Here is a bold and honest statement from a long time Boston Red Sox fan, Don Mattingly should be in Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame. There you heard it. I have been telling friends, co-workers, the stranger I sat next to at Yankee Stadium this summer, several folks at the bar later that night, and so on that very statement for years. Thousands of people (bit of an exaggeration) have heard me say it, so now maybe thousands more (hopefully) will read it. He was one of the best players in Major League Baseball at a time in my life where I played first base, collected baseball cards, idolized baseball players as Gods, and he played for a rival team of my beloved Red Sox. That’s how much admiration I have for Don Mattingly.
Brief story before I get into the research I have done via Baseball Reference and other sites. When my friends and I would get together to play Wiffle Ball, we would attempt to bat like our favorite Major League hitters. We would do their customary walk up to the plate, swing the bat wildly just like them, get into their familiar crouch, and attempt to create the same magic in our backyards that the MLB’ers would in real baseball games. My three go to stances – Carl Yaz, Cecil Cooper, and one Donnie Baseball, Don Mattingly. His crouch, his explosion to the ball, his line drive-ability – all legendary. Don Mattingly crushed doubles and home runs with an easy stroke that produced a thunderous power stroke. If you missed your location as a Pitcher to Donnie Baseball, you would have to ask the umpire for another. Because your missed pitch location was now some fan’s souvenir in the upper right field deck of Yankee Stadium. THWAAAACK!!!
Ok, let’s fast forward to this week. Cooperstown will induct 3 new members this summer, along with Veterans Committee selection Manager Jim Leyland. Joe Mauer, Todd Helton, and Adrian Beltre – congratulations on your careers and this incredible honor to be voted in by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Each of these HOF players had amazing careers, racked up incredible statistics, and were elite players for several years in their respective eras. If you compare Mauer, Helton, and Beltre to other players in their eras, these 3 clearly stand out as one of (if not) the best amongst the best in Major League Baseball for the period of time they played.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the career of Todd Helton(all of the following stats coming from his Baseball Reference page). Massively talented, multi-sport athlete, 6 foot 2 inches, 220lbs, bats left, throws left. Played football at University of Tennessee, first round draft pick, an absolute stud athlete on many, many levels. First Baseman. Played for 1 organization, the Colorado Rockies. 162 game average, one of my favorite BR stats, for Helton are eye-popping:
- Batting average – .316
- Hits – 182
- Doubles – 43
- Home Runs – 27
- RBI – 101
- Slugging % - .539
Ok, now let’s take a look at Don Mattingly (BR page for Mattingly). 19th Round Draft Pick, out of High School in Evansville, IN. Debut at age 21, 1982. 6 feet tall, roughly 175 lbs. Bats left, throws left. First baseman, with some outfield mixed in. BR shows him playing 2B and 3B in a game. Played for 1 organization, the New York Yankees. 162 game average for Mattingly is equally as eye-popping as Helton’s, in my opinion:
- Batting average – .307
- Doubles – 40
- Hits – 195
- Home Runs – 20
- RBI – 100
- Slugging % - .471
Ok, how about All Star Game (ASG) appearances, Gold Gloves, MVP’s and other post season awards:
- Helton – 5 ASG, 3 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Slugger, 0 MVP awards
- Mattingly – 6 ASG, 9 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Slugger, 1 MVP awards
Neither Helton nor Mattingly won a World Series. Helton did appear in one WS, but unfortunately my Boston Red Sox completely mowed the Rockies down 4-0 to win the 2007 World Series. For his part, Helton did have 5 hits in the World Series. Again, the Red Sox wiped the floor with the Rockies and another banner now hangs at Fenway Park for the 2007 WS Champs!
Sorry, got off the rails a bit there. Before I finish my thoughts on Don Mattingly’s place in Cooperstown, I wanted to share this website with you and this very, very convincing article of the same nature about Donnie Baseball. The website is Cooperstown Cred (www.cooperstowncred.com) and the article is “Should Donnie Baseball Be in the Hall of Fame.” It is an excellent article with tons of great comparisons, stats, and photos. Great read for any baseball fan, especially fans of Donnie Baseball. Click the highlight link to go to that article.
I wanted to mention also that I do not have an official vote, meaning I am not a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. These BBWAA writers have a ballot on which they cast votes on whom they believe is hall of fame worthy and it is based on facts, their experience, their personal views, and so on. I would never question a BBWAA writer on their votes, their votes are their votes. I am still stating, as a lifelong baseball fan and observer, now a baseball blogger, that in my opinion, Don Mattingly’s numbers are just as good (for the period he played) as recent Hall of Fame inductee Todd Helton. Mattingly was a great hitter, so was Helton. Both hit for power, average, home runs galore, scored runs, drove in runs, were feared by the opposition at the plate. Both fielded their position with excellence, both won multiple Gold Gloves, both had a career fielding percentage of .996. .996, are you nuts? So, pretty much any baseball hit to Helton or Mattingly plus any baseball hit in the infield for a putout at first base was realized as an out.
I will say it again, in case you missed it earlier, Don Mattingly belongs in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For argument’s sake, do you consider Frank Thomas to be better? How about Rod Carew? How about Todd Helton? How about Scott Rolen? How about Fred McGriff? I don’t see how so many writers and so many committee members and so many committees in general missed this one. In my opinion, they whiffed on this one, which by the way, Mattingly (162 game average again) struck out a measly 40 times per year out of a potential 636 at bats. Another staggering stat for Donnie Baseball.
Congrats to all the players (Mauer, Helton, Beltre) and Manager Jim Leyland for being elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. In my opinion, the Hall is one player short of what it should be. That player is NYY first baseman, slugger, player extraordinaire – Don Mattingly.
Huge thanks and respect to Baseball Reference and Cooperstown Cred websites. They are just amazing pieces of information for the obsessed baseball fan, like me.
The Rhiter 
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