That’s a great list, Sean.  Thanks.  I hadn’t remembered Griffey Sr. as a fast player.  Shows what I know.

Oh, I remember the Big Red Machine version of Griffey Sr. very well.  Except maybe I don’t…

I’m in with dfan above, and think that Sean has missed a BIG part of what a great HoF would include - #4: a career that made the game enjoyable for all sorts of fans (and that also includes the joy of “hating” a player for no reasonable reason whatsoever. E.g. “He’s a Yankee!”,  “He never won a [award/title]!”,  “His team never made the Series!”, “He was no good in [the clutch/playoffs/etc.],  and, and it is this Ichiro fan’s favorite, “He’s over-rated by[whomever I don’t like/respect]!”)  That’s a strange but wonderful part of the game as well.*

  I love that the stats guys & gals have drawn our attention toward appreciating each game in much more depth than even the most determined fan could manage.  Also that they have made us enjoy the quiet but major contributions of many players who might get overlooked.
  I snort in derision, and leave the room after mustering out a particularly rich SBD, when they TELL me Ichiro - or whomever - is NOT a great player because their numbers obsession (usually colored by personal feelings that would better suit someone deriding the young Joe D. for his Italian heritage) PROVES it.

  I frankly think, and Bill James agreed in the most casual way, that Ichiro is a HoFer - in the best sense of the expression - based only on his hitting, but not a first round choice.
  Based on his entire MLB career, the only doubt is in the weirdly, from-Day-1 prejudice a certain percentage of Numbers-Only! people have.
  Based on his story and popularity and uniqueness, as well as by allowing a nod to his NPB numbers and story and popularity and uniqueness (and the WBC titles), he’s a first-chance HoFer deserving of a very high vote total.

  And he will be.

  [taps mic] 

  [looks around]

  Am I still on?

  *I don’t actually hate many players like that, myself.  Certain ones get on my nerves (Overly talkative Born-Agains, sexists or racists, the loud-mouthed ignorant, etc. - I’m a “Lib”, y’know), which I still haven’t learned to enjoy.  And McGuire bugs me a lot - moreso that I was a big A’s fan way back when.  But many people really seem to NEED to hate Ichiro, or Ted Williams, of Derek Jeter, or Mantle, or Ty Cobb to enjoy the game.

I think Aaron and Clemente were in the next group of 5 or 10, just below the guys listed.  Clemente did hit a ton of triples.  Aaron stole a decent number of bases, but also hit into a lot of DPs.

I’ll post their speed scores when I get to my home computer.