(*) FANALYTICS: Six named to Rotisserie Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 5 2015
While the the baseball universe waits impatiently for tomorrow's always-controversial Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame announcement, the fantasy industry has named its 2015 picks for the Rotisserie Hall of Fame: Lance Berkman, Derek Jeter, Roy Oswalt, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Michael Young.
Eligibility for the Roto Hall is based on lifetime and peak Rotisserie dollar earnings, and number of times ranked within the top 15 batters or pitchers during the player's career.
Unlike the BBWAA, there is no waiting period for Roto Hall induction. If a player meets all the other criteria, he can be inducted as soon as he officially retires. As such, 21 of the 34 players on the current BBWAA ballot are already Roto Hall members.
Complete details about the eligibility criteria appear here.
Here are descriptions of the Roto Hall's six new members:
Lance Berkman
Inducted with: Houston Astros (5th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 15
Career 5x5 earnings: $316
Average annual earnings, career: $21
Average annual earnings, peak: $27
No. years in top 15: 4
Lance Berkman was a stalwart in the Houston lineup for more than a decade. He earned more than $275 during that tenure, along with four $30-plus (and top 15) finishes. Berkman topped 40 HRs twice, 100 RBI six times and posted a .300-plus BA five times.
Berkman was a highly profitable pick for his 2011 owners. Two down seasons depressed his draft value into the teens, but he posted a 31-HR, .301 line for St. Louis, earning $30 that year.
Derek Jeter
Inducted with: New York Yankees (5th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 20
Career 5x5 earnings: $473 (15th all-time)
Average annual earnings, career: $24
Average annual earnings, peak: $30
No. years in top 15: 3
Although he never put up the sexy power stats, Derek Jeter was always a near-guarantee to earn at least $20 annually during his two decades of contributions. In fact, from 1996 to 2012, he earned less than $20 only once ($19, in 2003).
His roto contributions were consistent, but they were also front-loaded. He topped $30 six times, but four of them were between 1998 and 2002. What you could count on was a .300 average (12 times), triple digit runs scored (13 times) and 15 steals (12 times).
And you could count on him putting up the at-bats. From when he became a full-timer in 1996, he topped 600 AB a dozen times and only fell short of 580 AB in 2003 (482), 2011 (546) and 2013 (63).
Roy Oswalt
Inducted with: Houston Astros (6th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 13
Career 5x5 earnings: $195
Average annual earnings, career: $15
Average annual earnings, peak: $22
No. years in top 15: 5 (Tied for 8th among all pitchers)
From 2001 to 2006 -- during one of the highest offense periods in baseball history -- Roy Oswalt was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. He earned $136 during that time, going 98-47 with a 3.05 ERA and finishing in the Top 15 of all pitchers four times.
Oswalt earned at least $19 three more times during his career and managed to maintain his Roto Hall-caliber career value despite posting -$20 in earnings during his final two seasons.
Manny Ramirez
Inducted with: Boston Red Sox (7th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 19
Career 5x5 earnings: $463 (16th all-time)
Average annual earnings, career: $24
Average annual earnings, peak: $32
No. years in top 15: 6
Manny Ramirez played his last Major League game in 2011 but never officially retired. After several failed attempts to return, we decided he was probably done now at age 42.
Playing during the peak PED era, Ramirez put up numbers with the best of them. He earned five Top 15 finishes during the eight year period of 1998-2005. Eventually, he did get nailed for PED use himself, but only after he had added a sixth Top 15 finish.
Ramirez hit at least 35 HRs nine times, drove in 100-plus twelve times and batted .300-plus eleven times. But his final failed comeback attempt with Tampa Bay cost him a place in the Gold Hall.
Alfonso Soriano
Inducted with: New York Yankees (6th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 16
Career 5x5 earnings: $360
Average annual earnings, career: $23
Average annual earnings, peak: $30
No. years in top 15: 4
From 2002-2006, Alfonso Soriano put up extraordinary numbers. He posted at least 600 AB all five years and averaged 37 HR, 97 RBI, 33 SB with a .283 average. He earned $187 during that period, including two $40-plus seasons. He posted a 40/40 season in 2006, his only campaign in Washington.
Soriano's career plateaued in the six-plus years in Wrigley Field, including three sub-$20 seasons (2009-2011). However, he finished strong, posting two 30 HR, 100 RBI lines and earning $51 during 2012 and 2013.
Michael Young
Inducted with: Texas Rangers (3rd inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 13
Career 5x5 earnings: $286
Average annual earnings, career: $22
Average annual earnings, peak: $25
No. years in top 15: 1
When you set objective benchmarks for inclusion in the Hall, there will always be some players that barely cross those thresholds. As such, Michael Young is not your prototypical Hall-of-Famer. While he hit 20-plus HRs four times -- topping out at 24 -- his only Top 15 finish was in a year that he hit only 11 (but drove in 106 with a .338 BA).
But if Young was anything, he was consistent. He earned at least $20 for nine straight years. He posted at least 639 AB for six straight years, and over 600 for nine of 10 years. He had at least 200 hits six times.
Share your own personal experiences with these players by clicking on their links and adding your comments at the bottom of each page. Feel free to comment on any of the 92 members of the Roto Hall.
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