A master of the changeup, Cole Hamels was in the hunt for an extended period of time as one of the top southpaws in Baseball.

Hamels was taken in the First Round of the 2002 Draft (17^th Overall) by Philadelphia, and he worked his way to the rotation in 2006 with a decent rookie year (9-8, 4.08 ERA).  The southpaw went to his first All-Star Game as a sophomore (15-5. 3.39 ERA) while also securing his first of four top-ten Cy Young finishes.  There was no All-Star for Hamels in 2008, but that was likely his most fulfilling season in Baseball.  Hamels had another good year, acing the Phils to the World Series, where he won both the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP.  It looked like he was destined for stardom, but perhaps it was just meant to be "very good."

The Phillies made the 2009 World Series, but Hamels struggled.  Hamels was still a solid player, but with the addition of Roy Halladay in 2010, he was no longer considered the top hurler.  He rebounded in 2011, going to his second All-Star Game, and in 2012, he had his best individual campaign with career-highs in Wins (17) and Strikeouts (216).  Hamels was again an All-Star and a top-ten finish for the Cy Young.  

He had his last strong year in Baseball, earning a fourth and final All-Star year in 2016 (15-5, 200 SO), but by the following year, he was beset with shoulder problems.  He dropped to the middle tier of Pitchers over the next two seasons, and with Philadelphia dropping out of contention, he was dealt to the Texas Rangers during the 2015 Season.  After two ineffective years, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, but his decline was in full swing.  He signed with Atlanta in 2020, but injuries held him to one Game.

Leaving Baseball after 2020, Hamels had a lifetime record of 163-122, 2,560 Strikeouts with a bWAR of 59.0.  That is good, but is he Hall of Fame worthy?  A win for Hamels might be surviving the first year on the ballot.

You can't talk about Chris Davis without discussing the spectacularly good and the abysmally bad.  Over the last half of his career, no other baseball player may have gone from one extreme to the other quicker than the former First Baseman.

Davis came up through the Texas Rangers system, and the scouting reports about the First Baseman never changed: Low Average, colossal power, lots of Strikeouts, and slow.  He made the Rangers roster first in 2008, but he bounced up and down from Texas and Triple-A often in his first three years, though he did prove he could go deep against Major League pitching.  He was traded to Baltimore during the 2011 Season, and it was in Maryland where he showed the best and worst of what he could do.

Davis had his first 30 Home Run year in 2012 (33) and did so with a solid .270 Batting Average.  He then joined the 50-Home Run Club in 2013, winning the Home Run Title (53) and RBI Title (138), and batting a career-high .286.  Davis was third in MVP voting, went to his only All-Star Game, and captured his only Silver Slugger.  He was third in MVP voting, but there were still a lot of doubt in his overall game.

Davis belted 26 Home Runs in 2014 but batted less than .200.  The following year, he won his second Home Run Title with 47 Home Runs, but he also led the league in Strikeouts (208).  He again was the infamous first-place finisher in whiffs in 2016 (219), but his Home Run tally dropped to 38, and he batted .221.  

Power and Average dropped afterward, and Davis infamously set the MLB record for the longest streak without a Hit (54 At Bats).  He morphed into a chronically hurt player, who could not hit, let alone for power, and he limped into retirement after the 2020 Season.

Davis was much-watch television every time he batted, but two Home Run Titles can not negate a bWAR that is barely over 11.  He will get on the ballot but will be fortunate to gain a vote.

At the University of Nebraska, Alex Gordon was considered by all of the experts not just to be the best Cornhusker on the diamond but the best baseball player in all of the NCAA.  The winner of the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award, unsurprisingly, was Kansas City’s first pick (second overall) 2005 Amateur Draft.

A three-time All-Star, Alex Gordon led the American League in Doubles in 2012 and has had a pair of 20 Home Run seasons and another four where he exceeded 15.  Gordon has not always had the best Batting Average, but he did bat .303 in 2011.  Realistically it was Gordon's defense that has given him his greatest value to Kansas City.

Gordon played multiple positions in the field for KC, but it was at Leftfield where he truly shone.  He captured seven Gold Gloves, a Platinum Glove, and three Wilson Defensive Awards.

Gordon retired after the 2020 season, and while COVID-19 rendered his swansong less than impactful, he was still the heart of the team throughout the 2010s.  We don't think that Gordon will make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but you can't have a top twenty list of the best Royals of all time without Gordon on it.

Standing at 6' 9" and born in the former Czechoslovakia, Zdeno Chara was a Third Round Pick in 1996 by the New York Islanders, but while he made the team a year later, he never figured into their long-term plans.  A trade to obtain the disgruntled Alexei Yashin sent Chara to Ottawa, and it would be evident in a few years that it was the Slovak Defenseman who was the best player in the deal.

Chara developed on the offensive side with the Senators, utilizing his size and booming shot to become a feared attacker while controlling his own blue line.  Chara moved to elite status in Ottawa, earning his first post-season All-Star honors (First Team in 2004 and Second Team in 2006) and was the anchor of a potent Sens team, but as this was a small market, Chara's skills soon exceeded what Ottawa could pay.

Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, and as good as he was in the Canadian Capital, he was even better in New England.  Named the Captain as soon as he arrived, Chara played for Boston for 14 seasons, collecting five more post-season All-Stars and the coveted Norris Trophy as the NHL's top Defenseman in 2009.  He led Boston to win the 2011 Stanley Cup, holding it higher than anyone else and did so in the same year he won the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

Chara finished his career in his 40s, with a season each in Washington and the New York Islanders.

Chara retires with the most Games Played by a Defenseman (1,652) and set records as the oldest Defenseman to score in the playoffs.

Internationally, “Big Z” won Silver as a representative of Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with two Silvers for Slovakia (2000 & 2012) in the World Hockey Championships.

Chara is an excellent bet for first-ballot entry.