Roger Maris

To:  Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee
We, the undersigned, as fans and admirers of baseball legend Roger Maris, wish to see him inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as soon as possible.
We believe that Roger has earned a spot in the Hall of Fame for reasons including, but not limited to, the following:
*Record 61 Home Runs in 1961
*.982 Fielding Percentage (Better than Mays, Aaron, Mantle, Clemente, B. Robinson, and others)
*3x World Series Champion (1961, 1962, 1967)
*4x All-Star Selection (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962)
*2x AL MVP (1960 and 1961)- Only 11 players have ever won in back to back years
*1960 Gold Glove Award Winner
*1960 and 1961 RBI Champion
*Number 9 Jersey Retired By Yankees
Yes, Maris only had a .260 career batting average, 275 home runs, 851 RBI’s and 1,325 hits but lets compare him to some other Hall of Fame players who got in with similar or lesser numbers.
*Bill Mazeroski (Class of 2001)- Was a lifetime .260 hitter like Maris. However he hit just 137 home runs and had only 2 more RBI’s. This is after the fact that he played in 5 more seasons and got more than 2,600 AB’s than Roger.
*Phil Rizzuto (Class of 1994)- Only won one MVP (1950) and his career batting average of .273 is only .013 higher than Roger’s. However his power stats of 38 home runs and only 563 RBI’s aren’t even close to Roger’s. Phil had 263 more hits than him but had also over 700 more AB’s.
*Red Schoendienst (Class of 1989)- Never won an MVP and had less home runs (84) and RBI’s(773) than Roger did after playing in 19 seasons. Red’s .289 batting average and 2,449 hits were better than Roger’s but he also had the 7 season advantage and 3,300 more AB’s to compile them hits.
*Richie Ashburn (Class of 1995)- Had over 1,200 more hits than Roger and did have a .308 career batting average but his power numbers were far lesser than Maris. He only had 29 home runs and 586 RBI’s which were 246 less and 265 less than Roger respectively. This is all considering he played in 3 more seasons.
The four guys above all have the same thing in common with Roger. They were all great ball players who had their own style that has made baseball what it is today. The only difference is they are in the Hall of Fame and Roger is not. Now they weren’t first ballot Hall of Famers but they did get in via the Veterans Committee. Isn’t it time after 41 years that Roger get the credit he deserves and he gets in too?
More than anything though Roger was just a down to earth guy that never expected anything to be given to him. All players who played with him loved him and all who opposed him did as well. You will be hard pressed to find a guy who didn’t like him. Here are some quotes from a few of the greatest ball players whoever lived:
“I still see him in my dreams. We lived together, we kidded around a lot, we enjoyed our time out there. Roger was a hell of a player, a Hall of Famer for sure in my book.”"When he (Roger Maris) hit it (home run #61 in 1961), he came into the dugout and they were all applauding. I mean, this is something that’s only happened once in baseball, right? And the people were all applauding. They wanted him to come back out. He wouldn’t come out, so the players had to push him back out. They forced him to come out and take a bow. That’s the kind of guy he was. He was great, and I really liked him.” – Mickey Mantle
“You know, I had to tell someone recently that Roger Maris was a damn good ballplayer. People think he had just one big year, but he was a very good ballplayer. I thought he was one of the best outfielders I have seen, and he was a very good clutch hitter.”-Hank Aaron
“I have so much respect for the man. For the mental part almost more than the physical. I mean, can you imagine what it’s like to hit 61 home runs in a season? In New York?”-Reggie Jackson
“You couldn’t play right field any better than Roger did. He could make every throw, play shallow, and then go get the ball. Roger Maris is probably the best ballplayer to ever play the game who isn’t in the Hall of Fame.”-Whitey Herzog
Roger has given baseball more than enough and its time the game gave something back to the man that respected the game more than anybody else ever has. Let’s get him in there and show him we still care and will never forget the great person he was on and off the field.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned