The Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted third baseman Scott Rolen into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. It’s the second straight year that the BBWAA voted in only one player and that comes after not voting anyone in back in 2021. Rolen will be joined by Contemporary Baseball Era Committee’s unanimous selection of Fred McGriff at the 2023 induction ceremony on July 23.

The first-time eligible players for the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot will have a Mets feel to it with multiple big-name players that donned the orange and blue getting their chance.

David Wright

David Wright was on a Hall of Fame track before spinal stenosis essentially ended the productive portion of his career in his early 30s. Prior to the 2015 diagnosis, Wright had posted 50.3 fWAR in 11 seasons with the Mets and looked like a player that would continue to be productive for at least half a decade to come.

The former first round pick hit .296/.376/.491 with 390 doubles, 242 home runs, 970 RBIs, 196 stolen bases, and posted a 133 wRC+. Wright was a seven-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger, and finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting on four different occasions.

José Reyes     

José Reyes had flashes of being an elite player early in his career that included two All-Star appearances, a Silver Slugger, and receiving MVP votes in each of his first four full seasons in the majors with the Mets. Reyes then played in only 26 games in 2009 and then was just a 2 WAR player in 2010. The 2011 season was a big bounce back for Reyes as he won the batting title and finished 11th in the MVP voting.

Reyes would leave the Mets to sign with the Marlins, where he spent one season before a trade that sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays. After a solid two and half years in Toronto, Reyes was traded to the Rockies. Reyes struggled in his half-season with the Rockies and then that offseason he was arrested and charged with domestic violence. MLB suspended Reyes for 51 games and the Rockies eventually released him.

The Mets signed Reyes in 2016 and he spent the next two and half seasons with the Mets hitting .238/.305/.399 in 315 games. For his career, Reyes hit .283/.443/.427 with 387 doubles, 131 triples, 145 home runs, 517 stolen bases, and posted a 43.9 fWAR.

Bartolo Colón

Bartolo Colon pitched in parts of 21 major league seasons spanning 3,461 innings for 11 different organizations and is currently ranked 50th all-time with 250 wins. Colón won the AL Cy Young Award in 2005 and was a four-time All-Star including in 2016 when he pitched for the Mets. In 98 games with the Mets, Bartolo posted a 3.90 ERA in 588 2/3 innings from 2014 through 2016.

The right-hander finished his long career with a 4.12 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, and 51.0 fWAR. He finished in the top 10 of Cy Young voting four times and received MVP votes in his Cy Young season in 2005. He also had a 3.49 ERA in 67 playoff innings in 10 starts and seven relief outings.

Colón was suspended 50 games in 2012 for a positive PED test.

Adrián González

Adrián González finished his strong overall career with the Mets in 2018 when he posted a .672 OPS in 54 games. For his career, González hit .287/.358/.485 with 437 doubles, 317 home runs, 1202 RBIs, 127 wRC+, and 36.3 fWAR.

The former first overall pick won four Gold Glove awards, two Silver Sluggers, and was voted to five All-Star games.

José Bautista

José Bautista was a Met for minutes in 2004 when New York acquired him from the Royals and then later sent him in a package to the Pirates for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger. Bautista, after hitting 333 home runs, returned to the Mets organization in 2018 after he was released by the Braves. The veteran posted a 204/.351/.367 in 83 games with the Mets before they traded him to the Phillies, his final big league team.

Bautista’s career took off in 2010 with the Blue Jays when he led MLB with 54 home runs and then led MLB in home runs, walks, and OPS the following season. Bautista finished his career with 344 regular season home runs and six more in only 20 playoff games.

The big names not affiliated with the Mets that are joining the ballot are third baseman Adrian Beltre, Mets nemesis Chase Utley, long-time Twin Joe Mauer, and Matt Holliday. They join a ballot that includes four players that got over 50% in this year’s voting in Billy Wagner, Todd Helton, Gary Sheffield, and Andruw Jones.

