Baseball Hall of Fame: Eligible active players destined for Cooperstown
The 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting will be announced Jan. 26, but there are a number of current players who are assembling impressive resumes.
The highest honor is Major League Baseball is being elected to the Baseball Hall of
Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. There are expected to be roughly 400 ballots submitted and a player must be named on at least 75 percent of the submitted ballots to be elected.
The results for this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame will be released Jan. 26. This is a peculiar year because there are no guarantees with the 2021 ballot for Cooperstown. However, the 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame class of Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker will be inducted July 25. Last year’s ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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During the voting period in particular, speculation about which current players have a chance to end up in the Hall of Fame inevitably follows.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, one must play at least 10 seasons in the majors. This article will only discuss players who have already met that threshold.
Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts and Jacob deGrom are all distinguished young veterans that are building towards the Baseball Hall of Fame and have a decent chance, but none has the required service time to qualify.
Dustin Pedroia will not be considered in this conversation because he has played just nine games since the start of the 2018 season and did not play at all last season. The former MVP has had a great career, but will inevitably fall short of Cooperstown because of his late-career injury problems, similar to the plight of recently retired David Wright.
Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz will not be considered due to their past suspensions for violating baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policies.
There are certain levels of chances for the Baseball Hall of Fame:
- Some players are locks and will definitely make it; some in their first year of eligibility, five years after their careers end.
- Other players are borderline for the hall and there will be heavy discussion about their careers.
- Some players are building their resume more and will have a chance if they continue playing at a high level.
Here are the eligible active players broken down by those categories.
Locks
Albert Pujols would have been a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 when he left the St. Louis Cardinals. While with the Los Angeles Angels since 2012, he has accumulated statistics to rise up the all-time lists for home runs, RBI and doubles.
He has one year remaining on his contract and his future after this season is questionable, but he will be an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Being a catcher most certainly helps Yadier Molina’s case to make it to Cooperstown. He is a career .281 hitter and has accumulated more than 2,000 hits. Molina is a nine-time All-Star with nine Gold Gloves, two World Series rings and won a Silver Slugger in 2013. Molina is one of the best defensive catchers ever and has been a productive regular catcher since 2005.
Miguel Cabrera is just 13 home runs short of the 500 home-run milestone and is 137 hits away from reaching 3,000. He won a Triple Crown in 2012 and four batting titles in all. He has two MVP awards and has finished in the top-10 for the award in nine different seasons. He has a career .313 average and .931 OPS.
Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher of his generation. Now that he is a World Series champion, nobody will ever doubt his postseason efforts again. Through 354 starts, Kershaw is 175-76 with a 2.43 ERA. He has won an MVP, a pitching Triple Crown, a Gold Glove, five ERA titles and three Cy Young Awards. And he’s not done — the eight-time All-Star will be just 33 when the season starts.
Llike Kershaw, Max Scherzer is starting pitcher with three Cy Young Awards and a World Series title. Through 368 starts, Scherzer is 175-93 with a 3.21 ERA. He has been to the All-Star Game seven times. If he keeps up his pace, he will reach 3,000 innings pitched and 3,000 strikeouts. He is set to be a free agent after this season and he will be 37 in July.
Justin Verlander only started one game in 2020, his age-37 season, but has incredible numbers and will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His 2011 season was one of the most dominant ever by a pitcher. He has won a World Series, two Cy Youngs, a pitching Triple Crown and was Rookie of the Year in 2006.
Through 454 starts, the eight-time All-Star is 226-129 with a 3.33 ERA. If healthy, he will reach 3,000 innings pitched by his second start. Like Scherzer, Verlander is scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
Zack Greinke has been an accumulator, but he has had some ridiculous numbers. In 2015, he had a 1.66 ERA and 19 wins in 32 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers. If he stays healthy, he too will surpass the 3,000 inning mark this year. He has more than 200 wins and has also won six Gold Gloves.
There really is not much to say about Mike Trout. Now that he has played in 10 seasons, he is eligible for Cooperstown. At 29, he already has more than 300 home runs and 200 stolen bases, while batting .304. The Angels have him under contract until the 2030 season.
Trout is going to continue to add to his already distinguished legacy over the next decade. He has already won three MVPs and eight Silver Sluggers, finishing in the top five for AL MVP every year since 2012.
