Call to the pen
Fansided

MLB Hall of Fame: Top 3 Candidates from Incoming 2020 Class

By Jake Mastroianni

BOSTON - SEPTEMBER 28: Yankees Derek Jeter waves to the crowd as he comes out of the game during the third inning of the final game of Derek Jeter's career at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts September 28, 2014. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - SEPTEMBER 28: Yankees Derek Jeter waves to the crowd as he comes out of the game during the third inning of the final game of Derek Jeter's career at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts September 28, 2014. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Hall of Fame
New York Yankees Jason Giambi hits a 2-run home run in the seventh against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in New York, August 28 2008. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky /Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images) /

Jason Giambi

Jason Giambi is another player who is probably on the fringe of making the MLB Hall of Fame, but because of steroid speculation he probably won’t even come close.

Like Jeter, he also spent 20 years in the big leagues. Giambi racked up some big power numbers with 440 long balls, 1,441 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .516.

His other numbers include a .277 lifetime average and .399 on-base percentage to go along with 1.227 run scored, 405 doubles, 2010 hits.

He made eight trips to the postseason, including one trip to the World Series. And even though he spent seven years with the Yankees, he never won a ring.

Some of his personal accolades include five All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger awards, and one huge AL MVP award in 2000.

In that 2000 season he hit .333 with a league leading .476 on-base percentage, while hitting 43 home runs with 137 RBI.

I don’t know why, but 43 home runs kind of seems low for that era of baseball, but it was the most Giambi ever hit in a season for his career.

He also finished in the top five of the MVP voting the following two seasons, which will probably lead a lot of voters to believe that this is when he was juicing.

Steroid use and not reaching 500 home runs will likely keep Giambi from every reaching the MLB Hall of Fame, but I see him hovering around 40-50 percent for a while.

Home/Baseball Hall of Fame