The post Wright, Colón Among First-Time Eligible Players for 2024 HOF Ballot appeared first on Metsmerized.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Today, the Mets will throw out Steven Matz (2-3, 3.80 ERA) against the Braves. Today is Matz’s 27th birthday. In his first start off the DL, Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 1.29 ERA) will face off against the southpaw. The game will be on at 7:35 p.m. on SNY and 710WOR.

Game 1

In a common theme this season, Jacob deGrom threw a gem and the bullpen quickly gave the game up. DeGrom delivered seven innings, only permitting one run.

DeGrom became the first Met pitcher to have seven consecutive starts with less than one unearned runs allowed. Mickey Callaway scheduled Seth Lugo to pitch the final two innings, but Lugo uncharacteristically struggled.

He gave up the game-tying run in the eighth and after Devin Mesoraco homered in the ninth to give the Mets a 3-2, Lugo allowed a walkoff two-run homer to Charlie Culberson. It was a shocking loss for the Mets, who have lost four straight games.

Game 2

In a dreary second game, P.J. Conlon got sent to the showers early, only lasting 2+ innings. The Mets gave him three runs, but he quickly coughed up the lead. Hansel Robles bounced in-and-out of trouble for three innings, but managed to hold the Braves off the board.

Even though the Mets rallied in the sixth to take the lead, Robert Gsellman gave it right back at the bottom of the inning. The following frame, Luis Guillorme perfectly placed a single down the left field line to score two more Mets. Amed Rosario later singled in Kevin Plawecki to give the Mets a three-run lead.

Latest Mets News

Before Monday’s game, the Mets made a flurry of moves. The Mets promoted Phillip Evans and Gerson Bautista and activated Kevin Plawecki and Hansel Robles to the Major-League squad. Tomas Nido was optioned to Binghamton. They also placed Wilmer Flores(lower back soreness) and AJ Ramos ( right shoulder tendinitis) on the DL.

The Mets promoted Joseph Zanghi to the Las Vegas 51s. Zanghi has enjoyed an incredible season so far, only allowing four runs in 21.1 innings with the St.Lucie Mets.

The Mets 2013 second round pick, Andrew Church, retired.

Levi Weaver of The Athletic published his MLB Power Rankings. The Mets placed 17th.

Eno Sarris of The Athletic gives some comps for Brandon Nimmo.

Latest MLB News

Josh Donaldson left Monday’s game with left calf tightness. This could pave the road for the promotion of Vladimir Guerrero Jr, MLB.com No. 2 prospect,

The Giants called up Dereck Rodriguez the son of HOF’er backstop Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

The Twins claimed Taylor Motter off waivers from the Mariners.

You need to check out this insane catch by Jackie Bradley Jr.

The Angels recalled Akeel Morris and DFA’ed lefty Ian Krol.

Does Cleveland now have a case of Bieber Fever? Yesterday, William Boor of MLB.com confirmed that the Indians would call up control-artist Shane Bieber to start Thursday’s game. And just in case you’re wondering, no, he is not related to Justin.

Justin Verlander pitched 6.2 outstanding innings against the Yankees, leading the Astros to a 5-1 win.

Albert Pujols moved into eighth place on the all-time RBI list with his 1945th RBI.

Latest NL East News

The Braves dodged a significant blow when they learned Ronald Acuna Jr. only suffered a mild ACL sprain. He was injured while running to first base during Sunday’s game.

Vince Velasquez no-hit the Dodgers for five innings, but the Phillies still fell to the Dodgers 5-4.

Latest on MMO

Joe D broke down the importance of Memorial Day.

A MMO roundtable pondered Brandon Nimmo‘s future role with the team.

John Sheridan continues his 3 Up, 3 Down series.

On This Date in Mets History

The Mets lost in Bud Harrelson managerial’s debut in 1990

Birthdays: Toby Borland(49), Dyar Miller(72).

LGM!

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Split Double Dip with Bravos appeared first on Metsmerized.

Today we play GM on a bargain budget. What players did Mets fans want with only the reported $30-million dollars to spend? I talk about whether Jay Bruce will be out of their price range and why relievers like Bryan Shaw, Mike Minor and Joe Smith are desirable to me.

