Allie Pierce Reynolds was the unquestioned ace of teams that won six World Series. He is not in the Hall of Fame. This has always struck me as extremely odd. Bizarre, even. If the ace starting pitcher on the team that won five consecutive World Series isn't a Hall of Famer then I'm missing something. But Superchief missed by just one vote in the December 2008 balloting by the pre-1943 Veterans Committee, garnering 8 of the 9 votes required for induction. That's good news for Reynolds, and it might be good news for Ron Guidry, too.

Yes, Reynolds played on great teams. Yes, he pitched to Yogi Berra for his entire Yankee career. Yes, the centerfielders patrolling Yankee Stadium's vast center-left expanse were Joe Dimaggio and then Mickey Mantle. But consider the following: Reynolds was 7-2 in 15 World Series appearances, nine of which were starts. His ERA was 2.79, which equates to an ERA+ of approximately 140.

He faced the Dodgers in four of the six World Series in which he played, pitching against them in 11 of his 15 WS appearances. Each of those Dodgers teams led the N.L. in scoring. The '49, '52 and '53 Dodgers teams featured Snider, Robinson, Reese and Campanella, each a Hall of Famer, and a near-miss Hall of Famer in Gil Hodges. The Dodgers of that era won six NL pennants in the decade between '47 and '56 and are rightly considered one of the greatest NL teams of all time. Reynolds went 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA against The Boys of Summer.

Only one of the Yanks' pennants was won handily during their streak of five straight world championships; the 1953 team led the league by ten or more games for most of September. The '49 to '52 teams each prevailed in very tight races, generally besting Indians and Red Sox teams that were themselves stocked with all-stars and Hall of Famers. Reynolds pitched brilliantly down the stretch in those pennant races, winning four September games each of those years. The Yankees played 157 games in September in their six world championship years during Reynolds' career, a number almost exactly equivalent to one full season, and Reynolds won 22 games in those Septembers.

Reynolds lost the openers to the '51 and '52 World Series and each time followed with a complete game victory in Game 4 to even the Series, saving the Yankees from falling into an all but insurmountable deficit and sparking Yankee comebacks on their way to another world championship.

Quite simply, Allie Reynolds was the greatest big-game pitcher of his era. As great as those Yankee teams were, it was Reynolds and his rotation mates, Vic Raschi and Eddie Lopat, who were the key to the Yanks' success in the five World Series between '49 and '53. Whether it was the World Series or the heat of a September pennant race, Superchief was at his best, and without him the Yankees' historic world championship tally of the late '40s and early '50s would have been fewer by two and perhaps more.

Reynolds may have won only 182 regular season games in his career, but I'm willing to bet that the biggest winners and Hall of Famers of his era - Spahn, Wynn, Roberts, Lemon and Feller - would gladly trade a huge chunk of their career win totals for just a few of Superchief's World Series rings. And I'm willing to bet that the multitude of Hall of Famers on the Dodgers, Giants, Indians and Red Sox teams who competed against Superchief would agree that he is more than worthy of induction into the sacred Hall.

Reynolds' success in recent Veterans Committee balloting may be good news for Guidry because their careers are so remarkably similar. They had similar career lengths, with Reynolds pitching 100 more innings than Guidry. Each periodically pitched out of the bullpen. Each had a huge impact on numerous tight pennant races. Each was the ace of teams that won multiple world championships. Guidry's teams didn't have quite the level of success of Reynolds' Yankee teams, but on the other hand Guidry compiled a slightly superior regular season record in terms of ERA+, winning percentage and number of league leading performances.

If Reynolds is inducted it will plainly be because of his outstanding pennant race and post-season performances, particularly his role in leading the Yankees' stretch drives in the years '49 to '52. If these factors carry Superchief into the Hall then they should militate for Guidry's induction as well, because even Superchief must take a backseat to Ron Guidry when it comes to dominating pennant race performances. Reynolds' record in pennant races is notable for its consistency; like Guidry, Allie had five outstanding September performances in the midst of white hot pennant races. But Guidry's record exceeds Reynolds' in two respects: Guidry never stumbled in a pennant race, whereas even Superchief had a tough finish in '48 while the Yanks were chasing the Indians; and Reynolds' Septembers, while superlative, were never as dominating as Guidry's epic performances in '77 and '78.

The similarities don't end with the numbers. Both Reynolds and Guidry were quiet, stolid leaders, respected by their teammates for combining an unflinching competitive fire with an unflappable demeanor. Each let their play on the field do the talking. Neither liked talking about himself. As the Associated Press noted in its article on the subject of Reynolds' passing in 1994:

The late Dale Mitchell, who played with Cleveland, once said Reynolds might not have made the Hall because he refused to promote himself. "He's not that kind of guy," Mitchell said. "But I'll tell you one thing: In Yankee Stadium in September with that fastball, there wasn't anybody ever lived who was any tougher. With those shadows, we were like ducks in a shooting gallery."

Both Reynolds and Guidry exemplified the team-first ethic, the value of which can't be measured by statistics. Like Guidry, Reynolds graciously accomodated the spot-relief role periodically assigned to him, acceding to manager Stengel's strategy for the good of the team. When asked about his failure to make the Hall, Reynolds  expressed his preference for winning over personal accolades.

I'm kind of indifferent now about whether I make the Hall of Fame," he said. "If it happens, it happens. I'm pretty much laid back on that. They've got to have some kind of rules. I knew that was going to happen with all the relief work I did for the Yankees. That really was a career-shortener. But to me, that was important. Teamwork was more important than some kind of honor."

As was the case with Guidry, pitching from the bullpen when the situation demanded it probably cost Reynolds more than one 20-win season. Superchief averaged more than 10 relief appearances per season with the Yankees, as a consequence never making more than 31 starts in a season. Stengel's strategy was a huge success for the Yankees, less so for Reynolds personally.

It appears as if the Veterans Committee may be prepared to finally look beyond the sterile statistics and recognize Allie Reynolds' contribution to six World Series winners. And if they do, they should take a close look at Ron Guidry, too, whose career win total doesn't capture his role as the ace pitcher for the most successful American League teams of his era. As the plaque in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park puts it, Guidry was "a respected leader of the pitching staff for three American League pennants and two world championships. A true Yankee."

The plaque really says it all. If it's the only plaque he ever gets, there's no doubt Guidry will be just fine with that. But he deserves another plaque, one that will hang in Cooperstown.