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Here is another entry in my series of “Why Isn’t This Dude in the Hall of Fame?”

Last March, I wrote an article about how Dwight Evans–longtime rightfielder for the Boston Red Sox–and how he should be in the Hall of Fame for his hitting power, mastery in the field, and ability to get on base.

With Dewey, his story is personal. I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan, and I saw him play a lot as a kid. I always liked him, but the question of him being in the HOF is worthy of debate. With Tommy John, though, it seems pretty straight forward. In fact it’s a no-brainer: the dude deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Recently, I’ve been reorganizing my baseball card collection, sorting out all the guys who were in the Hall as well as those who aren’t but were stellar (Will Clark, Don Mattingly, Dan Quisenberry) or who are not in the Hall because they were accused of taking PEDs (Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro). Looking through Tommy John’s cards led me to think more about his HOF worthiness.

I don’t remember ever seeing Tommy John pitch. He probably wasn’t the most exciting of pitchers. But, his lifetime stats are impressive. His line is 288 wins, 231 losses, and a 3.34 ERA. He played 26 seasons and threw over 4700 innings. He had more than 2200 strikeouts. John wasn’t a power pitcher, but he won 20 games three times. All of those 20-win seasons came after the arm surgery that bears his name.

Tommy John was a four-time All-Star and also finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting four times. He has the second most wins of anyone not in the HOF. The only guy ahead of him is Roger Clemens, another former Yankee, who might never get in because he cheated. The surgery forced John to miss the entire 1975 season, when he was in his prime.

Let’s make some comparisons between John and other Hall of Famers, starting with Bert Blyleven. Blyleven’s final numbers are close to John’s in terms of wins/losses and ERA. Blyleven won 287 games, lost 250, and he had an ERA of 3.31. So, one fewer win than John, more losses, and virtually the same ERA.

The main difference between them is that Blyleven had 3701 strikeouts. He won 20 games only once, but he compiled his 287 wins over a shorter (though still long) career. As was true of John, Blyleven never won a Cy Young Award. Tommy John’s lifetime WAR is 61.6. Blyleven’s is a considerably higher 94.5. Nevertheless, if Blyleven is in the Hall, Tommy John should be, too.

Let’s do another comparison, this time between Tommy John and Jack Morris. Morris was a workhorse for the Tigers and Blue Jays. Over the course of 18 seasons, he went 254-186 with a 3.90 ERA. Morris regularly threw more than 230 innings in a season and usually completed 10 or more games each year. He struck out 2478 batters in his career and had a lifetime WAR of 43.5.

Morris was damn good pitcher. He was consistent. But he was never dominant in the way some Hall of Famers were. Morris never led the league in ERA (in fact, his lowest ever ERA for a season was 3.28) and never won a Cy Young award. Obviously, he got a lot of run support. When it comes to being a Hall of Famer, Morris was a borderline case. It took him 24 years to get into the Hall of Fame.

Let’s make one final comparison for Tommy John’s case: fellow southpaw Jim Kaat. Kaat’s line was 283-237 and an ERA of 3.47 over 25 seasons. Even with Kaat’s 16 Gold Gloves, his WAR (50.5) is quite a bit lower than John’s. Kaat had four fewer wins than John, more losses, and a higher ERA.

But, Kaat is in the Hall and Tommy John isn’t. WTF?

When considering WAR for all-time pitchers, Tommy John is ranked 53rd, just behind Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley. Almost all the pitchers ahead of John on the list of 53 are in the Hall. And he is ahead of other Hall of Famers such as Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale, and (surprisingly) Mariano Rivera.

Pitchers who win 300 games are–except in the case of Clemens–guaranteed induction into the Hall of Fame. Tommy John came close. He was just 12 wins away from the magic number of 300. Had he been pitching in the current day of expanded statistics, he would absolutely be in the Hall and probably on the first ballot.

On top of all these statistical comparisons, Tommy John will always be remembered for being the first guy to have Tommy John Surgery. He not only recovered from that surgery, he got better. If we take the name “Hall of Fame” literally, Tommy John is, well, famous. He is also 26th on the all-time wins list. When it comes to modern day pitchers, he is ranked 12th.

12th. But he’s not in the Hall of Fame. WTF?

Yeah, it’s cool that Dead Ball Era pitcher Pud Galvin is in the Hall of Fame. But the dude never even played in the 20th century.

Not one game.

C’mon, y’all.

I always knew Tommy John was a good pitcher. But looking back, the fact that he is not in Hall is absurd. He’s been retired for more than thirty years. He is 81 years old. Let’s give the guy the recognition he deserves. The facts are in, and the facts are clear.

The time has come for Tommy John to join other great hurlers in Cooperstown.