Everyone keeps talking about Dee Gordon but the player I would rather explore on the trade market is Jose Abreu.

I also go into why I don’t want Dominic Smith as the starting first-baseman and would prefer Adam Lind, Wilmer Flores and even Lucas Duda.

Finally, I make the case for Keith Hernandez for the Hall-of-Fame. Hear a clip of Kostya Kennedy talking about his Sports Illustrated piece on Mex from 2009. Keith Hernandez in the Hall-of-Fame? Is it Crazy? I think not.

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Tonight I am joined by Bob Klapisch of The Record. Bob gives his thought process behind his Hall-of-Fame ballot. Hear his thoughts on Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and why Curt Schilling shouldn’t be punished by BBWAA voters for his political beliefs.

Bob also gives an update on Jay Bruce, why the Mets rotation will miss Bartolo Colon and the mystery behind the dismissal of Wally Backman.

Follow Bob on Twitter @BobKlap.

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A familiar name on the 2017 Hall of Fame ballot is former Mets closer Billy Wagner. While he would likely wear an Astros hat on his plaque, Wagner solidified his place in Mets history as closer for the 2006-2008 teams. The 7-time All Star is certainly one of the best closers of all time, but is he HOF worthy?

If you count John Smoltz, six closers currently have a place in the Hall of Fame. Trevor Hoffman, who got 67.3% of the vote on his first ballot, seems to be on his way as well. With Mariano Rivera certainly getting inducted on his first ballot a few years from now, that makes seven full-time closers (not including Smoltz), including Hoyt Wilhelm, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, and “Goose” Rich Gossage. How does Billy Wagner stack up against them?

While they are not necessarily the best metric to gauge the value of relievers, Billy Wagner is 6th on the all time saves list with 422. In 5th place is former Mets captain John Franco with 424. It is worth noting that despite recording the most saves by a lefty all time, Franco did not make it past the first ballot, receiving only 27 votes (4.6%).

Wagner also has more saves than HOF closers Eckersley (390), Fingers (341), Gossage (310), Sutter (300), and Wilhelm (228). Ahead of him are Rivera (652), Hoffman (601), Lee Smith (478), Francisco Rodriguez (430 and counting), and Franco (424).

As you can see, Wagner has more saves than any pitcher currently in the Hall Of Fame. However, 87% of them were one-inning saves. Many of those firemen in the Hall would record three-inning saves to make a living. For example, 27% of Dennis Eckersley‘s saves were longer than one inning compared to Wagner’s 9%.

An important statistic to look at when evaluating any player’s HOF resumé is how effective they are in the playoffs. Unfortunately for Wagner, there is a big red flag here. In 11.2 playoff innings, Wagner went 1-1 with a 10.03 ERA and 1.971 WHIP.

For the Mets in the 2006 playoffs, he recorded three saves in the NLDS but blew game two of the NLCS against the Cardinals, allowing three earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. He also pitched in game six, and despite getting a no-decision in the win, he allowed another two earned runs in one inning.

During the regular season, he was much harder to hit. In 903 career innings, he sported a stellar 2.31 ERA and 0.998 WHIP. Among pitchers with more than 800 innings, his 11.9 K/9 ratio is the best all time by a longshot. Out of all the batters Wagner faced in his career, he struck out 33.2% of them. The next closest numbers are Octavio Dotel with 10.9 K/9 and Stephen Strasburg with 29% respectively.

Wagner’s 0.998 WHIP is second best all time behind Addie Joss (0.968) who pitched from 1902-1910. Barely beating Mariano Rivera‘s 1.000, that essentially means that he would allow one baserunner per inning, whether via a hit or base on balls.

The only player with a better ERA and ERA+ than Wagner (2.31, 187) is Mariano Rivera (2.21, 205). To have a FIP lower than Wagner’s 2.73, you have to be a lefty Dodger as only Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax have better career marks.

