GaryMrMets
03-01-2004, 11:25 PM
http://www.nypost.com/sports/mets/19187.htm
Eck: Put Franco In Hall
By MARK HALE
February 28, 2004 -- PORT ST. LUCIE - It's usually bad when a reliever opens a door instead of closing it. But the one exception could be the gate Dennis Eckersley barged through.
Especially for John Franco.
Last month, Eckersley became the first modern-day closer (i.e., a reliever who typically earns one-inning saves) elected into the Hall of Fame. With that, Franco, the Mets' 43-year-old reliever, saw his Cooperstown chances receive a sizeable boost.
"Eck was a starter, but he basically made his career as a closer," Franco said. "So for him to get in opens up the doors for everybody else, hopefully."
Franco has no idea when he will retire, so it will be at least five years until we see whether Eckersley opened the doors open wide enough. But many believe regardless of when Franco's votes are tallied, the Brooklyn lefty merits induction.
And chief among those supporters is Eckersley.
"Do I think he's a Hall of Famer? Yeah," Eckersley told The Post in a phone interview.
"He's the only guy that's put up those numbers. I put him in the same category as Lee Smith, and Lee Smith [deserves to be] a Hall of Famer. He duplicates him from the left side."
Asked about the Hall, Franco declined to campaign for himself, allowing only that enshrinement would be an honor.
"Would I love to get in there? Great. Every player in here would love to be in the Hall of Fame," he said. "I can't control how the voting [goes] and who's going to vote or whatever. But I've had a Hall of Fame career on the field, playing 20-some-odd years."
Eckersley believes four relievers in particular deserve induction - Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Smith and Franco. Of the four, Franco's qualifications stack up impressively, as he ranks first in ERA (2.74) and second in saves (424). By the way, those 424 saves are tops among NL relievers and second-most all-time (behind Smith's 478).
Maybe those totals alone should be enough to punch Franco's ticket.
"It's 400-plus saves," Al Leiter said. "There's only two people who have done it."
However, there are two main factors working against Franco's case for Cooperstown. First, he has only pitched in two postseasons, and while he's performed magnificently (a 1.88 ERA in 15 games), he lacks the playoff longevity that often begets October legends.
Mariano Rivera, for example, could retire today, 141 saves shy of Franco, and it wouldn't matter - he would likely be a slam-dunk Hall of Famer thanks mostly to his 0.75 postseason ERA in 61 games.
"That goes back to where, I can't help that the teams I was on didn't get in the playoffs," said Franco, who made four All-Star teams and saved 30-plus games eight times.
The other obstacle is, rightly or wrongly, modern-day closers aren't yet admired the way past relievers who logged more innings are. As Eckersley admitted, "If I had saved 300-something games, there's no way I would have gotten in. I got in because I won 150-something games as a starter."
Eckersley (who had 390 saves and 197 wins) hopes that his breakthrough helps other closers crash the Cooperstown gates. But he admits that he has no idea if or when the voters will agree.
The only thing Eck knows for sure is that Franco is worthy.
http://www.nypost.com/photos/metslede022804.jpg
JOHN ANTHONY FRANCO
Eck: Put Franco In Hall
By MARK HALE
February 28, 2004 -- PORT ST. LUCIE - It's usually bad when a reliever opens a door instead of closing it. But the one exception could be the gate Dennis Eckersley barged through.
Especially for John Franco.
Last month, Eckersley became the first modern-day closer (i.e., a reliever who typically earns one-inning saves) elected into the Hall of Fame. With that, Franco, the Mets' 43-year-old reliever, saw his Cooperstown chances receive a sizeable boost.
"Eck was a starter, but he basically made his career as a closer," Franco said. "So for him to get in opens up the doors for everybody else, hopefully."
Franco has no idea when he will retire, so it will be at least five years until we see whether Eckersley opened the doors open wide enough. But many believe regardless of when Franco's votes are tallied, the Brooklyn lefty merits induction.
And chief among those supporters is Eckersley.
"Do I think he's a Hall of Famer? Yeah," Eckersley told The Post in a phone interview.
"He's the only guy that's put up those numbers. I put him in the same category as Lee Smith, and Lee Smith [deserves to be] a Hall of Famer. He duplicates him from the left side."
Asked about the Hall, Franco declined to campaign for himself, allowing only that enshrinement would be an honor.
"Would I love to get in there? Great. Every player in here would love to be in the Hall of Fame," he said. "I can't control how the voting [goes] and who's going to vote or whatever. But I've had a Hall of Fame career on the field, playing 20-some-odd years."
Eckersley believes four relievers in particular deserve induction - Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Smith and Franco. Of the four, Franco's qualifications stack up impressively, as he ranks first in ERA (2.74) and second in saves (424). By the way, those 424 saves are tops among NL relievers and second-most all-time (behind Smith's 478).
Maybe those totals alone should be enough to punch Franco's ticket.
"It's 400-plus saves," Al Leiter said. "There's only two people who have done it."
However, there are two main factors working against Franco's case for Cooperstown. First, he has only pitched in two postseasons, and while he's performed magnificently (a 1.88 ERA in 15 games), he lacks the playoff longevity that often begets October legends.
Mariano Rivera, for example, could retire today, 141 saves shy of Franco, and it wouldn't matter - he would likely be a slam-dunk Hall of Famer thanks mostly to his 0.75 postseason ERA in 61 games.
"That goes back to where, I can't help that the teams I was on didn't get in the playoffs," said Franco, who made four All-Star teams and saved 30-plus games eight times.
The other obstacle is, rightly or wrongly, modern-day closers aren't yet admired the way past relievers who logged more innings are. As Eckersley admitted, "If I had saved 300-something games, there's no way I would have gotten in. I got in because I won 150-something games as a starter."
Eckersley (who had 390 saves and 197 wins) hopes that his breakthrough helps other closers crash the Cooperstown gates. But he admits that he has no idea if or when the voters will agree.
The only thing Eck knows for sure is that Franco is worthy.
http://www.nypost.com/photos/metslede022804.jpg
JOHN ANTHONY FRANCO