This is a simple topic. Of the currently active major league players who would get in the hall of fame if he suddenly retired today. In order to qualify a player must have ten active seasons in the majors. Since we are into the 2010 season players dating back to 2001 qualify. Guys like Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, and Mark Teixeira should not be mentioned. I am not looking for players who are on their way if they keep up their pace. Again, they need to be hall of famers if they were to retire today. This will hurt the case of someone like Roy Oswalt who came up in 2001 and one day may make the HOF, but is probably not at that point yet. I’ll try to be brief with my statements so the thread doesn’t go on forever. Here’s my list:
Chipper Jones: A career .307 hitter with over 400 HR and nearly 1500 RBI. Too bad he’s been injured so much over the last five years. The 1999 NL MVP is a lock.
Ivan Rodriguez: He’s a career .300 with over 300 HR as a catcher. He is a 14 time all star with 13 gold gloves. It’s his 20th season behind the plate and no one has caught more games. The 1999 AL MVP is a lock.
Albert Pujols: He barely qualifies as this is his 10th season, but Pujols is already a hall of famer. Nearly 400 HR and 3 MVPs before the age of 30. Need I go on?
Trevor Hoffman: I’m a little hard on relief pitchers, but I can’t ignore someone who’s been closing so many games for so long. He’s the all time saves leader at just under 600.
Manny Ramirez: A lifetime batting average of .314 with 548 HR and 1801 RBI. The 12 time all star also has 2500+ hits. It’s amazing that he’s never won an MVP.
Todd Helton: He has borderline career numbers, but his .327 career average pushes him over the edge. He was robbed of the ROY in 1998 and MVP in 2000 in my opinion. You could even argue he was robbed of his second batting title in 2003. He’s my least confident choice right now, but I think he’s in.
Derek Jeter: He’s a lifetime .317 hitter who has nearly 2800 hits. The ten time all star’s true value doesn’t show up in the box scores. He’s the leader of a dynasty.
Alex Rodriguez: A .305 batting average with nearly 600 home runs over 1700 RBI and over 2500 hits. He’s a 12 time all star and three time MVP.
Mariano Rivera: He has over 500 saves and has been a dominant closer for a decade and a half. The ten time all star has been great in the regular season and even better in the post season.
Ken Griffey Jr.: If you were watching in the 90’s I don’t need to explain. He has over 600 home runs over 1800 RBI and nearly 2800 hits. The 13 time all star has ten gold gloves and was THE man in the 90’s.
Ichiro Suzuki: He’s only in his 10th season, but he already has over 2000 hits as he’s had over 200 every year while leading the league six times. He has 350 SB and career .333 batting average. He’s been an all star and won a gold glove every year he’s been in the league.
Vladimir Guerrero: The 8 time all star and 2004 AL MVP has only hit below .300 once in his career when he hit .295 last year. He has over 400 home runs and one of the best arms in baseball when he played the outfield.
That’s my list. Who’s on there that shouldn’t be and who did I leave off? It’s possible that I have just forgotten somebody. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook someone if they’re at the end of their career and not the role player they used to be. You may have noticed I don’t have any starting pitchers. There are some great ones out there, but I don’t know if there are any that are hall of famers right now. I have love for the pitchers. I think five or six pitchers that have retired in the past three years will make the HOF. Some that are in the league now have a way to go. Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen, and Fernando Valenzuela all looked like hall of famers early, but look how that turned out. I’m not jumping the gun on any pitchers yet.
So give me your feedback and keep in mind anyone who started after 2001 does not qualify.
Chipper Jones: A career .307 hitter with over 400 HR and nearly 1500 RBI. Too bad he’s been injured so much over the last five years. The 1999 NL MVP is a lock.
Ivan Rodriguez: He’s a career .300 with over 300 HR as a catcher. He is a 14 time all star with 13 gold gloves. It’s his 20th season behind the plate and no one has caught more games. The 1999 AL MVP is a lock.
Albert Pujols: He barely qualifies as this is his 10th season, but Pujols is already a hall of famer. Nearly 400 HR and 3 MVPs before the age of 30. Need I go on?
Trevor Hoffman: I’m a little hard on relief pitchers, but I can’t ignore someone who’s been closing so many games for so long. He’s the all time saves leader at just under 600.
Manny Ramirez: A lifetime batting average of .314 with 548 HR and 1801 RBI. The 12 time all star also has 2500+ hits. It’s amazing that he’s never won an MVP.
Todd Helton: He has borderline career numbers, but his .327 career average pushes him over the edge. He was robbed of the ROY in 1998 and MVP in 2000 in my opinion. You could even argue he was robbed of his second batting title in 2003. He’s my least confident choice right now, but I think he’s in.
Derek Jeter: He’s a lifetime .317 hitter who has nearly 2800 hits. The ten time all star’s true value doesn’t show up in the box scores. He’s the leader of a dynasty.
Alex Rodriguez: A .305 batting average with nearly 600 home runs over 1700 RBI and over 2500 hits. He’s a 12 time all star and three time MVP.
Mariano Rivera: He has over 500 saves and has been a dominant closer for a decade and a half. The ten time all star has been great in the regular season and even better in the post season.
Ken Griffey Jr.: If you were watching in the 90’s I don’t need to explain. He has over 600 home runs over 1800 RBI and nearly 2800 hits. The 13 time all star has ten gold gloves and was THE man in the 90’s.
Ichiro Suzuki: He’s only in his 10th season, but he already has over 2000 hits as he’s had over 200 every year while leading the league six times. He has 350 SB and career .333 batting average. He’s been an all star and won a gold glove every year he’s been in the league.
Vladimir Guerrero: The 8 time all star and 2004 AL MVP has only hit below .300 once in his career when he hit .295 last year. He has over 400 home runs and one of the best arms in baseball when he played the outfield.
That’s my list. Who’s on there that shouldn’t be and who did I leave off? It’s possible that I have just forgotten somebody. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook someone if they’re at the end of their career and not the role player they used to be. You may have noticed I don’t have any starting pitchers. There are some great ones out there, but I don’t know if there are any that are hall of famers right now. I have love for the pitchers. I think five or six pitchers that have retired in the past three years will make the HOF. Some that are in the league now have a way to go. Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen, and Fernando Valenzuela all looked like hall of famers early, but look how that turned out. I’m not jumping the gun on any pitchers yet.
So give me your feedback and keep in mind anyone who started after 2001 does not qualify.