A hugely important statistic when evaluating relievers is how many runners they strand. Wagner’s career mark of 82% left on base is the best all time for relievers having thrown at least 500 innings by far. Going down the list includes Rivera’s 80.5%, John Franco‘s 77.5%, Lee Smith‘s 77.1%, Rich Gossage‘s 76.9%, and Trevor Hoffman‘s 76.7%.

While Billy Wagner certainly has a strong case for the Hall of Fame statistically, many writers don’t like voting for closers nowadays because they only pitch one inning. There are certainly more ways to evaluate relievers than the statistics in this article, however the metrics outlined are certainly important.

Wagner played for the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox, and Braves in his 15-year career. After getting only 10.5% of the votes in 2016, do you think he deserves some more recognition? Comment below!

The post Is Billy Wagner A Hall Of Famer? appeared first on Metsmerized.

During a half-hour Q and A session with some ESPN reporters, new baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said that Hall Of Fame voters should not assume people did Performance Enhancing Drugs without evidence.

“I think it’s unfair for people to surmise that Player A did X, Y or Z, absent a positive test, or proof that we produced in an investigation, or whatever. I just think it runs contrary to a very fundamental notion in our society, that you’re innocent until somebody proves you’re guilty.”

Manfred did not address any players by name, but if any two players on the ballot should be happy to hear him say this, they’re first baseman Jeff Bagwell and catcher Mike Piazza. Both players sport career numbers that merit a first-ballot induction, however swirling PED rumors have stunted their ascension to HOF immortality.

Bagwell is one player who is “suspected of PED use”, but nothing more. Known among other things for his batting stance, he played all of his 14.5 seasons for the Houston Astros along new Hall inductee Craig Biggio. He hit 449 home runs and drove in 1529 RBIs to the tune of a .297/.408/.540 slash line. The 1991 NL Rookie of the Year also won 3 Silver Slugger awards and one Gold Glove. The 4-time All Star was the 1994 NL MVP. In the strike-shortened season, he hit .368/.451/.750 with 39 home runs and 116 RBIs in only 400 at bats.

Piazza is another player who, in my opinion, should have been inducted on his first ballot but has been punished without evidence of PED use. He played most of his career with the Dodgers and Mets, as well as short stints with the Marlins, Padres, and Athletics. Beginning with his NL Rookie Of The Year win in 1993, Piazza would be an All Star every season until 2002, and then again in 2004 and 2005. Despite never winning an MVP, he won the Silver Slugger award for catchers every year from 1993-2002. He hit 427 career home runs with a .308/.377/.545 slash line and 1,335 RBIs. In 1997 he had one of the best offensive seasons ever for a catcher, hitting .362/.431/.638 with 40 home runs and 124 RBIs, with 201 hits and 104 runs scored in 152 games.

Both players absolutely have the credentials to be inducted into Cooperstown, and Rob Manfred urging voters to dismiss rumors not backed by evidence could help both their cases. This last vote, Bagwell finished with 55.7% of the vote and Piazza had 69.9%. Both players have shown an upward trend in voting totals in recent years, but neither have been able to get over the 75% needed.

The post Rob Manfred Urges HOF Voters Not To “Assume PED Use” appeared first on Metsmerized.

Former NY Mets catcher, Mike Piazza, took to Facebook to thank his fans for all their support after not being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mike posted the following on his Facebook:

“Hey Everyone! I truly hope all your holidays were awesome and that everyone was safe and sound. It was a little hectic for me with the kids and all that comes along with it as you all know. Now that everyone is getting back and the kids are in their routines I want to Thank each and every one of you for your amazing love and support with the recent HOF voting.”

“It was close and the new members are more than deserving. I enjoyed competing against and with those guys. I feel all of them brought out the very best in me. Again. THANK YOU for all the Love and support and I will keep you up to date of some cool things that are going on soon. God Bless All!!!”

He’s a class act…

The post Mike Piazza Thanks Fans and Supporters appeared first on Metsmerized.

Mike Piazza currently appears on 78.9 percent of the vote based on 119 Hall of Fame ballots that have been made public, as tracked by Baseball Think Factory.

