It’s time for the baseball Hall of Fame debates to begin. From now until the results are announced, FanIQ will be taking a look at this year’s major candidates. Up next: Jack Morris.

Jack Morris spent fourteen of his eighteen seasons with the Detroit Tigers. However, he was still able to pick up three rings on three different teams: the Tigers in 1984, the Twins in 1991, and the Blue Jays in 1992. This is his ninth year on the ballot. Morris’s career stats can be found here.

Pros For Induction

Morris won the most games of anyone in the 1980s with 162. He finished his career with 254 wins, tied for 40^th all-time. Morris’s longevity is best shown with the fact he lead the league in wins in 1981 (his 5^th year in the league) and in 1992 (his 16^th). While Morris, never won a Cy Young, he was close a number of times, finishing 3^rd in 1981 and 1983, 4^th in 1991, and 5^th in 1986 and 1992.

Morris started on Opening Day a record fourteen consecutive years, spanning from 1980-1993. That’s a long time to be considered (at least) as the best starter on your team.

Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. 10 inning shutout. Morris’s performance ranks near the top of big clutch postseason performances. In total, Morris is 7-7 with a 2.96 ERA in the World Series, along with three rings of course.

Cons Against Induction

Morris’s career ERA is 3.90. There are exactly zero Hall of Famers with an ERA that high. The current highest is Red Ruffing with a 3.80 ERA, and many consider him to be a borderline selection. Morris’s ERA+ is only 105, meaning his career ERA is just 5% better than the average during the time he played. Does barely above average mean a Hall of Famer?

Fourteen straight years of starting Opening Day seems more impressive than it is. Many of Morris’s Detroit teams were mediocre or worse. Plus, on many of the teams, Morris wasn’t the best pitcher that year. In those years, Morris was an ace is name only.

Morris’s prime wasn’t that spectacular if one takes wins out of the equation. His best season by ERA was a 3.05 in 1981 (in only 25 starts). His best by ERA+ was a 133 in 1979, with only five other seasons higher than 120. Also, while Morris ended up with a lot of strikeouts, a lot of that had to do with all the innings he pitched. Eight times Morris finished in the top 10 in strikeouts, but just five times in the top 10 of strikeouts per nine innings. The strikeouts also came at a cost, as Morris walked a ton of batters in his career, finishing in the top ten in that category nine times.

The Verdict

Jack Morris had a good, long career. Game 7 of the 1991 World Series is definitely a memorable moment in baseball history. However, Morris was very much a complier. His “most wins in the 80’s” appears to be more a product of durability than exceptional pitching. Being five percent above league average for your career is not Hall of Fame caliber. Morris has quantity, but not enough quality of the Hall.

Will He Get In?

Like just about everyone, Morris dropped a bit on last’s year ballot, from 41.2% to 37.1%. He might get back above 40% this time around, but still not close to election. With more than half his eligibility used up, Morris might be waiting for the Veterans Committee.

Now it’s your turn. Discuss Morris’s candidacy in the comments, and be sure to vote in both his individual poll and Seth’s poll encompassing the entire ballot.