4 Reds Hall of Fame snubs that look more egregious after 2024 election

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The National Baseball Hall of Fame just welcomed three new members this week after Todd Helton, Adrian Beltré, and Joe Mauer were all elected to join baseball's elite in Cooperstown. Reliever Billy Wagner fell just five votes short.

The Cincinnati Reds are well represented in the Hall of Fame. Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Barry Larkin have all been immortalized, and within the next decade, at least one more will likely be added to the list. With Helton and Mauer soon to be enshrined, Joey Votto's place among the all-time greats is almost academic.

But a few players who've had impactful careers with the Reds are still missing, and Tuesday's vote only confirmed that a few former players, who had great careers in Cincinnati, deserve to be included. After watching Helton, Beltré, and Mauer get the nod, which four Reds absences from the Hall of Fame now look even more egregious?

1. Vada Pinson

While a case can be made for several Reds players to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, there may not be a more glaring omission than Vada Pinson. The outfielder debuted in 1958 and went to the All-Star Game in 1959.

Pinson was an outstanding defensive outfielder, though he has just one Gold Glove to his credit. That said, when your competition consistents of Hank Aaron, Curt Flood, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Mays, you begin to wonder how Pinson was even able to win the one he did during the 1961 season.

Pinson was a star at a young age, and has two Top 10 finishes for the NL MVP Award. Pinson led the league in hits twice during his Reds career, but Adrian Beltré and Todd Helton only did so once during their careers.

Pinson was atop the league in doubles two times during his 11-year tenure in Cincinnati, which is also more than Beltré or Helton ever did. Pinson's speed on the base paths allowed him to lead the league in triples twice as well, something the newly elected Hall of Fame trio never accomplished.

When comparing him to others in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Vada Pinson (54.1) has a higher bWAR than Kirby Puckett (51.2) and fellow Reds great Tony Perez (54.0 bWAR). Both Puckett and Perez have a bust in Cooperstown, and it's long overdue for Pinson to join them.

2. Dave Concepción

The case for Dave Concepción is bit more nuanced than that of Vada Pinson, but the fact remains that the former Cincinnati Reds shortstop belongs in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Concepción had the left side of the Reds' infield on lockdown for almost two decades.

Ironically, it was Concepción's protégé, Barry Larkin, who would go on to have a Hall of Fame career. But Concepción's defense is arguably the best in team history. Concepción's 21.4 defensive bWAR is is better than both Joe Mauer (3.0) and Todd Helton (-5.0).

Concepción's five Gold Gloves match Adrian Beltré's total and are just one less than Helton and Mauer combined. Concepción was went to the Midsummer Classic nine times. You'd have to combined the All-Star trips of both Beltré and Helton in order to hit that number. Mauer falls short as well with only six All-Star Games under his belt.

Concepción was a key piece of the Big Red Machine. And while the shortstop wasn't the team's best hitter, he was certainly manager Sparky Anderson's best defender. Concepción was part of the one of the greatest teams ever assembled and helped Cincinnati win back-to-back World Championships and five division crowns.

Dave Concepción has been inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, and has his No. 13 is hanging above the diamond at Great American Ball Park. If Harold Baines, who has fewer All-Star appearances, zero World Championships, no Gold Gloves, and lower bWAR (38.8) can be enshrined in Cooperstown, then there's no excuse to exclude Concepción.

3. Dave Parker

The Cobra, perhaps more than any other player on this list, has the accolades that should put him into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. While once an enemy of the Cincinnati Reds during the early-part of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dave Parker came back home in 1984.

Parker grew up in Cincinnati. The Pirates drafted Parker in 1970 out of Courter Tech High School and called him up to the big leagues three years later. By 1975, Parker led the league in slugging percentage and finished third in the NL MVP voting behind Joe Morgan and Greg Luzinski.

After another third-place finish in 1977, Parker won the NL MVP in 1978 and helped lead Pittsburgh to a World Championship a year later with the Pirates "We Are Family" team alongside slugger Willie Stargell and hurler Bert Blyleven.

Parker came to the Queen City in 1984 and was back in the MVP conversation in 1985. Parker fell just short of his second MVP after finishing behind St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Willie McGee that year. Parker ended his career with 339 career homers, 1,493 RBI, seven All-Star appearances, three Gold Gloves, two batting titles, and two World Series Championships.

Dave Parker has two world titles, something none of the three newly-elected members can lay claim to. Joe Mauer is at least in the conversation with Parker when it comes to MVP Awards, All-Star appearances, batting titles, and Gold Glove. But neither Todd Helton nor Adrian Beltré can hold a candle to Parker in those areas. Beltré, like Parker, has six Top 10 MVP finishes, but only The Cobra was able to take the award home.

4. Lou Piniella

The fact that Lou Piniella has not been enshrined in Cooperstown in a travesty. What more does a manager have to do in order to be included among the best who've ever done it?

Piniella was, of course, the skipper for the 1990 wire-to-wire World Series Championship team. After the embarrassment associated with the club follow Pete Rose's suspension in 1989, the Cincinnati Reds replaced Tommy Helms with Piniella prior to the 1990 campaign.

The hire turned out to be a wonderful success as Piniella pushed all the right buttons that season and helped lead the Redlegs to the 1990 World Series in which they swept the heavily-favored Oakland Athletics in four games. Piniella spent three seasons in Cincinnati and finished his tenure with a record of 255-231.

Throughout 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, Lou Piniella posted a winning percentage above .500, though he was 23-27 in the postseason. Among those managers who've retired, only Gene Mauch and Dusty Baker have yet to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Baker will be inducted as soon as he is eligible, and Mauch never won a pennant nor a World Series.

Jim Leyland will be part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class this year, but Piniella did not receive that same distinction. The Contemporary Era Committee had the chance to include Piniella this past year, but the former Reds manager fell one vote short while Leyland appeared on 15 of 16 ballots. Piniella will have to wait until 2026 to get his shot once again.

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