Baseball's Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame (44 page)

Nevertheless, it is difficult to think of Hoffman as a certain Hall of Famer when his playing days are over. Historically, the members of the BBWAA have been slow to recognize relief pitchers when they cast their ballots. It took Bruce Sutter 13 tries to finally get elected, and Goose Gossage finally gained admittance in his ninth year of eligibility. And both men were more dominant relievers than Hoffman. Neither closer collected nearly as many saves as Hoffman (Sutter had 300, Gossage had 310), but the game has changed significantly since Sutter and Gossage pitched during the 1970s and 1980s, and it would have been impossible for them to do so. Hoffman has led the N.L. in saves just twice. Sutter led the league a total of five times, and also finished in the top five on three other occasions. He also won the Cy Young Award in 1979, finished in the top five in the voting three other times, placed in the top ten in the league MVP balloting a total of five times, and was selected to six All-Star teams. Meanwhile, Gossage led his league in saves three times, and finished as high as third three other times. He also placed in the top five in the Cy Young balloting a total of four times, made it into the top ten in the league MVP voting twice, and was named to nine All-Star teams.

Furthermore, Hoffman has not pitched particularly well in big games. While his contemporary, Mariano Rivera, established himself as one of the greatest postseason pitchers in baseball history, Hoffman has a career record of only 1-2, with just four saves and an ERA of 3.46 in 12 playoff and World Series contests. He also hasn’t fared particularly well in the All-Star Game. In six appearances, Hoffman has a record of 0-1 with no saves, and has allowed better than one run per-inning.

Therefore, while Hoffman’s list of accomplishments is quite impressive, he should be viewed largely as a borderline Hall of Fame candidate. He certainly should have to wait at least as long as Sutter and Gossage did to be inducted into Cooperstown.

POTENTIAL HALL OF FAMERS

Our third group of Future Hall of Famers is comprised of those players who have performed at an extremely high level in the major leagues long enough (i.e. at least five seasons) to be projected as potential Hall of Fame candidates when their careers are eventually over. However, none of these men have yet accomplished enough to be considered certain inductees when their names are added to the eligible list several years from now.

Following is a list of these Potential Hall of Famers, and a brief summary of what they have accomplished thus far:

Albert Pujols

Ryan Howard

David Ortiz

Derek Jeter

Jimmy Rollins

Miguel Cabrera

David Wright

Eric Chavez

Scott Rolen

Chipper Jones

Vladimir Guerrero

Magglio Ordonez

Ichiro Suzuki

Johan Santana

Tim Hudson

Roy Halladay

Roy Oswalt

Albert Pujols

In his first eight major league seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols has established himself as one of the game’s most dominant hitters, and as perhaps the most likely
Potential Hall of
Famer
on this list. In those eight seasons, Pujols has accomplished some truly amazing things.

Pujols’ rookie season of 2001 drew comparisons to the debut seasons of baseball immortals Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. In his rookie campaign, Pujols hit 37 home runs, drove in 130 runs, scored another 112, and batted .329. (As a rookie in 1936, DiMaggio hit 29 homers, knocked in 125 runs, scored 132 others, and batted .323; in 1939, Williams hit 31 homers, drove in 145 runs, scored another 131, and batted .327). Over the next seven seasons, Pujols has proven that he was not a one-year wonder. Indeed, in 2005, he became the first player in major league history to hit more than 30 home runs, drive in more than 115 runs, score at least 100 others, and bat over .300 in each of his first five seasons. He surpassed each of those marks again in his sixth year.

While Pujols has been a superb player ever since he joined the Cardinals in 2001, he had perhaps his finest seasons from 2003 to 2006. In the first of those years, he hit 43 home runs, knocked in 124 runs, and led the National League with a .359 batting average, 137 runs scored, 212 hits, 51 doubles, and 394 total bases. In doing so, he finished second to Barry Bonds in the league MVP voting for the second consecutive season. In 2004, Pujols hit 46 homers, drove in 123 runs, batted .331, collected 51 doubles, led the league with 133 runs scored, and placed third in the N.L. MVP balloting.

Pujols finally came away with the MVP trophy in 2005 when he led the Cardinals to the division title by hitting 41 home runs, knocking in 117 runs, scoring 129 others, and batting .330. He followed that up in 2006 by placing among the league leaders with 49 home runs, 137 runs batted in, 119 runs scored, a .331 batting average, and a .431 on-base percentage, and leading the circuit with a .671 slugging percentage. Pujols finished second to Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard in the league MVP voting and won the first Gold Glove Award of his career for his solid defensive work at first base. After having another solid season in 2007, Pujols performed brilliantly again in 2008, finishing among the league leaders with 37 home runs, 116 runs batted in, 44 doubles, 187 hits, a .357 batting average, and a .462 on-base percentage, and leading the circuit with a .653 slugging percentage. For his outstanding performance, Pujols was named N.L. MVP for the second time. In each of his eight big league seasons, Pujols has been among the five best players in the game, and the most dominant player at his position.

Pujols has placed in the top five in the MVP voting in seven of his eight years in the league, finishing ninth the other time. He has also been selected to seven All-Star teams. Although he will be only 29 when the 2009 season gets underway, Pujols already has 319 home runs, 977 runs batted in, 947 runs scored, and 1,531 hits. His .334 lifetime batting average is the highest among active players. Unless something dramatic happens in the next few years that adversely affects his performance, there is little doubt that Pujols will end up in Cooperstown when his playing days are over.

Ryan Howard

Yes, I know. Ryan Howard has been a full-time player in the major leagues for only three-and-a-half years as of this writing. But, ever since joining the Philadelphia Phillies midway through the 2005 campaign, the power-hitting first baseman has been arguably baseball’s preeminent slugger.

