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A few words on Monday’s entry.
1. I forgot to add: Bill James ranks Rice the 27th best left fielder of all time, nestled between George Burns and Joe Kelley. Say goodnight, Gracie.
2. As the MookMaster noted in my comments, Joe Carter fell off the eligibility list because he didn’t get 5% of the vote this year. I hate when I know something then forget, and then get told about my ignorance. I have to link his site now: More Mook Stuff.
3. I made my grandfather’s day with the Burns joke. The House that Dewey Built: Catering to Old Men.

Here now the news…

Today is Part 2: Dwight Evans

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball?

Evans had three demonstrable skills. Walks, Power, and Amazing throwing arm. My seven-year-old eye saw him throwing a baseball 500 feet, on the fly to nail runners at second by 70 feet. Of course my mom told me I was an idiot. Evans did have a bazooka where most men have arms, none the less.

But his other two attributes didn’t get much play nationally until the daily presence of Rob Neyer at ESPN. Back in the early 80s, Dewey had a .290ish batting average, 20ish home runs, and low RBI, because he spend a good amount of time either at the top or bottom of the order.

I digress because this isn’t the best answer to this question. Evans was legitimately the best player in baseball in the strike-shortened 1981 season. I could find no newspaper that ever said that Dwight Evans was the best player in baseball.

2. Was he the best player on his team?

Evans was the best player on the Red Sox in 1981, 1982, and 1984. In 12 of his 20 seasons, he was one of the top 5 players on the Red Sox.

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but I was more affected by Dewey in an Orioles uniform then Clemens in a Yankees uniform.

3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position?

He was in 1981. I think it is probably safe to say that Evans, Dave Winfield and Dave Parker traded being the best right fielder in baseball for much of their tenures.
I’m lifting this from The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstracts, but from 1972-1995, Evans was better 9 times, Winfield 11, and Parker 5. Parker was better at his best though.

4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races?

Evans was a September call up in the 1972 pennant race, in which he hit .263/.344/.404. Here is how he did each year the Sox were in it:

1975    .269/.278/.3661977    Didn’t play due to injury1978   .164/.281/.2731986   .250/.396/.5921988   .287/.402/.6091990   .226/.279/.302

In his younger years, Dewey was a pretty useless down the stretch. However, in the 86, and 88 races, he more then held his own. He wasn’t very good in the playoffs, posting up .239/.333/.425 rates when the leaves turned.

5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime?

I think he was. Considering Dewey’s prime was the early 80s, and he was an effective Major League hitter until the year he retired, I think it’s safe to say he could still play past his prime.

He was primarily a 1b/DH his last 3 seasons, but he had 15 assists in limited playing time in the OF.

6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

No. Like I said yesterday, Darrell Evans, Ron Santo, and Burt Blyleven are better.

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?

Chili Davis, Billy Williams, Tony Perez, Dave Parker, Al Kaline, Darrell Evans, Harold Baines, Joe Carter, Andre Dawson, and Jim Rice are his closest 10 comps.

Kaline is one of the best 100 players in baseball history. Billy Dee and Tony Perez are in also.

Evans, and Baines are some of the more underrated players of the last few decades. Carter and Dawson are some of the more overrated. Chili Davis is one of my personal favorites. Not sure about that Rice fellow.

Three are in the hall. Seven pay admission.

8. Do the player’s numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?

His Standard Score is 43.3. His Monitor Score is 69.5. Those don’t really blow the ole skirt up.

9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?

Ok, going back to the first question…

Evans walked…a lot. A real lot. His 1400 walks led to 1470 runs scored. He walked before it was en vogue to walk. The reason why this is significant is because of the era he played his prime in.

As I’m sure a good amount of people know, in the late 1960’s, there was a trend to speedy, fast teams, and cookie-cutter, multi-purposed monolith stadiums. Some teams had success getting fast players who chopped the ball on the turf and ran like hell. By the early 80’s, the only teams in the American League that really tried to outslug their opponents were the Brewers, Yankees, and Red Sox.

It is arguable because of the affect of turf on offense, that batting average was more important in this era then in the 90s or 30s. Evans had good, not great batting averages (they were good for the era, but not spectacular), but his ob% was outstanding. I personally believe this led him to be underrated in the eye of Joe Fan.

Dewey also won eight Gold Gloves.

10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame?

I would say no. Tony Gywnn, Pete Rose (We know why. Pete, you’re an asshole), Bobby Murcer, Dave Parker and Bobby Bonds aren’t in and I would make the argument that they were better then Dwight Evans. Ken Singleton is funny because he has the same problems as Evans. He was much, much better then people realized back when he was playing.

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?

Dewey had MVP like seasons in 1981, 1982, and 1984, and then about 10 more very good seasons.

He finished in the MVP top 10 four times, in 1981, 1982, 1987, and 1988. The closest he came to winning was 3rd in 1981. Rollie Fingers won.

12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame?

His whole career is defined as being All-Star type, while not being good enough to be elite. He was only named to three All-Star teams.

That’s one more then Scott Cooper.

And I think less of the fans of baseball in the 1980s because of that.

13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant?

I don’t know about that. The Red Sox won two pennants during Dewey’s time. The first was in 1975 when he was thought of as all field and little hit. The other was in 1986 when he was the third best offensive player on the Red Sox, behind Boggs and Rice. Fair or not, 1986 will always be known for Buckner’s error, and Clemens’s coming-out party. Not Dewey.

Since the Red Sox didn’t come particularly close to winning anything in Evans’ best seasons, I would say no.

14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?

None that I know of.

15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

I haven’t been able to find anything conclusive that Evans transcended the team. I have heard apocryphal stories of Evans being a jerk in real life.

Whatever. He was always liked by Boston fans. My mom still loves him. I named my site after him. I haven’t heard anything to the contrary, so for this item Dewey gets a yes.

For the record, Dwight Evans is rated as the 22nd best right fielder in baseball history.