Robin Ventura is a 6 time Gold-Glove winning third baseman and a fine hitter. That normally isn't enough for the Hall, and it probably won't do for Ventura, but I thought that it would be fun to recap his career and remember some other fine third basemen who are just outside the Hall. Ventura hit .243/.337/.362 in 152 ABs for the Dodgers in 2004 at age 36. His career does seem to be winding down.
Ventura was the tenth overall pick of the 1989 draft by the White Sox, after winning the Golden Spikes award in 1988. He signed immediately and reported straight to double A Birmingham where he hit .278/.403/.361 with 93 walks in 547 PAs. He had a cup of coffee in September for the Sox and made the team out of spring training in 1990. After a difficult rookie year in 1990 (.249/.324/.318- Alex Rios worriers take note), he established his career pattern in his sophomore year hitting .284 with 23 homers and 80 walks. From there, he had fairly standard growth after that with a modest overall improvement in his power as he aged.
Ventura earned his 6 Gold Gloves, with fine overall defence over a period of 9 years. He was never a threat to steal, and wisely rarely tried.
For Ventura's chart, we have 2 old favorites of mine:
Player G AB H HR W BA OBP SLUG OPS+ Ventura 2079 7054 1885 294 1075 .267 .362 .444 115 Bando 2019 7060 1790 242 1031 .254 .352 .408 119 Cey 2073 7162 1868 316 1012 .261 .354 .445 121
I could have chosen a couple of others- Darrell Evans, Ken Boyer, but these two are by far the closest. Ventura was the best of the 3 as a fielder, although Bando was very good and would have won a Gold Glove or three had Brooks Robinson not been in the league (Bando was in my view better than Brooks in the 70s, but not by a huge amount, and the voters had simply gotten used to writing the name of the greatest defensive third baseman ever on their ballot). Cey was an average fielder in his prime, and as he aged, his range diminished to practically zero. All in all, I'd rate them Bando, Ventura, Cey, but it's quite a tight knot.
Should Ventura be in the Hall of Fame? I don't think so. There are at least 5 better who are not there- Santo, Boyer, Stan Hack, Evans and Bando. Will he? You wouldn't think so, but it is unpredictable. Ventura has been a better player than Pie Traynor.
Next up: The Oufielders
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050220195616365