That figure is down from the 79.5 percent on Monday, when 83 ballots had been tabulated. However, it is still slightly ahead of the 75 percent threshold Piazza needs to get into Cooperstown.

All 571 ballots from the Baseball Writers Association of America will be tallied and announced on Tuesday, January 6, and will be broadcast live on MLB Network and MLB.com.

Piazza, baseball’s all time home run hitting catcher, failed to accrue the votes needed to be elected last year, tallying just 62.2 percent of the votes and falling short by a pretty big margin.

Bill James used his statistic Runs Created to show how Piazza ranks among the game’s best catchers.

James also dispels the notion that Piazza was not a good defensive catcher, saying that all statistical measures suggest that Piazza was an above-average defensive catcher.

In his career behind the plate, pitchers had a 3.80 ERA when Piazza was catching. If you look at all the other catchers who caught the same pitchers in the same year that Piazza did, they allowed a 4.34 ERA.

Said James, “Mike Piazza was not a defensive liability who made up for it with his bat. The greatest offensive catcher in the history of Major League Baseball was a good defensive catcher as well.”

Stay tuned…

The post Update: HOF Voting For Piazza Going Down To The Wire appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Hall of Fame debate to me these days is less about who is deserving and more about why they should or shouldn’t be disqualified. For several years now, each new candidate comes with their own set of speculations as opposed to qualifications. Every candidate that played in the steroid era will always have suspicion or doubt cast upon them, warranted or not

This is one of the two things that bug me the most about voting for the Hall of Fame. Not the mistrust per se, but the fact that there are still no firm rules about how to handle it. The Hall of Fame and MLB are shirking their responsibilities as far as I’m concerned. Baseball needs to decide how to handle the statistics of those who either tested positive or admitted to it later in life. Their punishment for active players are doing a decent job deterring players, but there’s been no ruling on how those players should be viewed in the pantheon of the greatest game in history in retrospect. The Hall of Fame doesn’t get a pass, either. They don’t seem to have come forward with their bottom line, either.

The problem I have with this is that they are the respective governing bodies of this process. Their opinion is what it is and I’m not so much concerned with whatever ruling they might make, I just need them to make one. In avoiding the tough questions, they are forcing the BBWAA to make the decisions they should be making and that’s not right or fair. Each member has their own opinions, but in forcing them to make their own determination, you’re creating a subjective platform for enshrinement, and let’s face it, statistics are subjective enough.

Our own John Delcos (he actually has a vote; my ballot is fake as I do not) took his stand on how to handle players linked to steroids in the explanation of his ballot and he has every right to take that stand. The issue I have is that someone else with a vote will have a different stand and for all we know there are 580+ different stances. This is where the inaction of MLB and the Hall of Fame fails the election process.

So I have a stand of my own. My stance is that I’m not taking one. So as long as both the MLB and the Hall of Fame recognizes Barry Bonds as the all-time home run king, then so will I. It’s not fair that they force the voters to make their decisions for them.

The second problem I have is the limit of ten. This is silly and archaic. The rule has been in place since 1936, when there were a total of 16 teams and minorities weren’t allowed to play. To put it mildly, the pool is much larger now. So the biggest issue for me in putting together my fake ballot is not who is deserving, but which ten would get my vote. To help with this, I split the candidates into two categories. The first category is for all time players. The game’s greats who would have dominated in any era they played. The second category is for players who dominated their era. I’m very much in favor of enshrinement for meeting this criterion because the game has changed so drastically over the years.

So with all that said, here’s my fake ballot:

Column One                 Column Two

Barry Bonds                   Tim Raines

Roger Clemens            Edgar Martinez

Mike Piazza                   Craig Biggio

Randy Johnson            Mike Mussina

Pedro Martinez

Jeff Bagwell

I don’t suppose I have to explain Column One. Those guys are the very best to ever play and with my stance that so long as every number they put up are still deemed official by MLB and the HOF, then they warrant enshrinement.

