17 weeks into this series (admittedly originally a filler for when there was no baseball) and we have named 75 of the 100 members of the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
Looking at the inductees by position so far:
- Starting pitchers make up the largest group by far with 18 inductees – Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, Carl Hubbel, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young, Greg Maddux, Lefty Grove, Nolan Ryan, Pete Alexander, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Satchel Paige, Steve Carlton, Tom Glavine, Tom Seaver, Walter Johnson, and Warren Spahn
- There are 10 Center Fielders who have made the cut – Cool Papa Bell, Jow DiMaggio, Ken Griffey, Jr., Mickey Mantle, Oscar Charleston, Stan Musial, Tris Speaker, Turkey Stearns, Ty Cobb, and Willie Mays
- Right Field follows close behind with 9 – Al Kaline, Babe Ruth, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Joe Jackson, Mel Ott, Paul Waner, Roberto Clemente, and Sam Crawford
- Tops in the infield are First Basemen with 7 – Buck Leonard, Eddie Murray, George Sisler, Hank Greenberg, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Mule Suttles
- Second Base, Third Base and Left Field each have 6 inductees:
- 2nd Base: Charlie Gehringer, Eddie Collins, Jackie Robsinson, Joe Morgan, Nap Lajoie, and Rogers Hornsby
- 3rd Base: Brooks Robinson, Chipper Jones, Eddie Mathews, George Brett, Mike Schmidt, and Ray Dandridge
- Left Field: Al Simmons, Barry Bonds, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose, Rickey Henderson, and Ted Williams
- 5 players each for Shortstop and Catcher:
- SS: Cal Ripken, Jr., Ernie Banks, Honus Wagner, Ozzie Smith, and Pop Lloyd
- C: Johnny Bench, Josh Gibson, Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella, and Yogi Berra
- And lastly, there are 2 Closers (Dennis Eckersley and Mariano Rivera) and 1 DH (Edgar Martinez
Starting next week we will begin inducting the final 25. Some may be surprising – especially those who are not in that other museum in Cooperstown.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
