Not quite the stuff of Cooperstown, mind you, but Hall's journey would make a heck of Ken Burns documentary.
"People have said that all the things I've done have (only) been in the minor leagues," Hall said. "But you know what, I've done them year in and year out. So who's to say I wouldn't have done them in the big leagues."
Of Hall’s Fame
Hall has stubbornly continued to play the game with a mixture of respect and reckless abandon.
Need to move a runner along? He became a terrific bunter. Need someone to lend a kick in the pants? Hall is never shy about challenging the arm strength of a feckless outfielder or catcher. He makes the hard turn at first, and the takeout slide at second. Anything to give his team a chance to win.
"You can never get tired of winning," he said. "That's what you play the game for. To win is great. To be a champion is even better. Just to be able to blessed to be able to play the game, makes it meaningful to me."
Still there is that lingering itch, that Dennis-Quaid-aging-Rookie with Cal Ripkin overtones shot at a run for the big leagues.
"If it's in the cards for me, it will happen," he said. "But it's only got one more year to happen, because I promised my little boy I'd play only one more year."
He also made a promise himself: To walk away after next year with a smile on face, come what may.
"You know what, if it doesn't happen, I won't be upset one bit," he said, "because, I've done everything I've needed to do in this game to play in the big leagues, and it just hasn't happened. There's a lot of great players before me who didn't play in the big leagues."
A lot of great men, too.
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