The big three first basemen (Connor, Cap Anson and Dan Brouthers) from the 19th Century made the Hall of Fame despite their penalties. I believe the 19th Century was Major League (except the Union League, that was a mistake) mainly because they led to the Major Leagues. While the quality of the baseball they played was probably the best at the time, I’m not entirely sure.
I know early in the 20th Century young men came from the mid-west and became star players. I’m sure the leagues became stronger as time went along. Also, they banned black players even though it was already shown they were at least as good as the white players. That also lowered the quality of play. I also have problems with owners owning shares in more than one team. I know more than once they loaded one team at the expense of the other. However, the other team still had to play. Something like the Cleveland Spiders in 1899 should have never happened. Just think they had the great Cy Young just the year before.
Roger Conner’s most compatible player is Dan Brouthers. They basically played at the same time. They are 16 points apart, which isn’t much, and they have four first basemen between them. I have Brouthers ranked number 175. This is the point where players are close together, so their rankings don’t mean as much. However, I think those with 750 points or more had quite a career and deserve the hall of fame. That is my top 181. You know my opinion of the next 225 from my Gil Hodges article. However, the group closer to 750 I give more credence to than the group closer to 600. However, other people’s opinions will be different. That is good as we will learn more.
