Considered one of the pioneers of Gangsta Rap, N.W.A. was not just among the first of their kind, they might just be considered the best.

In their heyday, their music was a ferocious power attack that was among the most innovative of the Hip Hop genre. Lyrically, they were a Hardcore Rap group that brought back political commentary from a true urban point of view that was not seen since the days of Gil Scott-Heron. The entire combination made for a controversial and influential group that set a blueprint for numerous Hip Hop acts that followed. Throw in the fact that they helped spear Rap Metal with Anthrax and you find a Rap group that has a lot of “Rock” credibility. Their yoke however might be Flavor Flav, whose current career as a Reality TV clown might cause a committee to dismiss the whole act as buffoons; which they certainly were not!

Inducted in 2012.

Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff & Terminator X

Larry Jackson played for some good teams, but never any great ones (he never played in the postseason). As such, Jackson never made the 200 Win club, but his value as an innings eater was essential to the success of many of his teams.

Once Larry Jackson worked his way permanently into the Cardinals’ rotation, he seemingly never left. Jackson would become the ace of many average teams and would go on to set the modern record for right-handers in Wins without winning a pennant. Still, he parlayed his famous slider to a Cy Young runner-up in 1964, and though this was the closest he would come to a big award, he was one of the most respected starting pitchers in the National League. Larry Jackson never received a vote for the Hall of Fame, but a look at his career sabremetrics has given us cause to wonder why. 

Should Larry Jackson be in the Hall of Fame?

Definitely put him in! Maybe, but others deserve it first. Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. No opinion. No way!

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Definitely put him in! - 12.9%

Maybe, but others deserve it first. - 6.5%

Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. - 38.7%

No opinion. - 0%

No way! - 41.9%

Sadly, as our Notinhalloffame entry for Whitesnake brings to mind Tawny Kitaen, our Chuck Finley Baseball entry conjures the same image, though not her straddling a sports car but hitting a Pitcher over the head with a stiletto. 

The second Mr. Kitaen is Chuck Finley, a powerful southpaw with 200 career wins. Finley spent many years as the ace for the subpar Angels, and as such, remained largely under the radar despite being a valuable commodity as a left-handed power pitcher. With an armament of fastballs, slurves, and an especially devastating forkball, Chuck Finley managed to rack up a lot of strikeouts and set many Angels pitching records. 

Finley did not receive a lot (or really any) support for the Hall of Fame when he was eligible in 2008, but with a career WAR of 55.0 and his status as an innings eater on bad teams, he should have received a better look than he did.