Virtually every write-up you will find on Rick Reuschel, you will find the word “portly”. He did have a stocky frame and lived up to his “Big Daddy” nickname, but he was as athletic as they came. Frankly, we think there are better adjectives that should be thought of immediately when you think of Rick Reuschel

Reuschel was more than just a good Pitcher. He was a decent fielder (two-time Gold Glove) and was even used as a Pinch Runner on occasion. Of course, it was on the mound where he excelled, as he became one of the stars at Wrigley, winning 135 games there. He would go on to win a respectable 210 games with over 2,000 Strikeouts which showcases a very respectable career, but it is his career WAR that really makes heads turn. Reuschel ranks number 30 all-time for Pitchers with 66.3. He rarely allowed Home Runs, and his off-speed prowess made him a nightmare for batters. 

We are not saying that Reuschel should have been destined for Cooperstown, but his resume deserved better than the 0.4 percent of the vote he received in his lone year of eligibility.

Dave Stieb may have received a World Series Ring with the Toronto Blue Jays when they won their first World Series in 1992, but the pitcher was at the tail end of his career and had little to do with the coveted trophy landing north of the border. He did, however, give Baseball fans the first legitimate reason to look there in the first place.

With only 176 career Wins in the Majors, Dave Stieb initially does not seem like a Hall of Fame candidate. What cannot be underestimated is the difficulty he had in his first five full seasons playing for a terrible Toronto team that constantly trailed the rest of the American League. Despite playing for bad Jays' squads, Stieb had a winning record and became a perennial All-Star. Three times, he would lead the league in WAR for Pitchers and would be dominant in many other sabermetric categories. 

The common knock on Stieb was that his intensity was so high (he would give teammates death glares when they made mistakes) that he would occasionally unravel. Still, we love players who want to win; we know there are far too many athletes who couldn't care less.

If Baseball truly is an International game, then we would like to name Julio Franco as its Global Ambassador. 

The Dominican-born Franco played professional baseball until age 47 in the United States, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and his home country. Cooperstown does not recognize accomplishments abroad, but despite playing outside the Majors for an extended period, he still amassed over 2,500 hits. Franco had a strange batting stance, but considering he batted over .300 eight times, a Batting Title, and five Silver Sluggers, it had to be considered effective. 

Julio Franco may be the ultimate test of whether the Baseball Hall of Fame would reward durability over what is considered traditionally great by Baseball standards. 

Kenny Lofton took the city of Cleveland by storm in the early 90’s and by doing so, got the baseball world to notice the Tribe again. By the decade’s end, though, power numbers took over the game, and many forgot how good he really was.

Lofton’s emergence with Cleveland saw him cement himself as the best leadoff hitter in the American League. With five straight seasons hitting at least .300 (and with a decent OBP), he was able to set the table often with his speed. Five times, Kenny would be the Stolen Base king of the AL, and he was a must-watch defensively. With his incredible speed and athleticism, Lofton was a SportsCenter highlight reel by robbing batters of Home Runs and his diving catches. As must-watch a player as Lofton was in the 90’s, he would be overshadowed by the power hitters of the last half of the decade. His 2000’s also saw him bounce from team to team, and though he wasn’t a player we would classify as a journeyman, he certainly travelled like one. These perceptions may cost Kenny Lofton dearly in his pursuit of Cooperstown.