The National Baseball Hall of Fame is the sport’s Mount
Rushmore. Only the best of the best and the most talented, memorable figures in
the game’s history gain admittance, with fewer than 350 having been elected in
the near 90 years of the existence of the shrine. There are future
Hall-of-Famers playing now, but who are locks for the honor? Who could book
their ticket to Cooperstown, New York if they never played another inning of
ball? Let’s examine these baseball legends who continue to play amongst us.
Max Scherzer, Pitcher: This one may come as a surprise and also needs a caveat.
I believe the dominant right-handed starter for the Washington Nationals will
be a Hall-of-Fame lock following this season if he has even an average healthy
year. Although his 147 career wins and 3.26 ERA may seem light, his three Cy
Young Awards and two other top-five finishes over the past five years are
reminiscent of Sandy
Koufax’s career arc. So, if Scherzer is even 70 percent of the pitcher he’s
been in recent years in 2018 he will have 160ish wins and a WAR that surpasses
50, putting him in very similar company to Koufax.
Clayton Kershaw, Pitcher: Speaking of Los Angeles Dodgers left-handers, the
30-year-old Kershaw has already punched his ticket to Cooperstown. He has a
very similar resume to Sherzer, except is even more similar to Koufax. He also
has three Cy Young wins, four other top-five finishes, 145 victories and a 2.37
ERA that is nearly a full run better than Scherzer. His 59.8 WAR already
exceeds that of Koufax (53.2).
Miguel Cabrera, First Base/Designated Hitter: Although the lead-footed slugger is
in the waning years of his career and seems to get more notoriety these days
for a contract that will pay him in excess of $30 million annually through
2023, he still should be regarded as one of the best right-handed hitters of
all-time. A career .317 hitter, the two-time MVP has won four batting titles,
hit 465 home runs and driven in 1,634. His 69.5 WAR would be even higher if not
the negative value he has provided with his glove over the years. Off-field issues
don’t seem to have negatively impacted his reputation to the extent similar
situations have for some players—so it’s unlikely they will affect his
supporters.
Albert Pujols, First Base: Numbers the past couple of years suggest that the
right-handed legend is one of the worst
regular players in the majors, and thus hanging on too long. His resume,
which includes recently collecting his 3,000th
hit, a .304 batting average, 620 home runs, 1,938 RBIs, countless awards
and high rankings on the all-time leader boards of a majority of offensive
categories make him a true legend. Much like Cabrera, an inflated salary that
extends well into his baseball dotage will detract somewhat from the attention
due for his greatness. However, it will have no impact on his status as a
first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
Robinson Cano, Second Base: Now 14 years into his career, the left-handed hitter
has flown about as much under the radar as any superstar player of recent
years. A .304 career hitter, he has eclipsed 300 home runs, 2,400 hits and just
surpassed 1,200 RBIs. His 67.4 career WAR nestles him in right between Hall-of
Fame infielders Roberto
Alomar and Ernie Banks.
Cano is a surefire Hall-of-Famer now, but at just 35, he still has room to
really add on to his legacy before he’s done.
Ichiro Suzuki, Outfielder: Although the classy Japanese left-handed hitter just retired
a few days ago, we’ll keep him on this list since he was playing so recently. With
more than 4,300 hits between his professional career in Japan and the United
States, he has essentially had two Hall-of-Fame careers. Having prematurely wound
up his 27th season at the age of 44, he was long utilized as a bench
player, but loved the game so much he continued to hang around. An excellent
defender with a cannon arm, he should have a chance at a unanimous vote, if not
for some writers who play games with their ballots.
Adrian Beltre, Third Base: It feels as if Beltre’s excellence has snuck up on
us, but he is now in his 21st big league season of a career that
will rightly end in Cooperstown. He owns a .287 batting average to go with his
463 home runs, 1,650 RBIs, 3,075 hits and a glove that might just be the best
of all time at his position. His 94.1 career WAR (and counting) long-surpassed
the 78.4 put up by Brooks
Robinson, who is probably his closest comparable as a player.
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