Column Two could be debated, so here goes:

Raines was an outstanding hitter in an era not known for offense. He was a better base stealer than Rickey Henderson. In point of fact, The Man of Steal would have to come back to baseball and swipe 448 consecutive bases without being thrown out just to achieve Raines’s success rate. Another way to look at it is this: if Raines had attempted as many steals as Henderson did while still maintaining his success rate, he’d steal 1475 bases, eclipsing Rickey’s record. From his 1983-1993, among players who qualified each of those years, Raines had the third best wRC+ in all of baseball. He had the sixth best batting average, third best on base percentage and the 25th best slugging percentage despite being a leadoff hitter for the majority.

Martinez has the DH bias working against him, but the DH has been an official position in the game for over 40 years. So my answer to those who leave DHs off their ballot is: get over it. Not to mention there are some absolute butchers already enshrined because of their offensive prowess. There’s a very real argument to be made that Martinez was more valuable to the Mariners by NOT playing the field than some HOFers were to their teams by costing them runs in the field. Between 1990-2003, among players who qualified each of those years, Martinez ranks third in wRC+, and has the highest batting average, the third highest OBP and the ninth-best SLG%.

Biggio’s detractors say that his best attribute was longevity. True, he didn’t dominate in any one specific facet of the game statistically, but the longevity bit is misleading. Biggio played twenty seasons. That’s not unheard of at all. No one in the 3,000 hit club played fewer than twenty seasons, so why are we penalizing Biggio for it? I also believe there’s a lot of inherent value in doing everything really well for a really long time. I don’t necessarily vote for him because of the magic number of 3,000 hits, but part of his credentials is how he got there. Is a player who potentially had ten great, what we call “Hall of Fame” seasons and ten average ones better or more valuable than Biggio, who played “just” really well for twenty seasons if the final results are the same? Biggio gets my vote.

Lastly, Mussina. Mussina’s numbers are somewhat like Biggio’s in that there wasn’t one thing he did particularly better than anyone else, just a lot of really, really good seasons. For example, from 1992-2008, Mussina’s full time career, he’s seventh in ERA, sixth in FIP and fifth in xFIP among pitchers who qualified each of those years, all while pitching in some homer-friendly parks against some of the game’s best offenses. Two more seasons would have given him the automatic nod because he would have reached the magic totals for wins and strikeouts, but he chose to leave the game on his terms. Personally, one of my favorite stats, which is neither here nor there re: his HOF candidacy, is that since balk records have been kept in 1974, no one with a minimum of 2,500 innings pitched has had fewer balks than Mussina, who has 3,562.2 innings pitched. In his entire career, Mussina balked only one time

Those are my ten, which means I did not vote for Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield, Curt Schilling and John Smoltz, all of whom are worthy of enshrinement. The rule of ten couldn’t be thrown out soon enough.

The post My Hall of Fame Ballot and the Problems with the Voting Process appeared first on Metsmerized.

There have been 65 players in MLB history that have racked up at least 2,700 hits. 3,000 hits has been a magic benchmark, but to get 2,700 hits – if you’re not in the Hall of Fame – you’re just one notch below.

So who are the members of the 2,700 hit club that aren’t in the Hall?

Here they are including still active players.

65 – Doc Cramer. Doc played 20 seasons in the majors from 1929-48 with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and Detroit Tigers. During his career – he had 2,705 hits and a .296 career batting average. The Center Fielder made made 5 All-Star teams, had three 200 hit seasons, led the American League in hits in 1940, led the American League in at-bats 7 times, led the American League in singles 5 times, and was the hardest man to strike out in the American League 4 times. The closest he came to the Hall was in 1964 when he received 6% of the vote.

63 – Dave Parker. Dave played 19 MLB seasons (1973-91) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland A’s, Milwaukee Brewers, and California Angels. He had 2,712 career hits, a .290 career batting average and 339 home runs. The closest he came to the HOF was in 1998 when he received 24.5% of the vote. Dave was a 7-time All-Star, won two batting titles, three Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, and was the 1978 National League MVP when he hit .334 with 30 HR, 117 RBI’s and won a Gold Glove. His 1,493 RBI’s is 54th in MLB history.

