James Leroy Wilson seems to be leading me into my next posts as of late with logical next-step questions in the comments. Which active players and managers would I put in the Hall of Fame should their careers end today? This is a great question, one that should spark good debate. I'm a bit tighter with my standards than the writers have traditionally been, but in light of a previous post about baseball's latest golden era, my list has more than a couple of names.
Here's my list of locks for the Hall:
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Ken Griffey Jr., Pedro Martinez.
And my list for most probably, and I'd be willing to vote for them:
Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, Trevor Hoffman
Darn close:
Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, John Smoltz, Omar Vizquel
On the right track, but a few more years of dominating:
Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Jeff Kent, Albert Puljols, Derek Jeter
Careers I'll be watching:
Every other player
I have issues, and could start a debate:
Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome
Managing has changed a bit and trying to view today's managers in light of past HOF managers is a bit difficult. Managers have something that players don't have - the potential to manage until their late 70's. I might look at Jim Leyland, and I'm certainly projecting Tony LaRussa into the future as a HOF'er. Frank Robinson might make it in someday, but I'm not his biggest fan and probably wouldn't vote for him. My mind might be blank right now, and if I think of others, I'll post again.
Among managers, it'd be hard to not put Cox and Torre in there, just because of their division win streaks.
ReplyDeleteI think Frank Thomas has a good case, just by the number of times he was an MVP candidate (even as a DH) and his overall career averages. But I know there's more to it than numbers.
And I suspect Pujols won't need as many years as most players to earn Hall of Fame credentials.