Talk:Vada Pinson

It's been eleven years as oct 21.2006 This saturday since my Dad passed. How do we his Kids get him to the Hall of Fame?

kimberlypinson@yahoo.com

I think this player should be in the HOF from what I've been reading. This guy looks like he REALLY had the numbers! He probably would be there if the Yankees hadn't been so good in 1961. -- dbrewer18tx 14:31 1 November 2006 (CST)

In the old days, when home runs were not so common and batting averages were lower, it was typical for managers to want a # 3 hitter who could hit 18-20 home runs with a .300 average, to want a # 4 hitter who could hit 30 home runs with a .280 average, and to want a # 5 hitter who could hit 25 home runs with a .250 average. In those days, Pinson was the quintessential # 3 hitter. He mostly hit # 3 ahead of Frank Robinson, and when Pete Rose came up, Rose would bat lead-off on the team. - Randy 15:54 1 November 2006 (EST)

Ron Liebman changed Vada's birthdate. I would like to see the basis of the research before we agree to that, since the SABR biography of Pinson shows the 1938 birthdate. Anyone know what the basis for the change to 1936 would be? - Randy 13:55 26 January 2007 (EST)

He was signed in 56 out of High school, so 38 would make sense to me --Jeff 14:56, 26 January 2007 (EST)

I'd like to revisit this. Wikipedia and the SABR biography of Pinson still show his birthdate as 1938 (the SABR biography even has a special note about the date). The SABR biography says he started high school in 1952 and was signed out of high school in 1956. So where is the evidence that he was actually two years older? There are two sources cited in the article - has anyone read them and are they on point and persuasive? I just think it's a bit strange for him to start high school at age 16 unless there is a specific reason. - Randy 14:25, 17 April 2009 (EDT)

An article from Sports Illustrated (August 31, 1959) says he was 19 years old when he played in 1958. Looking at the Bill James article on Pinson in the New Historical Abstract, James simply mentions Pinson as really being two years older without explaining why. An article at the Hall of Fame site written in December 2008 about Pinson's eligibility for the Veterans Committee lists him as born in 1938. I think we need to see the actual evidence about his birthdate rather than just naming two sources that say 1936. - Randy 14:37, 17 April 2009 (EDT)