The Hall of Fame Case for Ken Boyer

On Sunday, Dec. 8, a list of 16 former players, executives, and writers will vote in the Baseball Hall of Fame Classic Baseball Era election. This vote could decide the first elected members of the Hall of Fame’s class of 2025. One of the names reappearing on this year’s ballot is Ken Boyer – a third baseman who logged 15 MLB seasons, 11 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. If history repeats itself, Boyer will fall well short of the 12 votes required for induction. However, his case for Cooperstown is still a strong one. 

2024 will be Boyer’s 22nd attempt at Hall of Fame induction. He appeared on the BBWAA’s ballot 15 times between 1975 to 1994, never amassing more than 25.5% of the vote. He has since appeared on six Veteran’s era committee ballots to no avail. In each of his last three appearances, Boyer received less than four votes out of the 16 total.

The support for Boyer’s Hall of Fame candidacy has never been strong among the voters. But his career numbers and accomplishments line up with Hall of Famers who played his position. 

Ken Boyer Is a Deserving Hall of Fame Candidate

Boyer was a dynamic third baseman. He slashed .287/.349/.462/.810 for a 116 OPS+ over his 8,274 career plate appearances. According to Baseball Reference, his 62.8 career Wins Above Replacement rank 12th among all third basemen in baseball history. He was an 11 time All-Star, five time Gold Glove Award winner, and was awarded NL MVP honors in 1964, a year the Cardinals won the World Series. He finished his career with 2,143 hits, 318 doubles, 282 home runs, and 1,141 RBI.

One way to begin the evaluation of Boyer’s Hall of Fame case is to look at the players throughout history that have produced similar numbers in similar sample sizes. 

The 2025 @baseballhall Classic Era ballot includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker, and Luis Tiant. You can find all of their #SABR biographies at https://t.co/3xyn4PaRNt pic.twitter.com/izipbk9gLO

— SABR (@sabr) December 8, 2024

Boyer is one of 20 players with a rWAR between 55-65 in 7500-8500 career plate appearances. Of those 20 players, four of them are Hall of Famers. These Hall of Famers include Mike Piazza, Joe Mauer, Yogi Berra and Billy Hamilton (no, not that one.)  Boyer’s career rWAR ranks above all four of these players, although Hamilton, Berra, and Piazza have him beat of Fangraphs version of WAR. This is because FanGraphs is more friendly towards catchers known for their framing abilities. 

Of the 16 non-HOFers on the list, players like Mark McGwire were deemed ineligible by the writers due to his alleged steroid use. Players like Chase Utley, Evan Longoria, Manny Machado and Paul Goldschmidt are either currently on the BBWAA ballot or have not yet become eligible.

A Machine on Offense and Defense

Where Boyer starts to stand out is in his combination of offensive and defensive prowess. According to FanGraphs, Boyer logged a career 151.5 career offensive runs above average and 105.7 career defensive runs above average. These statistics take into account a player’s hitting, fielding, and baserunning performance, with positional adjustments included for fielding. He is one of just five third basemen in baseball history with over 150 career offensive runs above average and 100 career defensive runs above average. The other four third basemen on this list include Hall of Famers Adrian Beltre, Scott Rolen, Mike Schmidt, and Wade Boggs. 

According to Baseball Reference, Boyer’s stellar offense and defense earned him eight seasons with a WAR above five. He is one of seven third basemen to have at least eight five-win seasons. The other six are all Hall of Famers. 

On offense alone, he logged seven seasons with a 120 OPS+ or higher while recording over 600 plate appearances. This display of durability and performance cements him as one of seven third basemen to ever put up at least seven such seasons. He has recorded more of these seasons than Hall of Fame third basemen like Adrian Beltre, Chipper Jones, and George Brett. 

On the defensive side, Baseball Reference had Boyer with seven seasons of at least 1.0 defensive WAR (dWAR). He is one of 14 third basemen in history to have at least seven such seasons, with five of the other 13 being Hall of Famers. 

He also had seven seasons with at least 4.5 offensive WAR (oWAR) and 1.0 dWAR. He is one of just three third basemen to have seven such seasons. The other two are Schmidt and Boggs. Boyer finished his career with 55.9 oWAR and 10.7 dWAR. He is one of just 40 players at any position to have over 50 oWAR and 10 dWAR, with 29 of the other 39 in the Hall of Fame.

A Long Peak Helps Boyer’s Case

The peak of Boyer’s career lasted nine seasons between 1956-1964. In that time, Boyer slashed .299/.364/.491/.854 for a 124 OPS+. According to FanGraphs, he ranked sixth among all position players during this nine-year span. The only players ranked above him were Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Frank Robinson. He ranked just ahead of Hall of Famers like Al Kaline, Ernie Banks, and Roberto Clemente. This was a nine-year stretch where Boyer was a top-10 position player in baseball, sandwiched between several slam-dunk Hall of Famers.

Boyer will likely be snubbed again in the Classic Baseball Era Hall of Fame election in a few weeks, but it’s worth asking why someone who put up those numbers, secured numerous accolades, and won a World Series would get the lack of consideration Boyer had received throughout the years. Boyer will appear on the ballot with names like Dick Allen, Vic Harris, John Donaldson, and several others he has shared a ballot with in the past.