Baseball’s Hall of Fame voting is always something that stirs debate on whether someone is deserving of being elected. Whether or not these players get in, they all deserve a bit of recognition and to have their achievements remembered.
It's worth highlighting three players, in this particular instance, who had their time in the sun and, for a short time, were among the best in the league. Unfortunately, all three fell off the ballot this year.
Can you name another recent player opposing pitchers feared more when they came to the plate than Jose Bautista? A six-time All Star (in a row), Bautista had all the tools. When he settled into his spot in right, he was a good fielder with an absolute cannon for an arm. But it was his time at the plate where he really showed he was in the top echelon in the American League. Nothing shows this more than 2010 and 2011. For a player who'd never hit more than 16 home runs in a season, he had an absolute monster year, hitting 54 home runs with 124 RBI in '10. He also walked 100 times.
2011 saw him making better contact, upping his average from .260 in 2010 to .302, leading the league in home runs for a second consecutive season with 43, driving in 103 runs, and leading in walks (132), intentional walks (24), slugging (.608), OPS (1.056), and OPS+ (182). He was the guy you circled in the Blue Jays lineup to make sure he wasn’t the one that beat you that day. Most times, you lost that bet. He ended his career with a VERY respectable 344 home runs, 975 RBI, and over 1,000 walks.
The National League’s version of Bautista, Matt Holiday had an advantage over the Jays' slugger: he hit for average consistently. He led the league with a .340 average in 2007, piloting the Colorado Rockies to the World Series. That year, he also led the league in hits (216), doubles (50), total bases (386) and RBI (137). A seven-time All Star, he finished his career with a .299 average, 316 home runs, over 1,200 RBI and over 2,000 hits. He is also prominent in what may be the greatest play in Colorado Rockies history, sliding into home plate face first to propel them in the one-game tiebreaker that sealed their Rocktober fate.
And then there's Bartolo Colon. In a tale of two careers, Colon was a fireball pitcher for Cleveland, posting some big numbers for them, including two 200-strikeout seasons and four seasons with at least 14 wins. This guy was so highly regarded the Montreal Expos traded a boatload of young talent (Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens) to acquire Colon and help them in their playoff run. They couldn't reach October, though, and the righty moved on. In 2005, he won the American League Cy Young award playing for the Angels, posting a 21-8 record. For five years after that season, Colon looked like he was done. Then, in 2012 in Oakland, the 39-year-old reinvented himself. Always in possession of pretty good control in his career, he took it to the next level until the age of 45, leading the league in walks per 9 innings in 2015 and 2016, while winning 14 or more games four times AFTER turning 40. A total of 247 wins and over 2,500 strikeouts puts him squarely in this list.
Taking a look at Baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot, you will find it is littered with some really great talent and players from your youth that generated excitement for a whole generation of fans, but who still fall short of the ultimate prize. They should be remembered regardless.