Four Named to Rotisserie Hall of Fame
While the baseball universe waits for the always-controversial Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame announcement, the fantasy industry has named its 2019 picks for the Rotisserie Hall of Fame: Adrian Beltre, Carl Crawford, Jimmy Rollins and David Wright. After we re-set the qualification criteria this past fall, this quartet now represents the 96th, 97th, 98th and 99th members of the Roto Hall.
Eligibility for the Roto Hall is based on lifetime and peak Rotisserie dollar earnings, and number of times ranked within the top 15 batters or pitchers during the player’s career.
Unlike the BBWAA, there is no waiting period for Roto Hall induction. If a player meets all the other criteria, he can be inducted as soon as he officially retires.
Complete details about the eligibility criteria appear here.
Here are descriptions of the Roto Hall’s four new members:
Adrian Beltre
Inducted with: Texas Rangers (4th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 21
Career 5×5 earnings: $452
Average annual earnings, career: $22
Average annual earnings, peak: $27
No. years in top 15: 4
Beltre’s career started at age 19 and took an unorthodox path. His 2004 explosion (48 HR, .334 BA) earned him $37, but the 12 years around that performance averaged just $18. His 30s were a completely different story. From 2010 until 2016, Beltre averaged $30 in earnings each season, including three consecutive top 15 performances.
Beltre’s $452 career earnings rank him 18th all-time during the Rotisserie era.
Carl Crawford
Inducted with: Tampa Bay Rays (1st inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 15
Career 5×5 earnings: $324
Average annual earnings, career: $22
Average annual earnings, peak: $28
No. years in top 15: 6
From 2005 to 2011, Crawford was a permanent resident of the ADP first round, earning back that value in five of those seven years and averaging $34 per year during that peak period. However, his drop-off was sharp afterwards, suppressing his 10-year peak (upon which Hall-worthiness is based) to $28. Still, he earned $35 or more five times.
Crawford stole exactly 400 bases from 2003-2010, an average of exactly 50 per year during those eight seasons. He batted over .300 six times as well.
Jimmy Rollins
Inducted with: Philadelphia Phillies (5th inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 17
Career 5×5 earnings: $343
Average annual earnings, career: $20
Average annual earnings, peak: $26
No. years in top 15: 1
Rollins had several standout seasons, but earns his Hall induction for being consistently good for 14 years of his 17-year career. While he earned first round value only once, he averaged $31 in earnings from 2004 to 2009, and at a position with shallow talent at the time.
Rollins was a guaranteed SB category anchor for 14 seasons, averaging 32 bags per year from 2001 to 2014.
David Wright
Inducted with: New York Mets (3rd inductee with this team)
No. years in Majors: 14
Career 5×5 earnings: $295
Average annual earnings, career: $21
Average annual earnings, peak: $28
No. years in top 15: 4
Wright’s career was cut short by injury, but his peak seasons drove his long-term value. He averaged $33 annual earnings during the six-year period, 2005-2010, driving in over 100 runs and batting over .300 in five of those years. He added seasons of 15 or more stolen bases eight times.
Wright was a monster in OBP leagues with a career .376 mark and he notched levels from .381 to .416 in seven seasons.
There would have been a fifth Hall member this year, but the Mariners decided to add Ichiro Suzuki to their 40-man roster, if only temporarily. We’ll circle back to him next year.
There were a few recent retirees who had good careers but fell short of the RotoHall induction criteria.
Victor Martinez had a 16-year career but only averaged $16 in annual earnings and only $23 at peak. His $41 season in 2014 was the only one to rank in the Top 15.
Joe Mauer had that one peak year in 2009, a $32 effort, but earned more than $25 in only one other season. He averaged $17 in annual earnings for his career with a 10-year peak of only $19.
Perhaps the most notable name is Chase Utley, whose 16-year career generated just $16 in average annual earnings. While earning Top 15 value three times, his $24 peak year earnings also fell a bit short.
