Back in January, I was less than shocked that Barry Larkin made the leap from 62.1% to Hall of Famer, but as we all know…this weekend’s induction is just the calm before the storm.
So far, the BBWAA has taken a pretty harsh stance against those that have used or been suspected of using steroids. And with all due respect to Mark McGwire (who can’t get more than 23.7% of the vote) and Rafael Palmeiro (12.6% this past voting cycle), this coming January is when we’ll see where the line in the sand is drawn.
You see, in 2013, it is possible that three of the game’s greats might be left out in that Cooperstown cold. But here’s the rub…as of now, none of them have been found guilty of using any banned substances.
Here are the players that will be appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2013.
NOPE (regardless of what they did “before they started using steroids”).
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa.
IN.
Craig Biggio.
To the casual fan…the words “Craig Biggio” are synonymous with “consistency”. And it’s true, the dude was…to the tune of 3060 hits, 668 doubles (good for fifth all-time) and a career .281 batting average. His seven All-Star appearances, five Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Gloves pale in comparison to one of his greatest/oddest achievements…the 285 times (two shy of the record) he was hit by a pitch.
Mike Piazza.
A number of years ago, rumors started swirling that the 1993 National League Rookie of the Year was a user of PEDs. Fortunately for the 12 time All-Star, the idiom “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” has (seemingly) not been fully investigated, but it’s probably safe to say Piazza is going to suffer the same “but he might’ve done steroids” fate as Jeff Bagwell. As it is, the catcher finished his career with a bloated .308 career batting average, nine straight seasons with an average of .300 of higher, 427 home runs, including eight straight seasons with 30 or more and 1335 RBI. Not bad for a guy who was taken as a favor in the 62nd round of the draft.
OUT (in random order).
David Wells.
“Boomer” finished his career with a 239-157 record and 13 seasons with ten or more wins. Add to that his perfect game, two World Series rings and three All-Star appearances and you have a very, very good pitcher…but not a Hall of Famer.
Roberto Hernandez and Jose Mesa.
Easily confused as the same dude, Hernandez had 326 saves (12th all-time) and Mesa notched 321 (13th all-time). Hernandez is 12th all-time in games played with 1010, while Mesa is tied with Lee Smith with 1022…ninth all-time.
Mike Stanton.
After Jesse Orosco, Stanton is second on the all-time games pitched list with 1178.
Steve Finley, Shawn Green, Jeff Cirillo, Jose Valentin, Reggie Sanders, Jeff Conine, Royce Clayton, Bob Wickman, Ryan Klesko, Aaron Sele, Woody Williams, Rondell White, Mike Lieberthal, Tony Batista, Sandy Alomar Jr., Damian Miller and Todd Walker.
ON THE BUBBLE.
Curt Schilling.
When he finally hung up his bloody sock and called it quits, plenty of people were already willing to hang up Schilling’s plaque and his recent business failure aside…they still are. Sure, his post-season performances are legendary, but his overall body of work was just very, very good. Sure, he won close to 60 percent of his decisions and won 216 games. Sure, he topped 3000 strikeouts with 3116, but did you know that he finished his career second all-time with a 4.38 strikeout to walk ratio? Yeah…me neither.
Kenny Lofton.
Ask anyone if Lofton is a Hall of Famer and they would say (without hesitation) “no”. And they’d probably be right. However, if you compare his stats to “could be HOFer” Tim Raines, they stack up. Raines has 2605 hits, carries a .294 career average and scored 1571 runs. Lofton finished his career with 2428 hits, a .299 average and 1528 runs. Throw in six straight All-Star appearances and four straight Gold Gloves and the case for Lofton looks halfway decent.
Julio Franco.
I always take a lot of flack for saying Franco is “on the bubble” but this is how I would vote…not the BBWAA and not the SABR community. I put him here for the simple reason that he was his generation’s Satchel Paige. If you believe what he told you…he played until he was 48. Some folks suggest that Franco was older. Dude holds the distinction of being the oldest player ever to hit a grand slam, pinch-hit home run, two home runs in one game and to steal two bases in a game. And goofy stuff like that means something to me. Also, throughout his career, he has more than 4200 hits joining Ty Cobb and Pete Rose as the only three to surpass 4000. The breakdown: Major League Baseball-2586, Minor Leagues-618, Mexican League-316, Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball-286, Dominican Winter League-267 and South Korea’s Korean Baseball Organization-156. Not too shabby!
Friday, we’ll take a fresh look at the first time guys on the 2017 ballot. Until then…you can enjoy a week of re-hashes.
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