It never stops for us at Notinhalloffame.com and nor do we ever intend for it to.

Early in the new year, the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announcing the Class of 2019 but before that we have updated our Baseball Futures and here are the potential additions to the that ballot in 2022.

In alphabetical order by their first name:

A.J. Pierzynski:  The Catcher was certainly famous (or infamous in some cases) is a two time All Star, one time Silver Slugger but importantly was the pulse that helped the Chicago White Sox win the 2005 World Series.

Alex Rodriguez:  Love him or hate him, PED or not, A-Rod was one of the greatest players of all time. A three time MVP and fourteen time All Star, Rodriguez retired with 696 Home Runs, 3,115 Hits, 2,086 Runs Batted In and a bWAR of 117.8, which are all first ballot Hall of Fame numbers however he WAS caught with PEDs and suspended.  He does however have a job broadcasting so his forgiveness trail seems much quicker than some.  

Angel Pagan:  Pagan was a two time World Series Champion with the San Francisco Giants and he would lead the National League in Triples in 2012.  Pagan is also a two time Silver Medalist at the World Baseball Classis representing Puerto Rico.

Billy Butler:  Mostly used as a Designated Hitter, Butler would go the All Star Game in 2012, which would be the same season he was named the winner of the Edgar Martinez Award.

Carl Crawford:  Crawford was at his best when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays and it was there where he would become a four time All Star who woud also lead the American League four times in Triples and in Stolen Bases.  He would collect 1,931 Hits over his career.

Coco Crisp:  Crisp would help the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 2007 and he would also lead the AL in Stolen Bases in 2011.  He would have 1,572 Hits over his Major League Baseball career.

Colby Lewis:  Lewis would have a decent career as a starter where he would win 77 Games.

David Ortiz:  “Big Papi” is a legend in Boston and how can he not be?  Ortiz powered the Red Sox to three World Series Championships and he was a ten time All Star.  Ortiz is in the opinion of many the greatest Designated Hitter that ever lived and he has 541 career Home Runs with an OPS of .931.  He should receive a very healthy first year ballot percentage.

Jake Peavy:  Peavy was the National League Cy Young Award winner in 2007 and was a three time All Star. He would win 152 Games, 92 of which were with the San Diego Padres.

Javier Lopez:  Lopez only won 30 Games with 14 Saves over his long career as a Relief Pitcher but he is a four time World Series Titles, one with Boston and three with the San Francisco Giants.

Jeff Francouer:  Francouer would win a Gold Glove in 2007 and would have 1,373 Hits over his career.

Jimmy Rollins:  A three time All Star at Shortstop, Jimmy Rollins would win the National League MVP in 2007 and lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series the nest year. He retired with 2,455 Hits and 231 Home Runs.

Joe Nathan:  Nathan was a six time All Star closer who won the Rolaids Relief Award in 2009.  He finished his career with 377 Saves.

Jonathan Papelbon:  Papelbon was named to the All Star Game six times and he was huge part of the Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series win.  He retired with 368 Saves.

Juan Uribe: Uribe was a two time Wilson Defensive Player and the infielder would accumulate over 1,500 Major League Hits.

Justin Morneau:  The 2006 American League MVP with the Minnesota Twins was a four time All Star. Late in his career he would have a resurgence where he won the Batting Title (2014) with the Colorado Rockies.

Kyle Lohse:  Lohse would win 147 Major League Games and he helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the 2011 World Series.

Mark Teixeira:  A five time All Star, Mark Teixeira would blast 4009 Home Runs with 1,862 Hits over a career that is best known with the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.  A member of the Yankees 2009 World Series Team, the First Baseman is also a three time Silver Slugger and five time Gold Glove winner.

Marlon Byrd:  An All Star in 2011, Marlon Byrd would have over 1,500 Hits over his career.

Matt Thornton:  A Relief Pitcher throughout his career, Matt Thornton was an All Star in 2010 and a World Series winner the next season with St. Louis.

Michael Bourn:  A two time All Star, Michael Bourn would lead the National League in Stolen Bases three times and was also a two time Gold Glove winner.  Bourn also would finish first in Total Zone Runs twice.

Omar Infante:  Infante was an All Star in 2010 and collected 1,427 Hits over his career.

Prince Fielder:  Fielder was a powerhouse like his father and the six time All Star was the Home Run leader in the National League in 2007.  A three time Silver Slugger belted 319 Home Runs over his career.

Ryan Howard:  The 2006 National League MVP played his entire career with the Philadelphia Phillies and he would later propel them to the 2008 World Series.  Howard blasted 382 Home Runs over his career and was a two time league leader in that statistic.

