MLB Hall of Fame: Every Class’ Best Player (2000s Edition)
Let’s take a look at the best players in each MLB Hall of Fame class in the 2000s
One decade down, and now it’s time to move on to the next one. We have already covered some of the game’s greatest to find their way to the MLB Hall of Fame, now who do the 2000s have in store? Let’s find out.
2009: Rickey Henderson, OF, 9 teams (1979-2003)
Accomplishments: 1990 AL MVP, 10x All-Star, 2x champion, Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger
Other inductees: Joe Gordon, Jim Rice
Not only was Rickey Henderson a rare breed in that he played in four different decades for nine different teams, but he was the rarest of breeds in one of the five tools: speed. Simply put, the image of Rickey Henderson raising third base high in the air upon breaking the stolen bases record should be put up in the Hall of Fame, put in the dictionary under “speed”, or both. Henderson obliterated the record formerly held by Lou Brock, holding a margin of 468 with 1,406. For context, that’s the same difference between Brock (938) and 46th place Jimmy Rollins (470). Stealing over 100 bases three times in his career, including a potentially untouchable 130 in 1982, Henderson sped past his competition on the way to Cooperstown.
2008: Rich “Goose” Gossage, CP, 9 teams (1972-1994)
Accomplishments: 9x All-Star, 1978 champion/Rolaids Relief, 3x saves leader
Other inductees: Barney Dreyfuss (exec), Bowie Kuhn (exec), Walter O’Malley (exec), Billy Southworth, Dick Williams (manager)
Not only does Rich Gossage possess one of the most unique nicknames in baseball, one which often supersedes his actual first name, but he holds the distinction of being perhaps the best second-best closer in a team’s history, While he played for the New York Yankees for just 7 years, it was where he arguably made his biggest mark, winning his only World Series in 1978 and making four All-Star teams while in the Bronx. In addition, Goose is one of just three players to ever win 100 or more games while recording 300 or more saves (Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers). So, while he may not have been the most dominant in terms of numbers at his position, with a career high of 33 saves, he was one of the best.
2007: Cal Ripken Jr., SS, Baltimore Orioles (1981-2001)/ Tony Gwynn, RF, San Diego Padres (1982-2001)
Accomplishments:
Ripken: 2x AL MVP, 1982 AL ROY, 19x All-Star, 1983 champion, 2x Gold Glove, 8x Silver Slugger, consecutive games played record holder (2,632)
Gwynn: 15x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, 7x Silver Slugger, 8x batting champion
Holy moly, this was a doozy to pick between. The best player in the history of each of their respective franchises, two of the defining ballplayers of their era, both holding eye-popping baseball history tidbits that can be nearly recited by memory by baseball fans to this day, I could not do it. This ended in a tie, as one of the best HOF classes in history elected only two, but two of the best to do it. Ripken, of course, holds the consecutive games record once held by the legendary Lou Gehrig, suiting up in every game from May 30, 1982 until September 19, 1998. Gwynn, on the other hand, was only the greatest pure hitter of his generation, garnering 8 batting champion titles while holding one of the best career averages of all time. “Mr. Padre” also came the closest in a long time to reaching one of baseball’s biggest milestones, hitting .394 in 1994, a year in which the lockout robbed him of a chance at .400 and fans of an opportunity of seeing one of the most well-liked players that ever graced the diamond achieve history. For their accomplishments on the diamond and what they meant to the history of the teams whose uniforms they donned, it may just be too hard to pick one over the other.
2006: Bruce Sutter, P, CHC/STL/ATL (1976-1986, 1988)
Accomplishments: 1979 Cy Young, 6x All-Star, 1982 champion w/ STL, 4x Rolaids Relief, 5x NL saves leader
Other inductees: 17 Negro League players
As readers out there may have noticed, there were a whopping 18 players elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006. However, only one played in the Major Leagues, as Sutter joined a class of nearly 20 former Negro League players and executives, none of which were able to see their elections in person, as the longest any of them lived was Willard Brown (1996). Sutter, however, was the star of this gigantic class. A Cy Young winner in 1979, a rare feat for a reliever in any era, as well as a World Series champion, Sutter excelled in each of his three uniforms, winning his Cy Young in his second-to-last season in the Windy City and recording a career-high 45 saves five years later in his last year with the rival St. Louis Cardinals. Finishing off an even 300 ballgames certainly has its rewards on the diamond, one of which turned out to be a trip to Cooperstown for Sutter.
2005: Wade Boggs, 3B, BOS/NYY/TB (1982-1999)
Accomplishments: 12x All-Star, 1996 champion w/ NYY, 2x Gold Glove, 8x Silver Slugger, 5x batting champion
Other inductees: Ryne Sandberg
One of the best hitters at his position in history as well as the holder of one of the game’s most interesting stances, Boggs hacked away at Major League pitching with clinical precision, even hitting .301 in 90 games in his final season at the age of 41. Boggs got started early, however, hitting .349 in his first year while finishing 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting before hitting above .360 in four of the next six campaigns, with a .357 average in 1986 hidden in there as well. A man who stayed exclusively in one division throughout his long career, Boggs was certainly one of those players you loved to have on your team, but simply had to disdain facing on the other side.
