Vada Pinson was a top player of the 1960s who received steady consideration for the Hall of Fame during his lifetime. His highest total was 15% of the vote. He has nearly the most career hits of any player not in the Hall of Fame. He continues to be eligible for selection by the Veterans Committee.
Pinson was signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as a free agent in 1956 and came up in 1958. He went on to play 11 seasons with Cincinnati. He usually hit ahead of Frank Robinson in the batting order. In 1961 he hit .343, second in the league, won a Gold Glove, and was third in the MVP voting.
Early, Pinson was usually among the league leaders in some category each year.
In 1968, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Pinson was traded to the Cleveland Indians after that year.
He then was traded to the California Angels in a deal for Alex Johnson. After a couple of years with the Angels, he finished off his career with the Kansas City Royals, a team that featured the young George Brett.
The argument for Pinson as a Hall of Famer is based on his 2,757 career hits.
Around the time of his death, there was a concerted effort to get Pinson into the Hall, but the effort failed. Pinson, although he did not get in, will be remembered as one of the top players of the 1960's. He was a player who came close to achieving Hall of Fame status.
After his playing career ended, Pinson was a longtime coach. He was a member of the expansion Seattle Mariners staff from 1977 to 1980 before joining the Chicago White Sox in 1981. In 1982, he rejoined the Mariners and stuck with the club for two seasons. He was a Detroit Tigers coach from 1985 to 1991. Pinson ended his coaching career with another expansion team, the Florida Marlins, in 1993 and 1994.
Vada Pinson died in 1995.
