideration.  He was a career .309 hitter who also hit 368 career doubles, 95 triples and 156 home runs to go along with 1,071 RBIs.  Meusel also had 143 career stolen bases.  This was right as baseball transitioned from the Dead Ball Era to the Live Ball Era.  They played  154-game season then, but Baseball-Reference only does 162-game averages, and they've got Meusel averaging 42 doubles, 11 triples, 18 homers and 123 RBIs a year according to their projections.  And, while you know I place no value in this "stat," his career WAR was 27.6.

He had eight RBIs in the 1923 World Series, including five in Game 5, as the Yankees won their first title.  Then in 1925, Meusel led the American League in both home runs (33) and RBIs (138) (yet was only 18th in AL MVP voting?).  That was one of just two seasons in the 1920s where Babe Ruth didn't win at least a share of the AL home run title.  At the time of his retirement, he held most Yankee records for right-handed hitters, only to have them later broken by Lazzeri and the next guy to wear No. 5 in the Bronx--Joe DiMaggio.

Then there was the defense.  Meusel was long considered one of the best outfielders of his day.  He had 28 outfield assists in 1921 alone (and 24 in 1922) and recorded 157 in his career.  Meusel played primarily left field, although he occasionally swapped with Ruth and played right.  In his obituary, the New York Times called Meusel's throwing arm "deadly accurate," and Casey Stengel said that he had never seen a better thrower.

There are plenty of negatives associated with Meusel, too.  And if I had to guess, I'd imagine these are the primary reasons why he hasn't come close to Hall of Fame election in the past.  He struck out a lot (his 24 World Series strikeouts were a record until broken by Gil McDougald).  Meusel was also criticized for being lazy, which some said prevented him from being truly great.  Evidently, he wasn't well liked by his teammates and the media either.  

Since it's the media that votes for the Hall of Fame, I'd imagine that might be the primary reason why Meusel isn't a Hall of Famer.  I'd love to see that rectified, though.  Because I think Bob Meusel has been overlooked long enough.  He played almost 100 years ago and died 40 years ago.  I think it's safe to say he's long overdue.

They changed the structure of the Veterans Committee a few years ago, meaning players from earlier eras will be reviewed much less frequently.  As a result, Bob Meusel can't be considered until the "Early Baseball" committee meets in 2020.  When they vote, I hope they give him a serious look.  Because Jack Morris isn't the only person I think belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Bob Meusel belongs there, too.