David Cone made it official today: He is retiring after a 17-year career with eight different clubs (well, if you include his two stints with KC, Toronto, and NY Mets) explaining, "This is the end, for sure." The 40-year-old's spot is being taken by 420year-old John Franco who returns after an almost two-year absence. So it goes for the Mets.

Cone is a very intelligent and well-spoken man. He was a money pitcher who recorded a perfect game, won a Cy Young, and was on 5 World Series champions (with a 2-0 record and 2.12 ERA). He was a 20-game winner twice, 10 years apart, and won 194 in total with a .606 winning percentage. Cone appeared in five All-Star games and led his league in strikeouts twice. He had a very solid career but not a Hall-of-Fame type one, right?

That was one of my first thoughts when he retired, "Oh, well. He'll be remembered but won't go in the Hall." That's kind of an obnoxious thing to think on the day a guy retires, but I have to report that I thought it. However, as I was reviewing his stats on Baseball-Reference.com, I noticed that he is very close to qualifying by the Bill James Hall tests:

Black Ink: Pitching - 19 (Average HOFer ~ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 165 (Average HOFer ~ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 39.0 (Average HOFer ~ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 97.0 (Likely HOFer > 100)

He is low in Black Ink (number of times leading a league in any stat), but then again so are most modern players because of the greater number of players today. He's pretty close in the other three categories. He also has two Hall-of-Famers in his similar pitchers list plus a number of near HoF types:

Similar Pitchers

Dwight Gooden (947) Tommy Bridges (914) Kevin Brown (911) Bob Welch (902) Dave Stieb (902) Orel Hershiser (897) Dazzy Vance (890) * Bob Lemon (888) * Dave McNally (887) Jack Stivetts (885) * = Hall of Famer

That got me to thinking, what if I constructed a list of similar pitchers to determine where he falls in major-league history. I selected a list of pitchers who won at least 175 games but no more than 225, had a winning percentage .600 or over, and had an ERA under 3.50. Here's the list:

David Cone made it official today: He is retiring after a 17-year career with eight different clubs (well, if you include his two stints with KC, Toronto, and NY Mets) explaining, "This is the end, for sure." The 40-year-old's spot is being taken by 420year-old John Franco who returns after an almost two-year absence. So it goes for the Mets. Cone is a very intelligent and well-spoken man. He was a money pitcher who recorded a perfect game, won a Cy Young, and was on 5 World Series champions (with a 2-0 record and 2.12 ERA). He was a 20-game winner twice, 10 years apart, and won 194 in total with a .606 winning percentage. Cone appeared in five All-Star games and led his league in strikeouts twice. He had a very solid career but not a Hall-of-Fame type one, right? That was one of my first thoughts when he retired, "Oh, well. He'll be remembered but won't go in the Hall." That's kind of an obnoxious thing to think on the day a guy retires, but I have to report that I thought it. However, as I was reviewing his stats on Baseball-Reference.com, I noticed that he is very close to qualifying by the Bill James Hall tests:

Black Ink: Pitching - 19 (Average HOFer ~ 40) Gray Ink: Pitching - 165 (Average HOFer ~ 185) HOF Standards: Pitching - 39.0 (Average HOFer ~ 50) HOF Monitor: Pitching - 97.0 (Likely HOFer > 100)

He is low in Black Ink (number of times leading a league in any stat), but then again so are most modern players because of the greater number of players today. He's pretty close in the other three categories. He also has two Hall-of-Famers in his similar pitchers list plus a number of near HoF types:

Similar Pitchers Dwight Gooden (947) Tommy Bridges (914) Kevin Brown (911) Bob Welch (902) Dave Stieb (902) Orel Hershiser (897) Dazzy Vance (890) * Bob Lemon (888) * Dave McNally (887) Jack Stivetts (885) * = Hall of Famer

That got me to thinking, what if I constructed a list of similar pitchers to determine where he falls in major-league history. I selected a list of pitchers who won at least 175 games but no more than 225, had a winning percentage .600 or over, and had an ERA under 3.50. Here's the list:

Name	W	L	ERA	PCT
Allie Reynolds	182	107	3.30	.630
Art Nehf	184	120	3.20	.605
Bob Caruthers	218	99	2.83	.688
Bob Lemon	207	128	3.23	.618
Carl Mays	207	126	2.92	.622
Chief Bender	212	127	2.46	.625
Dave McNally	184	119	3.24	.607
Deacon Phillippe	189	109	2.59	.634
Ed Reulbach	182	106	2.28	.632
Jack Chesbro	198	132	2.68	.600
Jesse Tannehill	197	116	2.79	.629
Larry Corcoran	177	89	2.36	.665
Lefty Gomez	189	102	3.34	.649
Lon Warneke	192	121	3.18	.613
Randy Johnson	224	106	3.06	.679
Sam Leever	194	100	2.47	.660
Stan Coveleski	215	142	2.89	.602
Urban Shocker	187	117	3.17	.615

Name	W	L	ERA	PCT
Allie Reynolds	182	107	3.30	.630
Art Nehf	184	120	3.20	.605
Bob Caruthers	218	99	2.83	.688
Bob Lemon	207	128	3.23	.618
Carl Mays	207	126	2.92	.622
Chief Bender	212	127	2.46	.625
Dave McNally	184	119	3.24	.607
Deacon Phillippe	189	109	2.59	.634
Ed Reulbach	182	106	2.28	.632
Jack Chesbro	198	132	2.68	.600
Jesse Tannehill	197	116	2.79	.629
Larry Corcoran	177	89	2.36	.665
Lefty Gomez	189	102	3.34	.649
Lon Warneke	192	121	3.18	.613
Randy Johnson	224	106	3.06	.679
Sam Leever	194	100	2.47	.660
Stan Coveleski	215	142	2.89	.602
Urban Shocker	187	117	3.17	.615

That's not a bad list. Of 19 pitchers, There are three Hall of Famers plus Johnson who seems a lock right now. The rest of the list consists of guys who were just a step below the men who made it in the Hall. His 205 career Win Shares bear that out as well. It's only good for 519th place tied with the likes of Hippo Vaughn, Jim Perry, Pat Zachary, and Bobby Thomson.

I think that's an appropriate place for Cone. I wonder what will be his fate when he becomes eligible. He's seems too good a pick to be dropped upfront by the voters. However, his numbers will never be enough to build a consensus. He's the type of player who will float in limbo perhaps for the full 15 years, if they don't change the system first. After that, who knows, some former teammates may put in him via the Veterans' Committee. I doubt it but it could happen. There are worse pitchers in the Hall after all.

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