Is Vladimir Guerrero a Hall of Famer?

[Baller]

Vlad Guerrero hit his 400th homerun yesterday, and as his career comes near an end, you always have to ask... Is Vlad a Hall of Famer?

My answer is yes. In 14 seasons as a major leaguer Vlad as hit .322, .387 slugging and .959 OPS. Excluding his first 2 seasons as he played 9 games and 90 games in those years, Vladimir as hit over 25 home runs. He has over 2000 hits, 400 doubles, 175 steals, and the stats go on and on.

He has also won numerous accolades such as, 7 time silver slugger. Rookie of the Year in 1997. An 8 time all star, finished in top 5 of the MVP race 4 times, as well as winning American League MVP in 2004.

The facts don't lie here, Vlad is a Hall of Famer, he may not be a first ballot as nobody really is as the voters dont believe in that, but eventually Vlad will be heading to Cooperstown.

Anybody begged a differ?

 

[Theo Mays]

Vlad is a straight G and easily a HOFer in my books. The guy absolutely killed with the Expos and has been awesome with LAA. This season has probably been the worse of his career. Either way he is still one of the best hitters this game has seen and should be a first ballot guy, unless steroids come into play and he used.

 

[The Brain]

I'll have to agree that Vlad is a Hall of Famer. He has been amazing since coming into the league. He's clearly on the decline, but I think he still has a few years of productivity in him as a DH. He would probably get in if he reitred now. As long as he doesn't completely loose it he should get in without a problem.

By the way, he did not win Rookie of the Year in 1997. That was Scott Rolen.

 

[NSL]

I'd have to give this a yes with authority. Vlad has always been one of the nice guys in the game, and has shown that a free swinger can be much more than a slugger. He can hit any ball to any part of the park, and has shown to be a clubhouse leader. With the Expos, he never complained, and just kept plugging away, hit after hit, home run after home run. With the Angels, he's been a rock in that line-up (except this year, but hey, everyone gets old), He consistently hits over .300, is always near, or over, 30 home runs, and finds a way to drive in 100 runs year in and year out.

Add in the fact his arm is feared by just about everyone in the league, and his multiple all-star appearances, and I'd say he's a first ballot HoF'er.

 

[X]

It all depends on how well his last few years will be. If he were to retire right now, I highly doubt he'd be a first-ballot hall of famer. The Hall of Fame is very picky these days, unless you reach their silly benchmarks of 500 HRs or 3000 hits, there's always going to be people who will vote you down. But with Jim Rice's recent (and long overdue) induction into the Hall of Fame, I'm sure Vlad will make it in. I don't think he'll make it in on the first ballot, but he will eventually. Definitely one of the best pure hitters of his era.

 

[NSL]

The Hall of Fame is very picky these days, unless you reach their silly benchmarks of 500 HRs or 3000 hits, there's always going to be people who will vote you down.

While I agree that you need "benchmark" numbers to be a first ballot shoe-in, I don't think those marks will stay the same going forward. With all the news of steroids floating around, Vlad has remained clean through it all. They might look at his clean 400 HRs over someone like Manny's 500 "tainted" HRs. I'm not sure how many hits Vlad has offhand, but I think that 3000 is within reach for his career. He is a great player, and is often overlooked when naming the greats of the last decade, but I think that once he retires, he'll get the recognition he deserves. I think he could be a first ballot, but most likely a 2nd. It more depends on who he is retiring with than what his numbers are.