Bob Ryan on Boomer Wells

Bob Ryan has what can only be called an "appreciation" of David Wells. I too am a fan of Boomer. He was an original and I agree with Bob Ryan that he will be missed.

It should be pointed out that Wells will probably finish with 235 wins but going into his 4th pro season he only had 2 starts in 113 games. Tom Glavine, the most recent 300-game winner, already had 72 starts going into his 4th season. I'm not saying that Wells would have been a 300-game winner if he had those extra starts early in his career but I do think those extra starts may have been enough to have put Wells over the top for the Hall of Fame (as it stands right now it is doing Wells a kindness by calling him a borderline Hall of Fame player).

With just 10 more wins David Wells would have been in the top 50 all-time in baseball history. Wells is already in 50th place in all-time strikeouts. Of the players who are top 50 all-time in both wins and strikeouts - only 8 players are not in the Hall of Fame - Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Tommy John, Bert Blyleven, Randy Johnson, Jim Kaat and Jack Morris. You would have to say that Clemens, Maddux, Glavine and Johnson are locks for the Hall of Fame. My guess is that Wells doesn't quite stir the emotions of Blyleven or Morris but his emotional pull will be close.

Wells' Hall of Fame vote will probably be close to that of Jim Kaat's who was known for his great glove while Wells was known for his great gut.