Another very interesting name eligible for the 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame vote is Luis Gonzalez. “Gonzo” has very good career numbers, with 2,591 Hits, 354 Home Runs and 1,439 RBI’s. His 48.0 career bWAR is nothing to sneeze at either. The question that arises with Gonzalez is the major spike in his power numbers in his 30’s and that he had his best seasons in his second decade in the Majors. Although his name has never been associated with PEDs, he is often lumped in that category. As it stands, Gonzalez is probably a bubble candidate before the alleged controversy. With that cloud over his head, who knows what voters will think.

In the National Hockey League, anyone who has won the MVP is almost a lock to enter the Hall of Fame. In Major League Baseball (Kevin Mitchell, Willie Hernandez, and Jeff Burroughs)…well, not so much. Jeff Kent is a former National League MVP, and has a very good set of career statistics, yet when you say his name, the words Hall of Fame don’t automatically come to mind.

An Indie Supergroup (is that a bit of an oxymoron?) The New Pornographers may not be designed to sell a lot of records, but they have continued to fly the flag of Indie Power Pop well into the new millennium. If the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looks at all the talent assembled in this ensemble, maybe they would have a shot.



The Bullet Points:
Eligible Since:
2025

Country of Origin:
Vancouver, Canada

NIHOF’s Favorite Album:
Mass Romantic (2000)

NIHOF’s Favorite Song:
Mass Romantic (From Mass Romantic, 2000)

Beloved or despised, Canada’s Sum 41 began the millennium on top with a Pop/Punk hybrid which delighted in their immaturity. This is not a shot at them, as the band was not trying to be anything they weren’t, and had a real feel in a musical world that is so manufactured. Still, they seem to be at the right place in the right time, and calling them a groundbreaking act is difficult at best.



The Bullet Points:
Eligible Since:
2025

Country of Origin:
Ajax, Canada

NIHOF’s Favorite Album:
Does This Look Infected? (2002)       

NIHOF’s Favorite Song:
Fat Lip (From All Killer No Filter, 2001)