Borderline
Joey Votto has been producing for so long. Besides 2014, Votto has usually been healthy and playing full-time. He won the 2010 NL MVP award and will likely surpass 300 home runs, 2,000 hits and 1,000 RBIs this season, his age-37 season.
He is a career .304 hitter through his 14 seasons. The Canadian native has been to six All-Star games and won a Gold Glove in 2011. He needs to produce like he did in 2017 and 2018 if he wants a better shot at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Like Yadier Molina, being a catcher will help Buster Posey’s chance at making it to Cooperstown. The guy is a winner. The six-time All-Star has a Rookie of the Year Award, an MVP and three World Series championships. He was the cornerstone of the San Francisco Giants’ dynasty from 2010-14.
Posey will be 34 in March. He was arguably the best catcher in baseball from 2010-18, winning four Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove. He is under contract for at least one more year.
Felix Hernandez, Cole Hamels and Adam Wainwright are in similar positions. They all have pitched 15 seasons, have between 160-170 wins and career ERAs between 3.38 and 3.43. Hernandez is the only one in that trio with a Cy Young Award, but Hamels and Wainwright have World Series rings and finished in the top eight of the Cy Young voting multiple years.
Building a case
Freddie Freeman is currently the best first baseman in the National League and has played 1,406 games in 11 seasons. During that span, he has 240 home runs, 858 RBI, a .295 batting average, a pair of Silver Sluggers and was the 2020 NL MVP. He is only 31 and will be able to add to his Baseball Hall of Fame resume for years to come.
Having 300 saves is a big milestone for a closer. With 348 career saves, Craig Kimbrel has blown by that mark. With the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox, he was one of the best closers in the league and beyond dominant, finishing top nine on the Cy Young ballot five times.
Kimbrel has not been as good as he was since joining the Chicago Cubs, but will definitely have a shot at Cooperstown if he reverts to his high-caliber closer form and adds a few more 30-save seasons.
Jose Altuve is an interesting situation because of the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. He is only 31 and already has more than 1,600 hits with a .311 average. He has won an MVP, a Gold Glove, five Silver Sluggers and has been named to six All-Star games. The second half of his career will decide his Hall of Fame fate.
Kenley Jansen has surpassed 300 saves as well. Like Kimbrel, Jansen has won a World Series title. He has been dominant for the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2012. Known as one of the best closers in the National League, Jansen needs to get closer to 500 saves if he wants a chance at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Jansen has been dominant on the Dodgers since his 2012 season. Known as one of the best closers in the league, Jansen needs to get closer to 500 saves if he wants a chance at the Hall. Jansen averaged 37 saves a season from 2017-19 and barring any shortened seasons would get near the 500 mark with five seasons at that pace.
Madison Bumgarner will be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame because, like Posey, he won three World Series. Bumgarner was also dominant in all of them and is known as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time.
He is under contract with the Arizona Diamonbacks through the 2024 season. The three-time All-Star needs to add more wins to his resume and keep his ERA close to the 3.20 mark he currently holds.
Giancarlo Stanton’s biggest issue is staying healthy. He is still a force to be reckoned with when he is able to perform at his usual level. Stanton is 31 and already has 312 home runs. His career OPS is .905. Now that he will primarily be a designated hitter, he should be able to stay healthy and hit put up seasons in the high 30s for home runs with New York Yankees.
Yankee Stadium could help him reach 500 home runs if he stays healthy, which would put him in the conversation.
DJ LeMahieu just recently was spotted on the Cooperstown radar. He has multiple batting titles, three Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and has been named to three All-Star games. However, being a second baseman does not help his case; just look at Jeff Kent.
LeMahieu has 1,294 career hits, but just signed a six-year contract with the Yankees. If he performs like an MVP candidate (he has finished third and fourth respectively the last two seasons) over the length of this contract than he will definitely be considered a candidate. It is all about staying healthy.
Josh Gibson, all-time leader in batting average. dark. Next
Aroldis Chapman is turning 33 and could be built to last in the league for years to come. He has one World Series title and 276 career saves. If he keeps racking up saves like he did from 2012-19 until he is 36 or 37. If we see that Chapman until he is 36 or 37, then he will most certainly be in discussion. Without that continued performance, it becomes less likely.