MLB: The one-and-done All-Star team of Baseball Hall of Fame rejects
By Bill Felber
One and done: Paul Konerko
There’s a long list of first ballot rejections at first base. Kent Hrbek, Prince Fielder, Derrek Lee, Carlos Delgado, Mark Grace, and John Olerud all had solid careers but failed to make it to a second year of Hall consideration.
But for pure head-scratchery, Paul Konerko’s resume beats them all.
Across an 18-year career, almost all of it with the Chicago White Sox, Konerko batted .279 with 439 home runs and an .847 OPS. He was a leader of the 2005 World Series winners. He was a six-time All-Star selectee.
His five closest career comps include two Hall of Famers — Orlando Cepeda and Willie Stargell.
Konerko presumably gets dinged because some of his secondary stats come up unimpressive. Jaffe says his 28.1 career WAR is not up to Hall standards, at least for his offensive-oriented position, and James’ Hall of Fame Monitor puts him at 80, again with 100 being the standard.
When Konerko hit the ballot in 2020, voters ignored him. He got 10 votes, just 2.5 percent, on a ballot that also included Todd Helton, Jason Giambi, and Carlos Pena.
It’s certainly possible to argue that the long-time White Sox star is not Hall-worthy. But 10 votes? Suely Konerko deserved more of a look than that.