62 – Bill Buckner. We all know Bill. He was much, much more than the Goat of Game 6. He was an outstanding Major Leaguer that played 22 seasons (1969-90) with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, California Angels, and Kansas City Royals. He collected 2,715 hits during his career with a career .289 batting average. He won a batting crown with the Cubs in 1980. He led the National League in doubles twice. He made one All-Star team. He was the hardest man to strike out in the National League twice and two more times in the American League. The closest he came to the Hall was in 1996 when he received 2.1% of the vote.

61 – Rusty Staub. Our Rusty played 23 seasons (1963-85) with the Houston Colt 45’s/Astros, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He collected 2,716 career hits and was a .279 career hitter. The closest he came to the HOF was 1994 with 7.9% of the vote. Rusty was a six time All-Star and led the National League in doubles in 1967. He also led the National League in outfield assists 4 times.

58 – Chipper Jones. Chipper generated 2,726 hits and a .303 batting average during his 19 year career (1993, 1995-2012) with the Atlanta Braves. He’ll get into the Hall when he’s eligible.

55 – Al Oliver. Al played 18 years in the Majors (1968-95) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays. He collected 2,743 career hits with a .303 career batting average. In addition to winning the batting crown with the Expos in 1982, he also led the National League in hits, doubles, and RBI’s that season. Al was a 7-time All-Star and won 3 Silver Sluggers. The closest he came to the HOF was in 1991 when he received 4.3% of the vote.

53 – Vada Pinson. Vada played 18 MLB seasons (1958-75) with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, California Angels, and Kansas City Royals. He collected 2,757 hits with a .286 career batting average. He was a 3-time All-Star, won a Gold Glove in 1961, led the National League in Runs in 1959, led the National League in hits twice, had four 200-hit seasons, led the National League in triples twice, and led the National League in doubles twice. The closest he came to the HOF was in 1988 with 15.7% of the vote.

52 – Johnny Damon. Damon will be an interesting case as to how close he’ll get the the Hall when he’s eligible. I personally don’t think he’ll get in. He played 18 MLB seasons (1995-2012) with the Kansas City Royals, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Indians. He collected 2,769 hits with a career .284 batting average. Johnny made two All-Star teams, in 2000 he led the American League in runs scored and stolen bases. He also led the American League in Triples in 2002.

50 – Ken Griffey, Jr. Junior played 22 seasons (1989-2010) with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago White Sox and will be in the Big Room of the HOF when he’s eligible. He had 2,781 hits and a .284 batting average in his career. He was the 1997 MVP when he led the American League in HR, RBI, runs, and Slugging. Griffey was a 13-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, and won 7 Silver Slugger awards. His 630 career Home Runs is 6th on the all time list.

46t – Ivan Rodriguez. Pudge played 21 MLB seasons (1991-2011) with the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Washington Nationals. He had 2,844 hits with a .296 batting average. He was the 1999 American League MVP when he hit .332 with 35 HR, 113 RBI while winning a Gold Glove. He was a 14-time All-Star, won 13 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, and is 1st on the all time career list of games played as a Catcher. Were it not for PED suspicions, Rodriguez’s place in the HOF wouldn’t even be in question. We’ll see what happens when he’s eligible.

46t – Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro has 2,844 base hits in his 14 year MLB career with the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. The surefire Hall of Famer has a career .317 batting average and had 200+ hits during the first 10 seasons of his career including a MLB record 262 hits during the 2004 season. He is a 10 time All-Star, the 2001 American League MVP, the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year, won 10 straight Gold Gloves, 3 time Silver Slugger and 2 time Batting Champion.

43 – Harold Baines. He played for 22 years (1980-2001) with the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians. A Designated Hitter and Right Fielder for most of his career, Harold earned 2,866 hits with a .289 career batting average. The closest he ever came to the Hall was in 2010 when he earned 6.1% of the vote. He was a 6-time All-Star, won a Silver Slugger in 1989, and led the American League in Slugging in 1984.

