* Since you brought it up: Rocky Colavito

June 23, 2009

This item popped up in my Google alerts. Fifty years ago (June 10, to be precise), Colavito — who played primarily for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians from the mid-1950s to late 1960s — became the sixth batter in the modern era to hit four homers in one game.  (By the way, this may be the pot calling the kettle black, but shame on WFMZTV for misspelling his name in the transcript.)

Only yesterday, I received an email from “Gloria,” who runs the Rocky Colavito fan site (and Yahoo group), which states on its home page:

Not many players, past or present, invoke the memories and positive feelings Rocky’s name continues to spark.  As though it was yesterday, details of Rocky’s accomplishments are embedded in the memory of his fans.  Rocky’s name continues to pop up on sports pages, particularly as a vehicle  of comparison in today’s baseball highlights.

The site includes a petition by which his fans seek to gain him consideration for the Hall of Fame. This leads to a question:

Given the current state of affairs re: HoF candidates, in which contemporary players such as McGuire, Sosa, Palmiero, Clemens, et al are under a cloud of suspicion, is it time to reconsider some of those older players who just missed the cut? A glance at Colavito’s record on Baseball-Reference.com indicates his HoF status considering his league-leading stats:

Black Ink Batting – 15 (153), Average HOFer ≈ 27
Gray Ink Batting – 152 (85), Average HOFer ≈ 144
Hall of Fame Monitor Batting – 81 (216), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame Standards Batting – 29 (280), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Objectively speaking, except for the “Gray Ink” category, they seem to fall short; Colavito is among those players who had several excellent years and is obviously a fan favorite (Gil Hodges comes immediately to mind), but has been found lacking by the voters.

It is not my intention to justify in either direction. Just wanted to put it out there. The timing of the email and the TV story compels it.

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{ 3 comments }

1 JACOB MONTOYA August 14, 2009 at 9:10 pm

I was remembering Rocky today from when I was a young guy because I wanted
to see if there was any mention of how prolific his throwing arm was back then.
One day the Indians came to San Diego to play the Padres. Before the game
started, Rocky stood at home plate and threw balls over the fence in center
field. It was incredible! During the game a player tried to go to home plate
from second base on a single but was thrown out by Rocky from deep in right
field. This ball went to home plate on the fly ( no bounces ). You just had to see it.
Thank you.

2 Mike Huberty August 15, 2009 at 10:33 am

Hi; Rocky Colavito was a favorite of mine.Wondering how I can contact his website?I would like to see if Rocky attends any sports shows.Would love to get his autograph. thanks. Mike

3 Mark Cross October 10, 2009 at 3:06 pm

I watched Rocky hit his 4 home runs in the game against Baltimore on television.
Like all young boys who grew up in Northeast Ohio, I believed Rocky was the best. The Hall of Fame would be honored to have a slugger and man like Mr. Colavito. Everything good about the game has been well represented by his career. I also got to see in person Rocky hit 3 against the Indians in 1962. (thanks Dad) He was and still is the BEST.

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