The Hall of Fame Class of 2015 (so far)

IN.

Randy Johnson.
With the uncertainties out there of who is officially retired and who isn’t…”The Big Unit” announced he was done following last year. With five Cy Young Awards, a no-hitter and a perfect game…Johnson is pretty much as safe a lock to end up in Cooperstown as anyone who ever toed the rubber. Add in 303 wins, 4875 strikeouts, a World Series ring and ten All-Star appearances and yeah…it’ll be interesting to see what knuckleheads don’t believe he is worthy of going in on the first ballot.

Martinez recently announced that he won’t be playing at all this season. Of course, he didn’t rule out 2011. Memo to Pedro…pack up your .687 winning percentage, sub-3.00 ERA, three Cy Young Awards and status as a Boston legend and reserve a hotel in Cooperstown for July 2015. There is nothing more for Martinez to prove and at this point…all he can do is ruin his reputation.

OUT (in random order).

Nomar Garciaparra.
Alright, reality check time. One of my favorite players of all-time is Nomar Garciaparra, so naturally…one would think that I would automatically pencil him in for a 2015 enshrinement. Unfortunately, his career numbers just aren’t good enough. He started his career alongside Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter and, arguably, overshadowed them at first. However, injuries plagued the Whittier, California native, whereas the other two are legends.

It’s pretty safe to say that I have a soft spot for closers. Just days ago, I said that John Franco is a Hall of Famer and took massive heat for it. For years, I’ve been trumpeting the efforts of Lee Smith. That said, I can’t get behind Percival. His 358 saves (good for eighth all-time) is spectacular, but the dude never led the league and can’t really hold a candle to some of his contemporaries.

2005 American League Cy Young Bartolo Colon, Brian Giles, Eddie Guardado, Paul Byrd, Tom Gordon, Jason Schmidt, Darin Erstad, David Weathers, Rich Aurilia, Russ Ortiz, Mark Loretta, Tony Clark, Cliff Floyd and Julian Tavarez.

ON THE BUBBLE.

Carlos Delgado.
There are plenty of rumors out there surrounding Carlos Delgado. Ask him and he’ll tell you that he is coming back. Check out his Wikipedia page and he’s already been signed by the New York Yankees. Ask me and I will tell you that if he hangs it up now, he’s on the bubble when it comes to the Hall of Fame. Sitting 27 home runs shy of 500 for his career, Delgado is not that far from becoming the first player enshrined as a Blue Jay.

There are some more players that haven’t played this season that I could have included (Joe Nathan, Jason Isringhausen, Jermaine Dye, Alan Embree and Ron Villone) but as of now…their careers don’t appear to be over.

So there you have it…your breakdown of the Hall of Fame Class of 2015 (so far). Be sure to check out this week’s re-hashes.