Jim Rice had a better average, but no speed and defense. So it’s a nice trade. His closest comps are a lot of the same guys on Murphy’s list, only topped by Orlando Cepeda.

Dave Parker’s also in the same group, enjoying a slightly longer career to pad those counting stats. The Hawk rounds it out, faring the best in the counting stats, also providing the best power/speed combo (over 400 SB’s) and great defense.

So do any of these guys scream Hall of Famer? Honestly, maybe Dawson, just for bringing a pennant to the Cubs, but not really. All of these guys meet the minimum standards for induction, you can make a case that there are plenty of guys enshrined that they are better than (mainly those bad Veterans Committee selections). When you look at them as a group like this, they all look the same, and they all look like guys who you could put in, but don’t have to be put in.

Like I said, I’m tempted to vote for Dawson, but really, the Hall is not any poorer for not having these players. They could go in and I wouldn’t raise a fuss, I’d say only nice things, but I wouldn’t vote for them. Sorry.