Delmer Ennis

[Crash Course]

He played in the major leagues from 1946 to 1959.

[nyy26wc]

Yes

7 years with 100+ RBI
288 career HR
got MVP votes 8 times
top 10 in batting average 3 times
top 10 in RBI 10 times
top 10 in hits 5 times
played in the World Series in 1950

[Keven]

Now that I have gone through the most recent three votes, your skin must be crawling, Lee. Actually, it is very humorous to read that when you write it. Being statless for the most part, I have looked to you and others on these votings and your stats for these three are worthless. I hope that gets your point out to us more and we do more to help your cause.

KK
:eek:

[KCBOOMER]

I can't quite go for Ennis. Maybe it is because he was in his final 2-3 years as I was becoming a baseball fan and I can't remember a thing about him. His RCAA of 145 is certainly respectable and puts him the "Above Average" category to me. But that's all and his WARP3 of 60.8 is similarly undistinguished. He did get to 3 All-Star Games and finished in the Top 20 of the league MVP voting eight times.

[rc3000]

Now I have caught myself in a trap.

I have no intention of voting for Del Ennis. But in another thread I made the case for Frank Baker based on a bunch of top ten finishes. If I look at Ennis he is similar in regards to top ten finishes. Maybe I will just cop out and claim that since he never led the league in the categories I specified I will vote no. Truth is my votes are influenced by stuff I have read over the years (I read a lot about Baker but never about Ennis), and probably a part of me does factor players voted into the hall of fame.
To make a long story short Ennis doesn't do it for me so I vote no. Consistancy be damned...:)

[KCBOOMER]

Now I have caught myself in a trap.


RC, remember that consistency is the hobgoblin of a narrow mind.

[mainsr]

ALERT: I think somebody from the Hewlett Packard Board of Directors is masquerading as Lee.

I can't give the nod to a guy who was pretty much done at age 30, whose most impressive stat (RBI) is team-dependent, and never posted a park-adjusted OPS more than 28% above the league average after age 25. (By way of contrast, Puckett had 7 such seasons.)

[Nuclear Dish]

Del Ennis is the quinessential Grey Inker. He was constantly in the top 10 in a lot of big ticket categories, but never led them. He was in no way even close to being a HOFer, but there's a case to be made that he was a memorable player.

In the last incarnation of this forum, in which my standards were considerably higher, Ennis would have just missed receiving my vote. His career OPS+ is just below what I'd like to have seen, his RCAA is just below what I'd like to have seen, and his counting numbers aren't anything so special.

But considering that my standards have dropped to the level of "memorable or not", I am persuaded that Ennis is even more borderline than before.

In my estimation, there is very little that stands out about Ennis in terms of folklore either. His best year, he managed to set a team record for GIDP. He broke up a few no-no's. He was voted to the Phillies' Centennial Team in 1983. Woohoo!

So really, it comes down to his numbers and awards. My gut says no. The only thing I keep coming back to is his list of comparables, which caught my eye with a few guys who are Shrine-worthy, especially in the list of comparables by age.

But again, it's just not enough to push me over the top on him. I have to go with no.

[crazydiamond]

4 years of 30+ RCAA
129 RCAA over a 5-year period, which was good enough for 9th best over those 5 years

Ennis' career started out with a bang. Then, it fizzled. After 1950, he only had 3 more seasons of 10+ RCAA, and only one with as much as 20. The last 4 years of his career, he had -31 RCAA. Five very good years doth not a fantastic player make. I have to vote no.

[llewdor]

He was good for a long time, but he was never great. There's just no peak.