Best MLB players not in the Hall of Fame: Houston Astros, Jose Cruz
WAR value: 51.4
Jose Cruz is one of several players on this list who retired with great counting stats, but who never had one mind-blowing season in his MLB career. Still, he posted a 51.4 WAR with the Houston Astros and a 54.4 mark for his entire career.
Cruz spent 13 seasons with the Astros and finished his MLB career with 2,251 hits. He was also a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger. He was simply the model of consistency during his time in Houston. Cruz routinely posted respectable WAR values and went above 6.0 in back-to-back seasons from 1983-1984. He was able to finish top-8 in MVP voting both of those years as well.
He did not even spend his entire career with the Astros and still ranks third all-time in franchise history for WAR behind only Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Cruz was so special the team retired his number and inducted him into their own Hall of Fame.
Cruz faces a tough battle into the actual Hall of Fame and likely will never get in; at least not anytime soon. It would take a veterans committee and his lack of awards or any notable statistical benchmarks will keep him out. However, plenty of Astros fans can likely make a solid case for why he does indeed belong.