40 – Omar Vizquel. Omar played 24 MLB seasons (1989-2012) with the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. He collected 2,877 hits with a .272 career batting average and was one of the greatest defensive Shortstops of all time. Omar was a 3-time All-Star and earned 11 Gold Gloves, including in 2006 during his age 39 season as a member of the Giants. His 2,709 games as a Shortstop is 1st All-Time and is 1,734 Double Plays turned as a SS is 1st All-Time. If Omar doesn’t get into the HOF – something is wrong with the voting.

33 – Barry Bonds. Barry played 22 MLB seasons (1986-2007) with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He has 2,935 hits and a .298 career batting average to his name. The 7-time National League MVP has been locked out of the HOF. His 762 Home Runs is 1st all time, as is his 2,558 walks and 688 intentional walks. He led the majors in home runs twice, including his MLB record 73 in 2001. He was a 14-time All-Star, won 8 Gold Gloves, 12 Silver Sluggers, won two National League Batting Crowns, and led the National League in OBP 10 times. The closest he’s come to the Hall was in 2013 with 36.2% of the vote. With his tainted PED career, the only way he may get into Cooperstown is as a paying patron.

32 – Alex Rodriguez. How many more hits Alex will collect when he returns from a year long PED suspension remains to be seen. As of now, he has played 20 MLB seasons (1994-2013) with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. He currently has 2,939 hits and a .299 career batting average. He is a 3-time American League MVP, 14 time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glove winner, and 10-time Silver Slugger. He won a batting crown in 1996, led the AL in slugging four times, led the AL in runs scored 5 times, led the AL in hits in 1998, led the AL in home runs 5 times, led the AL in RBI’s twice, had three 200 hit seasons, scored 100+ runs 13 straight seasons, and 13 straight seasons of 100 RBI’s. He is 6th on the all-time RBI list and his 654 career home runs is 5th in MLB history. Despite this resume, he’ll likely be locked out of Cooperstown as well.

24 – Rafael Palmeiro. Rafael played 20 MLB seasons (1986-2005) with the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Baltimore Orioles. Rafael is a member of the 500 HR club and 3,000 hit club and has 3,020 career hits with a .288 batting average and his 569 career home runs is 12th all time. He has the numbers to be in the HOF, but with his PED history – he never achieved more than 12.6% of the vote in 2012 and was dropped from consideration after the 2014 vote after failing to earn 5% of the vote. Rafael was a 4-time All Star, won 3 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers, led the American League in runs scored in 1993, and led the American League in hits in 1990.

20 – Craig Biggio. Craig played 20 years (1988-2007) with the Houston Astros. He has 3,060 career hits and has a .281 career batting average. He just narrowly missed being voted into the HOF in 2014 with 74.8% of the vote and will get in. Craig was a 7 time All-Star, won 4 Gold Gloves, won 5 Silver Sluggers, led the National League in runs scored twice, led the National League in Doubles 3 times, led the NL in hit by pitches 5 times, and led the National League in stolen bases in 1994. He was hit by 285 pitches in his MLB career (2nd all time).

6 – Derek Jeter. Derek ended his career 6th on the All-time Hit list, collecting 3,465 hits in his 20 year career (1995-2014). The future HOF’er ended with a career .310 batting average, was the 1996 Rookie of the Year, is a 14 time All-Star, 5 time Gold Glove winner, and has won 5 Silver Sluggers.

1 – Pete Rose. The All Time Hit King belongs in the Hall of Fame. Pete played 24 seasons (1963-86) with the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. His 4,256 hits is first all time to go with a .303 career batting average. He was the 1973 National League MVP, a 17-time All-Star, won 2 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger, won 3 Batting Crowns, has played more games in MLB history (3,562) than anyone else, led the NL in hits 7 times, led the NL in runs scored 4 times, led the NL in doubles 4 times, is 2nd on the career doubles list (746), and had ten 200+ hit seasons.

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