Appearing in only 88 games during that 2005 season, Howard slugged 22 home runs and knocked in 63 runs, in just 312 official at-bats. That performance earned him N.L. Rookie of the Year honors at the end of the year. The 6'4", 240-pound Howard continued his onslaught on National League pitching in his first full major-league season the following year, leading the circuit with 58 home runs and 149 runs batted in, while also scoring 104 runs, batting .313, compiling an on-base percentage of .425, and finishing second in the league with a .659 slugging percentage. At the end of the year, Howard was named National League MVP and the Major League Player of the Year. Howard was somewhat less effective in 2007, batting only .268 and striking out a league-leading 199 times. But he also finished second in the league with 47 home runs and 136 runs batted in, helping the Phillies to the N.L. East title. Philadelphia repeated as Eastern Division champions in 2008, and Howard was once again a key contributor. Although he struck out another 199 times and saw his batting average fall to just .251, Howard led the league with 48 homers and 146 RBIs.

Howard has finished either first or second in the league in both home runs and RBIs in each of his three full seasons in the majors. He has also placed in the top five in the league MVP voting in each of those years. After the completion of the 2008 season, he had 177 home runs and 499 runs batted in to his credit, along with a career batting average of .279. Howard must accomplish a great deal more before his name can even be mentioned in connection with the Hall of Fame. And, as his career continues to progress, Howard’s critics will undoubtedly point to his huge strikeout totals and the fact that he plays in a very good hitter’s park in Philadelphia. But Howard has clearly established himself as one of the game’s greatest sluggers in his first few seasons, and he will be only 29 years old at the start of the 2009 campaign. Thus, he most certainly deserves to have his name included on this list of Potential Hall of Famers.

David Ortiz

After spending his first six seasons as a part-time player with the Minnesota Twins, David Ortiz has developed into one of baseball’s premier sluggers since joining the Boston Red Sox in 2003. From 2003 to 2007, Ortiz averaged 42 home runs and 128 runs batted in for Boston, while hitting over .300 three times.

In his six years with Minnesota, Ortiz combined for only 58 homers and 238 runs batted in. However, in his first year with the Red Sox, Big Papi hit 31 long balls and collected 101 RBIs. Over the next four years, the power-hitting first baseman/designated hitter developed into the American League’s most dangerous hitter and outstanding clutch performer. In 2004, Ortiz finished second in the league with 41 home runs, 139 runs batted in, and a .603 slugging percentage. Then, he practically carried the Red Sox into the World Series with his tremendous clutch hitting during the American League playoffs. In Boston’s three-game sweep of the Angels in the ALDS, Ortiz batted .545, with a home run and four RBIs. He was equally proficient against the Yankees in the ALCS, keying Boston’s remarkable comeback from a three-games-to-none deficit by hitting three home runs, driving in 11 runs, and batting .387. Two of Ortiz’s homers were walk-off game winners. Ortiz had exceptional seasons in each of the next three years as well. In 2005, he hit 47 home runs, scored 119 runs, and led the league with 148 runs batted in. He finished a close second to Alex Rodriguez in the MVP voting at the end of the year. In 2006, Ortiz led the American League with 54 homers and 137 runs batted in, and scored 115 runs. In 2007, Ortiz homered 35 times, drove in 117 runs, scored 116 others, and batted a career-high .332. A wrist injury caused Ortiz to miss 53 games this past season, limiting his offensive output to just 23 home runs and 89 runs batted in.

In all, Ortiz has topped 30 homers five times, hitting at least 40 on three separate occasions. He has also driven in more than 100 runs five times, and scored more than 100 runs, collected more than 40 doubles, and batted over .300 three times each. Ortiz has led the American League in a major statistical category six times, been selected to four All-Star teams, and finished in the top five in the league MVP voting five times. Heading into 2009, these are his career statistics:

Ortiz clearly has a lot of work to do before he can be considered a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate. His offensive numbers will have to be especially good since he spends the vast majority of his time serving as a designated hitter. But Ortiz has been such an outstanding offensive performer since he joined the Red Sox that the members of the BBWAA may well be able to overlook that last fact when his name is added to the eligible list several years from now. Still, Ortiz must continue to perform at an extremely high level for several more seasons in order to be seriously considered for induction. He will not turn 34 until the conclusion of the 2009 campaign, so he appears to have a significant amount of time left to compile the numbers he will need.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter differs somewhat from virtually every other player on this list of Potential Hall of Famers in that, even though it was my ultimate decision to include him here, he could have just as easily been grouped with those players who have already established themselves as borderline Hall of Fame candidates. Jeter’s resume not only includes numerous appearances on the All-Star Team and several strong showings in the MVP balloting, but is further enhanced by the integral role he played on four World Championship teams. Furthermore, the impressive individual statistics Jeter has compiled during his career reveal only so much about him as a player. The Yankees shortstop possesses many intangible qualities that simply do not show up in the boxscores.

Jeter has been the Yankees starting shortstop since 1996, winning American League Rookie of the Year honors in his first season in pinstripes. The Yankees were World Champions in four of Jeter’s first five years with the team, losing only three World Series games in the process. In fact, in his 13 seasons in New York, the Yankees have won six pennants and ten division titles, and have advanced into the postseason 12 times. There is little doubt that Jeter’s presence in the Yankee lineup has had a great deal to do with that. Although he never finishes among the league leaders in home runs and runs batted in, Jeter is an outstanding offensive player who excels at virtually every other aspect of the game as well. He is an excellent baserunner, a solid fielder, an extremely intelligent and instinctive player, and an outstanding team leader. Those attributes have combined to make him arguably one of the sport’s ten best all-around players for much of his career.