Hall of Fame Conundrum

Sports are constantly evolving. Quarterbacks are throwing nearly every down, pitchers are throwing harder, and guards are almost exclusively shooting three-pointers.

Across all sports, players are playing longer. Tom Brady just turned 40, Bartolo Colon is 44, and Vince Carter will be turning 41. The length of a player's career has drastically increased due to a confluence of factors. Smarter, more efficient training, high-level nutrition, and an emphasis on player safety have all played a major role in prolonging players careers.

So, what's the Hall of Fame conundrum? Well, when players play longer they accumulate more stats. This is problematic because when it comes to making judgements about which players should be enshrined in sports eminence the numbers are skewed. Is Carson Palmer a Hall of Famer? I would say no, but he ranks top 15 in both touchdown passes and passing yards and every player ahead of him is either in the Hall of Fame or will be. He's the beneficiary of playing at a time when passing became so prominent and protecting the passer was the league's calling card. Is Adrian Beltre a Hall of Famer? He's going to get in, but I am not so sure he's worthy. That sounds nuts considering that he just recorded his 3,000 hit and will likely smash his 500th home run before he hangs up his cleats, but he has been an All-Star just four times over his 20-year career. He has accumulated some fantastic statistics, but he has been able to play for two decades. What if Mo Vaughn or Prince Fielder would have stayed healthy? They both would have had better careers than Beltre.

My point is not to diminish any player's accomplishments, but rather to evaluate the criteria that we have been using to determine whether or not a player belongs in the Hall. We used to use stats, but because of the lengthy careers that many players have been fortunate enough to endure, we must not rely too heavily on the stats any longer. Terrell Davis is the perfect example. He played four full seasons for the Broncos and was just recently enshrined into the Hall of Fame. Davis achieved a high level of greatness, albeit for a short period of time. I think that should be rewarded more so than someone who was pretty good for a long period of time, especially considering the resources players today have at their disposal.