Andre Ethier

Is this not an option or am I just blind? If it’s not an option, can we please get him added? I think it’s pretty bad to not include Captain Clutch!

EDIT: It has been added back in flair options! Thanks for the support everyone!!!

The offseason train keeps on rollin' and we continue our trip through the first year players on the Hall of Fame ballot. We've already taken a look back at , , and . That brings us to...

Andre Ethier

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor Score: 21

Career BWAR: 21.5 (12 seasons)

Career Stats: .285/.359/.463, 687 RBI, 641 runs, 162 home runs, .822 OPS, 122 OPS+

Awards: All Star x2 (2010, 2011), Gold Glove (2011), Silver Slugger (2009)

League Leading Stats: None

Teams Played For: Dodgers

Every baseball fan has a guy in their memory like Ethier.

Looking back on the history of your favorite team, there are the guys you hated, your absolute FAVORITE player…and one or two of those guys who were really good but never great, played all or the majority of their careers with the club, and who you can’t imagine those teams being the same without. That’s Andre Ethier.

Andre Everett Ethier enrolled at Arizona State University out of high school, but left the school after one season, because the coaches told him he didn’t have D1 talent. He transferred to Chandler-Gilbert Community College, batted .468, was named team MVP, and the ASU coaching staff was like “”, and he was back in the Pac-10.

Along the way, the Oakland A’s drafted Ethier in the 37th round of the ‘01 Draft, but Ethier passed and returned to ASU instead, where he became a two-time Pac-10 All-Star. That helped improve his draft stock enough that, when Oakland came calling again in 2003, they did so in the second round.

Ethier spent three seasons ripping through the Oakland farm system like single ply toilet paper and by 2005 Baseball America ranked him as the fourth-best prospect in the A’s organization. Despite the lofty ranking, there was concern that Ethier could wind up being a AAAA guy, with the biggest fears hovering around his weak throwing arm and his general lack of power at the plate. The Dodgers, however, thought they saw an outfield anchor. They were convinced enough that they shipped Antonio Perez (infielder) and Milton Bradley (clubhouse cancer) to the A’s in a straight two-for-one.

After getting 25 more games at AAA at the start of the year, Ethier made his big league debut on May 2 and wouldn’t look back for the next 11 years. With the athleticism to play all three outfield positions, Ethier bounced around as the team needed. Primarily a right fielder, he would go on to collect 144 games in center field and another 297 in left over the course of his career.

And during the peak of that career (2008-2013), number 16 was as steady as they come for LA, picking up 117 HR, 468 RBI, and 453 R, while slashing .286/.363/.471 with a 127 OPS+. In 2009 he’d post career highs in homers (31) and RBI (106) while compiling 3.9 bWAR. For his efforts, he’d win his only Silver Slugger and finish 6th in MVP voting.

He’d never be quite that good again, but for five of the next six seasons he would be a consistent, 2.5-3.5 bWAR, double-digit homer, 120-130 OPS+ player. Think about that for a second: Andre Ethier—a guy who went to one All-Star game, was never a serious MVP contender and who (spoiler alert) won’t ever sniff the Hall of Fame—was sitting there in Chavez Ravine, quietly producing numbers that were 20 to 30% better than the league average hitter. He dealt with the occasional injury—a broken pinkie in 2010; a gimpy knee in ‘11—but was still showing up on the lineup card for 130-140 games a season, year in, year out. You have to love a player like that.

After that career peak ended in 2013, the wheels on Ethier’s wagon got a little wobbly. 2014 wound up being a transition season for him. He started the year by taking over in center field when Matt Kemp suddenly started playing the position like a drunken fawn, and he held the spot down admirably until the Dodgers moved Yasiel Puig to center and Kemp finally found his land legs over in Right, at which point Don Mattingly sat Ethier on the bench and used him primarily as a pinch hitter the rest of the way.

Despite just signing a big, five year extension with the team and despite feeling like he still had plenty of good baseball in the tank, Ethier never griped about the demotion to the bench. He kept showing up, doing his job, supporting his team, and making every fan event and autograph signing. He would, however, not thrive in the limited role, producing completely league-average numbers for the first time in his career: 0.0 bWAR, 97 OPS+.

2015 would be a resurgent one for Ethier, as Puig and Carl Crawford would both go down with injuries and Ethier would wind up starting 106 games for the Dodgers. Back to consistent at-bats, all Ethier would do with the time is slash .294/.366/.486 with a 137 OPS+ and 2.7 bWAR.

But we never got a chance to see much more after that. Ethier broke his tibia in spring training the next season, not getting into his first game until September 10. The next year, he’d herniate a disc in his back—again in spring training—and was shelved until September 1. The Dodgers declined his option at the end of that season, and Andre Ethier was a free agent for the first time in his life.

That November, Ethier announced his retirement. Later that same day, he announced that he’d changed his mind. The rest of the league then shuffled its feet awkwardly and avoided eye contact with him, and Ethier remained unsigned. Admitting defeat, he formally announced his retirement (for good this time) on July 25, 2018.

Andre Ethier played 12 seasons in MLB, all of them in Dodger blue. He goes into the Hypothetical Hall in the only cap he ever wore. He ranks 8th all time in Dodgers history in doubles (303), 9th in extra base hits (499), and 4th in HBP (58).

Chances of making the Hall of Fame: I already spoiled it.

Chances of leaving the ballot after one year: 100%

Andre probably played his final sexy game in a Dodger uniform last night. I know we're all a bit bummed about the result, but we gotta spend a moment to appreciate this dude who has been so clutch and consistent over the years.

Final stats as a Dodger (All-Time Dodgers Rank in Parenthesis):

• .285/.359/.463

• .822 OPS

• 1455 Games (13th)

• 1367 Hits (17th)

• 303 Doubles (8th)

• 162 Home Runs (12th)

• 687 RBIs (13th)

• 21.8 bWar (27th)

• 122 OPS+

• 2 All-Stars, 1 Gold Glove, 1 Silver Slugger

I’m 24 years old so I remember watching him from his All Star years to his final at bat. All around great player to represent Dodger baseball. Scully loved him. Just wish we could have sent him out with a WS ring. F the Astros for life.