Dog Days #4: Road to the Hall

Each week over the summer, UNPLUGG’D Staff Writer Andrew Golden will be bringing you new storylines to follow from America’s Pastime. This week, he writes on a Home Run Derby for the history books and the baseballs that might be the culprit

On Sunday, the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame were inducted into Cooperstown. Lee Smith and Harold Baines were voted on by a veteran committee and joined Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina and Edgar Martinez, in his final year of eligibility.

It only makes sense that with the 2019 Hall of Fame class just getting inducted that we look ahead to next year. Here’s how I feel about some of the returners and newcomers on the 2020 ballot.

Returners

Curt Schilling: Schilling makes a “bloody” good case for the Hall of Fame. All jokes aside, it’s extremely surprising that he hasn’t made the Hall of Fame yet. Compared to 2019 Hall of Fame inductee Mike Mussina, he had a better ERA (3.46 vs. 3.68), more strikeouts (3,116 vs. 2,813) and a significantly better track record in the postseason. So why isn’t he in the Hall yet? The “unspoken” character clause that is probably the only reason why he hasn’t gotten in yet. Schilling worked for Breibart and is a very outspoken Trump supporter who has had a lot of disrespectful posts on Twitter about transgender bathroom policies to lynching journalists. It seems promising that Schilling will get the call to the Hall, based on the fact that he received 60.9 percent of the vote last year after not having over 53 in any ballot prior. He’s definitely making progress, but it remains to be seen if he can move quickly enough to cross the coveted 75% threshold to get in.

The Alleged PED Users: There will always be a long debate about which players used steroids, to what extent they used and whether they deserve a spot in the Hall in spite of their mistakes.

Personally, I think there’s no place for any player who used PEDs in the Hall of Fame, regardless of the arguments that could be made about how good they were before using the drugs. Of the remaining players in Hall of Fame contention, Roger Clemens (59.5), Barry Bonds (59.1) and Manny Ramirez (22.8) are the players primarily linked to using PEDs during their time in the MLB. While the Bonds and Clemens have gained some ground, many people wonder if they, like Schilling, can stay on the ballot long enough to get into the Hall.

I don’t think they will make up enough ground this year, despite having a pretty weak first-year class coming in this year. I just don’t think enough voters will be willing to overlook what took place during all those years, especially with the amount of uncertainty that there still is on what exactly happened. Only Manny Ramirez has clearly admitted to taking PEDs, while there is some gray area with Clemens and Bonds.

What makes this situation even worse to me is that Bonds probably would’ve been a Hall of Famer even without the drugs. He was an MVP by his age 25 season and a five-tool athlete at the start of his career, combining his power with speed and defensive abilities. Same goes for Clemens, a first round pick from the University of Texas who won a MVP and Cy Young by his age 23 season. But because no one knows exactly when the steroid use happened, we may never see either in Cooperstown.

Larry Walker: Is the 10th and final time the charm? In his final year of eligibility on the modern ballot, Larry Walker will try to make a case for a plaque in Cooperstown. A five-time All-Star and MVP who played his best years in Colorado, only received 54.6 percent of the ballot last year. He will have to garner a lot of support from the voters to jump over 20 percent. Many people will hold the fact that he played in hitter-friendly Coors Field during the prime of his career against him. To put it into perspective, in his first six years in Toronto, he only hit 99 homeruns, but in 10 years with Colorado he hit 258 and was invited to 4 out of his 5 All-Star appearances. Personally, I think that he is someone who should be in the Hall of Fame eventually because he was very consistent for the prime of his career. But it’s just a matter of when and, with the exception of a few players in their final year on the ballot, there’s a low chance he will get in.

The Shoe-In First Ballot HOF

Derek Jeter: Peyton Manning, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitski. What do all of these players have in common? The second their respective names hit the Hall of Fame ballot for their respective sports, you know they will immediately get into the Hall of Fame. Derek Jeter is also one of those names. When Jeter retired in 2014, we all knew that he would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when 2019 came around and his name got introduced on the ballot. A 14-time All-Star and 5-time Silver Silver Slugger, Jeter epitomized consistency. In seasons where he played at least 100 games, Jeter batted over .290 in 16 of his 18 seasons and was known most for his clutch hitting during the postseason. No one made more iconic plays in the postseason defensively than Jeter, from The Flip to The Catch, it’s extremely clear that he should have a spot in the Hall. Now will he get in as a unanimous decision like his longtime teammate Mariano Rivera? I don’t think so. But I’m positive that he will receive enough support to get 75 percent.