2004: Paul Molitor, INF, MIL/TOR/MIN (1978-1998)
Accomplishments: 7x All-Star, 1993 champion, WS MVP w/ TOR, 4x Silver Slugger
Other inductees: Dennis Eckersley
A classic case of breaking out of a shadow to become a man of his own merit, Paul Molitor was one of two headliners in a solid 2004 class. Starting his career out in Milwaukee, he often found himself generally overlooked throughout the baseball world as a teammate of “The Kid” Robin Yount. However, The Ignitor was no slouch either, playing quite a good Robin to Robin’s Batman (wait). Hitting .303 in his 15 seasons in Milwaukee while stealing over 400 bases, Molitor’s biggest moment in the sun during this tenure came in 1987 when he reeled off a 39 game hitting streak, the closest that any American League player has come to challenging Joe DiMaggio’s iconic 56 game stretch in 1941. Upon leaving Milwaukee, however, Molitor continued to shine, hitting over .340 twice over his last six seasons, even winning World Series MVP with the Blue Jays in 1993. An ignitor for a trio of offenses during his Hall of Fame career, Paul Molitor more than earned his way into Cooperstown.
2003: Eddie Murray, 1B, BAL/LAD/CLE/NYM/ANA (1977-1997)
Accomplishments: 1977 AL Rookie of the Year, 8x All-Star, 1983 champion w/ BAL, 3x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger
Other inductees: Gary Carter
A switch-hitting machine who currently is just one of six players all-time to record 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in his career, Murray paired with a certain Hall of Famer previously mentioned in this list to headline an Orioles offense that would take it all in 1983. However, Murray was more than just a power bat, with three Gold Gloves on his mantle and a career .993 fielding percentage at first base, proving himself to be a true dual threat, especially in his prime. An eight-time All-Star, Murray’s best may have come in that 1983 season, where he hit .306 with 33 home runs and 111 runs batted in, placing second in MVP voting among essentially every other individual accolade.
2002: Ozzie Smith, SS, STL/SD (1978-1996)
Accomplishments: 15x All-Star, 1982 champion w/ STL, 13x Gold Glove, 1987 Silver Slugger
Other inductees: None
Who else would one expect to be the only inductee in his class than Ozzie Smith? After all, with his nickname of “The Wizard of Oz”, perhaps Smith simply cast a spell on the voters. In all seriousness, though, Smith is one of the only position players in recent MLB history whom it could certainly be argued one part of their game got them to Cooperstown. In Smith’s case, it was being, perhaps, the greatest fielding shortstop in MLB history. His fielding percentage of .978 is incredible considering his 12,905 career chances, as well as his all-time record defensive WAR of 44.2. Hitting just 28 home runs in his career and hitting a lifetime .262 average, it was more than enough to keep him in lineups in St. Louis and San Diego for nearly 20 years and enough to get him a bust in Cooperstown. No evidence he did his signature backflip while on stage at his acceptance speech (unfortunately).
2001: Kirby Puckett, CF, MIN (1984-1995)
Accomplishments: 10x All-Star, 2x champion w/ MIN, 6x Gold Glove, 6x Silver Slugger, 1989 batting title
Other inductees: Bill Mazeroski, Hilton Smith, Dave Winfield
In a class that includes 1960 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski as well as Winfield, a power bat with one of the strongest arms seen in history, Kirby Puckett may have emerged from the 2001 class as one of the most underrated Hall of Famers in baseball history.
Now, while it may seem difficult for a Hall of Famer to be underrated, hear me out. While Puckett is known as the most popular Minnesota Twin ever, and perhaps the best, his location may have had something to do with how he has been viewed by the general MLB fanbase. Think about it, how would a two-time champion who won a batting title, six Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers and made his way to 10 All-Star games be remembered if he played in New York or Los Angeles?
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He would be seen as one of the greats of his era, and rightfully so. However, Puckett has seemingly not quite reached that distinction among the average fan outside of Minnesota, and that is truly disappointing, as he is certainly deserving of that praise, something the Hall of Fame voters recognized.
2000: Carlton Fisk, C, BOS/CWS (1969, 1971-1993)
Accomplishments: 1972 AL ROY, 11x All-Star, 1972 Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger
Other inductees: Sparky Anderson (manager), Bid McPhee, Tony Perez, Turkey Stearnes
Picture Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair against Cincinnati in 1975, extending a series that the Red Sox would, once again, fall in on their long 86 year road to redemption.
The roar of the crowd as a jubilant Fisk raises both arms in the air in pure joy and celebration. Even if you weren’t around to watch it live or see it happen in Fenway that night, you can see it, can’t you? It’s one of the most famous images and moments in baseball history, but it’s far from the only thing that Carlton Fisk should be known for.
A power-hitting catcher in a day where the position was typically known for defensive studs who found their place at the bottom part of lineups, Fisk and his longtime rival Thurmon Munson flipped the script, showing the boys behind the plate could do some mashing of their own.
Next. The 2000 RBI club. dark
Fisk did just that, sending 376 balls out of the park throughout his storied career, one which despite some World Series heroics failed to produce any team hardware for one of the game’s best catchers.