Calculate the Hall of Fame Multiplier

Or ... the HOF Multiplier

We’ll use the “Hall of Fame Multiplier” here and there as a way to compare the relative bargainness of various HOFers and potential HOFers.

Here’s how to compute the Hall of Fame Multiplier for any given player:

• Identify the player’s most popular rookie card.

• Find the Card Value Multiplier of that RC.

• Find the player’s Hall of Fame Monitor metric from Baseball Reference.

• Divide his Monitor number by his multiplier to get his “HOF Multiplier.”

The Hall of Fame Monitor is a measure developed by Bill James that rolls up all sorts of things about a player’s career and attempts to gauge how likely he is to be elected to Cooperstown (eventually, at least).

The average HOFer scores 100, and higher numbers are better when it comes to Hall of Fame chances.

So, by dividing a player’s HOF Monitor by his card multiplier, we get a very rough estimate of his, um, bargainness relative to his HOF case, and relative to others.

For instance, a dude with a 200 HOF Monitor score but a paltry card multiplier of 2 has an HOF Multiplier of 100 — he’s likely to get in but has cheap cards.

On the other hand, a player who comes in at an 80 on the Monitor but already has a card multiplier of 10 scores just an 8 for his HOF Multiplier — he’s iffy for election but will still cost you plenty on the cardboard front.