The Ehhh, Maybe, But Might Have to Wait Hall of Famers

Paul Konerko: As a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Konerko had an extremely successful career in the Majors. In 18 years, Konerko finished with 439 home runs and had a career batting average of .280, which is impressive for a power hitter of his caliber. The knock against Konerko, to some, is that, while he was consistent, he was never a GREAT player. He finished in the top-5 of MVP voting just once and only made 5 All-Star game appearances, which isn’t a high number compared to other players in Cooperstown. My thought is that while the lack of support for MVP is interesting, you can’t hold All-Star Game voting against him because it’s fan-based for the most part. I think Konerko will definitely merit a spot in the long run, it’s just a matter of is it now.

Alfonso Soriano: In his prime, Soriano had a rare combination of speed and power that you don’t necessarily see very often. While the stolen base numbers dropped towards the end of the career, the power numbers never slumped, as he hit 412 homeruns over his storied career. Another part of Soriano’s career that stands out to me is the fact that he was able to be successful in both leagues. In 9 years in the AL, he hit .275 with 185 homeruns and in the other 8 years in the NL, he hit .266 but had 227 homeruns. I think what will hurt Soriano is that towards the end of his career, he didn’t hit for average as much as he did during the beginning, which would make people question his consistency but he still deserves a plaque in Cooperstown.

Cliff Lee: Lee certainly wasn’t a power pitcher who could blow the ball by you, but used his location and precision to have a great career. After 4 subpar years in the MLB, Lee burst onto the scene in 2008 by winning a Cy Young with the Indians. For the next six years, Lee was a consistent pillar of the Phillies’ teams from the late 2000s and early 2010s, finishing with a 2.94 ERA in 5 years. He was a four-year All-Star from 2008–2014, but only had success during that stretch. His lack of sustained success could keep him from making it now, but he definitely has the chance.

FINAL VERDICT: Curt Schilling, Derek Jeter, Paul Konerko

Inside the Park: Potential Future Hall of Famers Edition

First Base: Ronald Acuña Sets Record Not Touched Since Trout

Earlier this week, Acuña became the first player to steal 20 bases and hit 20 home runs since Mike Trout in 2013. He also became the 4th-youngest player to hit 50 home runs in MLB history. Ronald Acuña has been one of the more exciting players in the league since he made his debut last year. His combination of speed and power has been extremely impressive in a short period of time, but it remains to be seen if he can reach the level that Mike Trout has established in 8 years.

Second Base: Paul Goldschmidt and Cardinals Getting Hot

Paul Goldschmidt has had an off year from his standards, but other than this year, he had put together a Hall of Fame caliber career through 9 seasons. After hitting above .286 in seven straight seasons, the first-year Cardinal is hitting .250 this year and struggled at times. But he has homered in the past four games and the Cardinals have followed him, winning 11 of their last 13 games. They are tied with the Cubs for first place in the Central after looking like they were falling out of the race before the All-Star break.

Third Base: Mike Trout Is On Fire

Mike Trout just continues to impress as he is arguably having the best season of his career. He’s hit 11 home runs over his last 14 games and is 8 home runs away from his most in one season. He’s hit at least 27 homeruns in every season in the league and could probably be a Hall of Famer as it is. But even for Trout’s standards, he’s on a level we’ve never seen from him before. It’s almost boring at this point to give him another MVP, but there is literally no one better than him.

Home Plate: Who Will Retire at the End of the Season?

It seems like Albert Pujols and C.C. Sabathia will be ending their incredible careers at the end of the 2019 season. Troy Tulowitzki just announced his retirement from baseball yesterday and Ichiro earlier in the season. It remains to be seen who will get inducted into the Hall of Fame five years from now, but it’s a lock that Pujols and Suzuki will be immediate inductees into Cooperstown. Will Sabathia or Tulo join them? It depends on who else is on the ballot. Tulowitzki was a Hall of Fame talent, but ultimately his body let him down. C.C. will definitely make it, but his body of work might not be worthy of immediate induction.

Andrew Golden is a baseball fanatic and general sports junkie. You can follow him on Twitter here.