Ryan Vogelsong:  Vogelsong was a two time World Series Champion with the San Francisco Giants who was also an All Star 2010.  He would win 61 Games over his career.

Scott Kazmir:  Kazmir was a three time All Star who won 108 Games over his career.  As a Tampa Bay Devil Ray, he would lead the American League in Strikeouts in the 2007 season.

Tim Lincecum:  Lincecum was a two time National League Cy Young Award winner who was also a four time All Star.  “The Freak” would win 110 Games in the Majors.

You know what we want you to do!

Take a look at the full list of 2022 Future Baseball Hall of Fame Eligibleplayers and cast your vote and offer your opinions.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support!

As most of the regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com are aware we are (very) slowly putting together our top 50 players of every franchise in the “Big 4” of North American sports.  After that is completed we will take a look at how each organization honors their past players and executives.  

As such, it is important to note that the Minnesota Twins have announced that they will retire the number 7 of Joe Mauer, who retired at the end of the 2018 season after playing all 15 of his seasons with the team.

Joe Mauer first suited up for the Twins in 2004 and in 2006 he would breakthrough with a Batting Title (.347) won his first Silver Slugger and went to his first All Star Game.  Already establishing himself as the best hitting Catcher in the American League, Mauer went on a three year tear (2008-10) where each year he was an All Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove winner and won two Batting Titles and was named the American League MVP in 2009 and in the other two years he was a top ten finisher in the MVP race.  Mauer would switch to First Base and would go on to two more All Star Games at that position (2012 & 2013).

He retires with 2,123 Hits, a Slash Line of .306/.388/.439 and a bWAR of 55.2.

Mauer joins Harmon Killebrew #3, Tony Oliva #6, Tom Kelly #10, Kent Hrbek #14, Bert Blyleven #28, Rod Carew #29, Kirby Puckett #34 and the league retired #42 of Jackie Robinson.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Joe Mauer Middleton for earning this very prestigious honor.

For all intents and purposes, this is our Christmas morning.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2019 and there was little surprise with who got chosen as Radiohead, Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, Roxy Music, Def Leppard, The Cure and The Zombies were chosen.

Radiohead enters on their second year of eligibility. Nominated last year as well, we suspect that when they announced last year they could not attend the ceremony due to commitments on tour in South America that the committee decided to delay the inevitable by a year.

Def Leppard is no surprise as they easily won the fan vote keeping the streak alive as every fan vote winner has been ushered in.  This was their first nomination.

Stevie Nicks makes history as the first woman to be a double inductee.  She was previously inducted with Fleetwood Mac.  

Janet Jackson enters on her third nomination.  It has been speculated that without Les Moonves wielding his influence against her (over Nipplegate) that this should be her year.  It is, and she joins her brothers into the Rock Hall.

The selection of the Cure opens up a glut of future inductions for early 80’s Alternative bands such as New Order and Depeche Mode.

Roxy Music enters on our their first nomination, though they have been eligible for nearly twenty years.

The Zombies, who have been nominated before finally enter after being eligible for more than 25 years. 

The biggest surprise in terms of who did not get in has to be Todd Rundgren, but the fact that he was nominated bodes well for a future induction. Kraftwerk, MC5, Rufus & Chaka Khan, Devo, Rage Against the Machine, LL Cool J and John Prine.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and we will begin work on a new and revised list!

The Baseball Hall of Fame will have two new members as the Today’s Game Committee have elected Harold Baines and Lee Smith.

Over a 22 year career, Baines collected 2,866 Hits with 384 Home Runs and 1,628 RBI. Primarily a Designated Hitter, Baines was with the Chicago White Sox for 14 of those years and he was a five time All Star.  He also played for Baltimore, Texas, Oakland and Cleveland.  The selection of Baines bodes well for future Designated Hitters. 

Lee Smith recorded 478 Saves, leading his respective lad in that four times and at the time of his retirement he was first all-time in Saves.  Unlike Baines who was only on the Hall of Fame ballot for six years, Smith lasted the entire fifteen years on his initial eligibility. 

Smith received all 16 votes and Baines got the minimum 12 votes needed for election. Lou Piniella just missed with 11 votes. 

The selection of Baines is turning heads in some circles as he never was never a strong MVP candidate.  He never had a bWAR over 4.2 and if there was a Hall of Very Good, Baines would be the perfect selection.  Jerry Reinsdorf, who was his owner when he was with the White Sox, is on that committee and he allegedly lobbied hard for this induction.  Baines also had other ties with Pat Gillick (former GM), Roberto Alomar (former teammate) and Tony LaRussa (former Manager).  This one will be debated for years to come.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Lee Smith and Harold Baines for this honor.