The Los Angeles Angels didn’t have any former players elected to the Hall of Fame, but one of their former relievers, Huston Street, joined a club that’s almost as unique as the one joined by New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran and fellow outfielder Andruw Jones, getting just a single vote for the Hall of Fame.
Street’s name was part of a story written by Zack Meisel and Sam Blum of The Athletic, and it contains some of the most entertaining anecdotes you’ll ever read. One was journeyman David Segui, a first baseman who played for 14 seasons, most notably with the Baltimore Orioles.
“My mom didn’t get to vote,” Segui said when he speculated about who the voter might have been. “That had been my first guess.”
The other was Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who covered Segui in Baltimore during the 90s, but Rosenthal denied giving the first baseman the token vote.
“I had my days where I was a Hall of Famer,” said Segui. “And I had my days where I was horse—-. I was just glad that I had enough (good) days where they kept me around that long.”
Another story was about pitcher R.A. Dickey. He, too, was the definition of a journeyman. He pitched for 17 seasons, but it was only when he temporarily mastered the knuckleball that he was able to go on a run that produced a 20-6 season with a 2.73 ERA in 2012 that earned him the Cy Young Award.
Dickey learned about the vote in 2023, when he got a cold call from his agent, Bo McKinnis.
“‘You’re kidding,’” Dickey responded, and the two men met shortly after the call for a celebratory lunch.
“He was trying to pump it up like, ‘To even be considered with one vote, that means somebody out there thinks that you’re worthy and wants your legacy left at that level.’”
Dickey learned recently that the vote came from Texas Rangers writer T.R. Sullivan, who also cast a vote for former Angels reliever Huston Street.
“I’m not gonna sit here and argue that (Street and Dickey are) Hall of Famers,” Sullivan said when asked about his vote. “But I’m not going to apologize for voting for them, because I don’t think those guys need to be forgotten. I think they deserve a little bit of respect.
“I take my vote seriously. I work hard on my vote. I generally vote for guys who legitimately deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. But if I got one or two extra votes, I’m gonna do this.”
Dickey has no illusions about who he was as a player. He had a career WAR of 23.1, according to Meisel and Blum, and that’s about half the number normally required for consideration.
“I don’t meet the standard,” Dickey said, and he added that Sullivan’s vote indicates just how hard it is to get to the top level of the sport.
“I won a Cy Young. I had over 100 wins in Major League Baseball, and pitched over 10 years,” Dickey said. “And still only got one vote to be in the Hall of Fame. That shows you how hard it is and how good these guys are that get inducted.”
Street, meanwhile, had a 40-save season for the Halos in 2015, and 41 in another where he played for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. He had a total of 324 saves in his career, which was enough to make him part of this exclusive club.