Steve Garvey is a legendary 1B who played for the LA Dodgers from 1969-1982, then the San Diego Padres between 1983-1987 to finish his 19-year career. During his career he put up marvelous numbers on his way to earning one MVP, 2 NLCS MVP’s, an all-star game MVP, 4 gold gloves, 6 silver sluggers, and a WS ring, while he appeared in 10 all-star games. Since retiring in 1987, Steve has already passed through his 15 years of eligibility for consideration to the Hall of Fame, and never got more than 41.6% of the vote, but never below 21.1% either. His case for the Hall of Fame has been debated for years, but most analysts believe he has good enough numbers, while others disagree, as they point out that Garvey was a bit selfish striking out more than he should have and having a low career OBP. Yes there were some issues with his behavior and lack of production in some statistical categories, but considering the more important factors in his career, such as performing under pressure, Garvey most certainly belongs in Cooperstown.
Steve Garvey may not be a first ballot or even third ballot type of player, but he is definitely a 5th ballot Hall of Famer with his career .294 batting average. What stands out the most in his terrific all-star career, is Garvey’s ability to perform under pressure. His 2 all-star game and NLCS MVP’s speak for themselves, as he hit for a combined .344 batting average in his 10 all-star appearances and 55 playoff games in all, which he had 86 hits along with 38 RBI’s in just 65 games. To add to these heroic feats, he also has career 317 batting average as a pinch-hitter during his 19-years in the big leagues. Garvey’s ability to come through in pressure situations was truly remarkable, but was not his only great aspect to his wonderful 19-years as a Dodger and Padre. Steve was also quite a consistent regular season player, as he averaged to appear in at least 142 games a season during his 16 full seasons, in which 6 of those seasons he lead the league in games played. He has a career batting average of .294 (3 times over .300), 2599 hits (6 seasons over 200), 1308 RBI’s (5 seasons over 100), and 3941 total bases (6 seasons of over 300). He was not only a guarantee presence at the plate, but also at 1B with his 4-time award winning gold glove, where Steve Garvey had a near perfect fielding percentage of .996 in over 17000 innings played.
Despite his magnificent 19-year career, he was a bit selfish according to multiple sources, as he sometimes chose to strikeout instead of getting the walk, which led him to have a low on base percentage for multiple years of his career. Overall though numerous stats that Steve Garvey put up are hard to avoid, as they certainly spell out Hall of Fame. Steve Garvey was one of the most spectacular everyday players in the bulk of the 70’s and early 80’s, as he is one of the most deserving overlooked legends to be considered for the Hall.
What do you think? Should Steve Garvey be in Cooperstown?
Check this article out: http://www.notinhalloffame.com/baseball/item/910-42-steve-garvey
I really appreciate this article. When I was growing up, there was no doubt Steve Garvey was the best player on the NL’s best team. His stats were stunningly consistent (200 plus hits, gold glove, 100 plus RBI etc…). Most important, he was dominant in his era. I believe the extra martial scandals and the at times tense relationship with the media cost him HOF votes. I hope he’ll get some consideration from the veterans committees as he is certainly as worth as many of his peers of the Era who are in the hall.
totally agree, the voting system is screwed up right now