We told you we would be quicker. Last week we put up the Baseball players who will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2017. We now have put up those who are eligible in 2018.
Like 2017, the new crop of eligible players is an interesting group and again for reference to qualify for the Baseball Hall of Fame, a player has to have been in the Majors for at least ten seasons and been retired for five.
The eligible players for 2018 are as follows:
Adam Kennedy
Andruw Jones
Aubrey Huff
Ben Sheets
Brad Lidge
Brad Penny
Brian Fuentes
Carl Pavano
Carlos Lee
Carlos Zambrano
Chipper Jones
Chris Carpenter
Francisco Cordero
Guillermo Mota
Hideki Matsui
J.C. Romero
Jack Wilson
Jamie Moyer
Jason Isringhausen
Jeff Suppan
Jim Thome
Johan Santana
Johnny Damon
Kerry Wood
Kevin Millwood
Livan Hernandez
Miguel Batista
Omar Vizuqel
Orlando Hudson
Rafael Furcal
Scott Posednik
Scott Rolen
The headliner of the group is arguably Chipper Jones, who spent his entire Major League career with the Atlanta Braves. Competing drug free (to our knowledge anyway), Jones belted 468 Home Runs with a Slash Line of .303/.401/.930 and a bWAR of 85.0. Nothing more needs to be said, as this looks like a First Ballot entrant from that alone.
Jim Thome should be considered a sure thing with over 600 Home Runs, a Slash Line of .276/.402/.554 and a bWAR of 72.9. Those are Hall of Fame numbers, but at no point has Jim Thome been considered one of the best at his position, was a weak defensive player, had poor playoff numbers and was never considered a player that put “asses in seats”. Why do we think he will be forced to wait a year or two? Now how inconceivable would it have been for a 600 HR player to have to wait for the Hall twenty years ago?
Andruw Jones might be the most intriguing candidate of this group by far. The traditional numbers aren’t exactly there with 434 Home Runs, 1,933 Hits, a Slash Line of .254/.337/.486 and five All Star appearances shows us some good numbers, but ones that stand out as Cooperstown worthy. A dig a little deeper may change that perception.
Jones, who won ten Gold Gloves, also led the league in Defensive bWAR four times. His combined bWAR of 62.8 puts him in an acceptable Hall of Fame range as does his JAWS of 54.6, which ranks him tenth all time for Centerfielders. Incidentally, Jones is still playing professionally, though in Japan where he plays for the Tohuku Golden Eagles. It is possible that he might return to the Majors and push back his eligibility and potentially pad his stats, but as for now, we wonder what side of the bubble he is on.
Former Third Baseman, Scott Rolen brings a surprisingly high bWAR of 70.0 and a JAWS that puts him tenth all-time for Third Basemen. Rolen, who has a career Slash Line of .281/.364/.490 with 316 Home Runs and eight Gold Gloves could receive a tone of votes, or hardly any, and neither result would really be surprising.
Jamie Moyer brings 269 Wins, 2,441 Strikeouts and a bWAR of 50.2. It also took him twenty-five seasons to accomplish that. If that is not the definition of a stat compiler (the Vada Pinson of Pitching?) than what is?
If Moyer is the ultimate stat compiler, Johan Santana is the Samuel L. Jackson to Moyer’s Bruce Willis (sorry for the Unbreakable reference). Santana only had 139 Wins, felt 12 short of 2,000 Strikeouts and had a bWAR of 50.7, but this was all accomplished in twelve seasons! With two Cy Youngs, another three top five finishes, three ERA Titles and four WHIP Titles, this is a candidate we would be all over supporting!
Will another former Cy Young Award winner receive some support? Chris Carpenter brings only three good seasons and though we hate to play the compiler card, but he falls well short in career statistics that the Hall would look for, especially when we compare him to Santana.
Wait a minute, did we use a Vada Pinson reference for someone other than Johnny Damon? The former Rock Star of the Red Sox, brings 2,769 Hits and a 44.4 JAWS, which incidentally is eerily similar to Pinson. Somehow, we think the former Centerfielder will squeak through on the ballot, though we don’t know if he can make the full ten years.
How about someone who “compiled” more Hits? Omar Vizquel had 2,877 career Hits, led the League in Sacrifice Hits four times, but was never known for his bat, but with his glove. Vizquel is a ten time Gold Glove recipient, is tenth all time in Defensive bWAR, but though he has at least ten overall bWAR points than Damon, Vizquel could conceivably receive more support for appreciation of his style of play.
We suspect that Carlos Zambrano and LIvan Hernandez may receive a few votes, perhaps Francisco Cordero as a 300 Save man. Maybe even Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui may receive a vote from a Yankee supporter. How about a vote or two for Kevin Millwood? Kerry Wood would receive a first ballot inductee if it was the “and Hall of Fame for Players who had the potential for induction but was derailed by injury.”
Gang, you know what we want you to do! Click here to take a look at this crop of potential candidates and cast your vote and give us your opinions!
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