At a quick glance, he was an elite hitter from 1911-1913, good/very good from 1914-1919, and elite in 1920 (final season).

2nd all time in BA and of the 6 guys ahead of him on the adjusted OPS+ list, only Bonds isn't in the Hall.

Regardless, he still only had 1800 hits. Longevity should matter some. And getting busted for cheating is why he stopped playing. That should matter and not on the good side. Not like he said, I'm done ala Barry Sanders. 

Nine full seasons.  Falls short of HOF requirements.  End of story.

bureaucrat

Posted by Jtpsops on 1/28/2013 7:30:00 PM (view original):
2nd all time in BA and of the 6 guys ahead of him on the adjusted OPS+ list, only Bonds isn't in the Hall.

Those are rate stats. They get a boost from the fact that he never went through a decline phase. How many hitters would be ahead of him in those categories if they had retired in their primes instead of playing through the declines of their late 30s?

Or how much better would those stats be if Jackson had been allowed to play out his prime? It can go both ways. His last season was one of his best.

And FWIW - Koufax is in the Hall and still widely considered one of the best pitchers ever (which I agree with). But by some of the logic in this thread - he played 10 seasons and 2 half seasons. His last 5 were phenomenal - the other 5 and two halves were decent at best, and nowhere near HOF quality.

So in reality, Koufax is in the Hall on the strength of 5 great seasons AND the fact that he left in his prime and could have done more. Equal standards should apply to everyone.

Again, one can't judge a career based on speculation.  You can only judge it based on what actually happened.

And what actually happened was that Joe Jackson only played 9 full seasons, and a total of 47 additional games over another 4 seasons.  Which brings him short of the 10 season HOF eligibility qualification.

Except the "full season" requirement is a tec original.

3. Eligible Candidates -- Candidates to be eligible must meet the following requirements:

     A. A baseball player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning twenty (20) years before and ending five (5) years prior to election.

     B. Player must have played in each of ten (10) Major League championship seasons, some part of which must have been within the period described in 3 (A).

     C. Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five (5) calendar years preceding the election but may be otherwise connected with baseball.

     D. In case of the death of an active player or a player who has been retired for less than five (5) full years, a candidate who is otherwise eligible shall be eligible in the next regular election held at least six (6) months after the date of death or after the end of the five (5) year period, whichever occurs first.

     E. Any player on Baseball's ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate.

Which isn't to say I think he should go in, but outside of the whole permaban thing, he'd be eligible.