The Nemesis
Semper Tyrannus
A lot of talk about Harold Baines, any thoughts on Lee Smith? I know he put up massive save numbers, but I don't remember (and I admit, this is not the most scientific way to judge it) ever remember him being one of the "feared closers" of his era. The Hall of Fame debate for one-inning-closers has always been fascinating to me. My mind is still not settled on exactly how to judge those players.
Smith at least has uniqueness value of being the saves leader for a long time and having a bunch of pretty-good-for-a-reliever seasons. As Discoverer said, if you're evaluating on the basis of pitchers on the whole it's hard to make a case (except for maybe Rivera?), but if we look at relief pitchers as their own thing with their own separate bar, then perhaps it's fair to say that Smith is maybe suited to the HOF RP equivalent of one of those "you must be this tall to ride" signs. He doesn't have a great case, but he at least has a defensible, not entirely objectionable one if we consider that he is perhaps the bar you have to clear to gain entry.
Harold Baines is like the equivalent of a drunken bar bet among HOF committee members that went horribly, horribly wrong.