But it seems that the list of players who did not get into the Hall is a bigger conversation piece each year at this time than the players who did get in -- especially in this post-PED era -- so let me just go ahead and jump on that train. Here are the ten Hall-eligible players I think most deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, with the percentage of votes they received on this year's ballot (75% is required to be inducted) and the number of years they have been on the ballot (players are no longer eligible after 15 years on the ballot).
10. Edgar Martinez (27.0%; 6th year)
I am assuming Martinez gets a bad rap because he was largely DH, but he was a pretty good one. Hell, the AL even renamed its outstanding designated hitter award for Martinez. He spent his entire 18-year career with the Mariners, and he was a 7-time All-Star, leading the league in batting average twice and RBI once. Martinez was a lifetime .312 hitter, who hit over .300 10 out of 12 seasons between 1990 and 2001. He also finished with over 300 home runs, 500 doubles, and 1,200 RBI.
9. Larry Walker (11.8%; 5th year)
I assume Larry Walker is kind of forgotten about because he spent the majority of his career in Montreal and Colorado, but he really had a great career. A 5-time All-Star and the 1997 NL MVP, Walker led the NL in batting average three times and in home runs once. He also won seven Gold Gloves. In the end, Walker had a .313 career batting average and 383 home runs, and he probably would have ended up with even better numbers had he been healthier his last few seasons.
8. Curt Schilling (39.2%; 10th year)
Schilling's sock is in the Hall, so maybe the rest of him should be. He is a member of the 3,000 strikeout club and was the 2001 World Series MVP. Overall, he won 216 games, which isn't fantastic, but he really came on at the end of his career, winning 21 or more games three times in his last seven seasons. He and Roger Clemens are the only members of the 3,000 strikeout club who aren't in the Hall of Fame.
7. Roger Clemens (37.5%; 3rd year)
Like Bonds below, Clemens is obviously tainted because of steroids, but let's not kid ourselves, he was probably Hall-worthy without the 'roids. But perhaps the world will never know.
6. Lee Smith (30.2%; 13th year)
Relievers get shunned by the Hall, which is a shame, since relievers are as vital as any other position. Smith was one of the best closers in MLB history. Now third on the MLB all-time saves list, from 1993 to 2006, he was the MLB's all-time leader in saves, in addition to being a 7-time All-Star and leading the league in saves four times. If you are one of the top five players ever at your position, then you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
5. Jeff Kent (14.0%; 2nd year)
Kent is one of those players who, in any other era, would probably be inducted within his first three or four years of eligibility. He is the all-time leading home run hitter for second baseman and is the only second baseman in MLB history with 100 or more RBI in six straight seasons. Kent was also the 2000 MVP and a 5-time All-Star. Even though he is not linked with PEDs and has been an advocate for HGH testing in baseball, Hall voters have apparently grouped him in with his drug-using peers.
Raines was one of the best base stealers and lead-off men ever. A switch hitter, he was a 7-time All-Star, four-time league leader in stolen bases, and the 1986 NL batting champ. He ended his career with 808 stolen bases, which is 4th all-time (behind only Henderson, Brock, and Cobb) and the most stolen bases of anyone not in the Hall of Fame. His voting percentages have steadily increased over the last five years, so maybe he'll get inducted within the next few years.
3. Barry Bonds (36.8%; 3rd year)
I don't care if he used PEDs later in his career. He is still MLB's all-time home run leader (and the all-time leader in walks), and I think he had a Hall-worthy career even without the PEDs. Also, as far as I know, PEDs don't help your batting average or help you see the ball better, and between 1990 and 2004, Bonds hit below .291 only once and hit over .300 eleven times.
2. Mike Piazza (69.9%; 3rd year)
Piazza is one of the best catchers ever, and probably the best hitting catcher of all-time. He has the most home runs as a catcher in MLB history, as well as a lifetime .308 hitter, a 12-time All-Star, and a 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner. I honestly can't believe he isn't in yet, especially since he isn't really linked to PEDs.
1. Jeff Bagwell (55.7%; 5th year)
Of course, I'm a little bit biased, since Bagwell was an Astro, but, like Kent, he is unfairly punished because he played in the Steroid Era. And, like Kent, he is not linked with, or accused of taking, PEDs. Bagwell's career mirrored Frank Thomas's for a long time, until Bagwell became hobbled by injuries later in his career, forcing him to retire early. He ended with 449 home runs, 1,529 RBI, and a .297 career batting average. Had he been healthy, he probably would have gotten to that coveted 500 home run mark, and he probably would have been inducted last year, along with Thomas, which would have been my dream induction ceremony (along with Biggio, of course).
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