Which current MLB players will end up in the Hall of Fame?
The term GOAT just gets thrown around right now. The goat emoji is tagged on every highlight on social media, and every recruit is the next big thing. This “prisoner of the moment” mentality also leads us to compare eras. Some are convinced that guy wouldn’t stand a chance today or that no one could ever match the dominance of a certain era. Guys like Shohei Ohtani come along in the midst of the noise and draw comparisons to players from generations ago, but there is no way to actually know. The problem with that conversation is that it can’t be settled. Instead, we can look to institutions like the Hall of Fame.
The Baseball Hall of Fame looks to celebrate the greatest from across all generations. Standards like 3,000 hits or 300 wins are looked at as certain marks of excellence that lock in a player’s place in Cooperstown. While we don’t know where Fernando Tatis Jr.’s career is heading or what Aaron Judge’s next few years will be like, our resident baseball experts Tim and Neil sit down to prognosticate the Hall of Fame classes of years to come.
Tim and Neil break the field down into five categories. They take into account a host of facts and figures. They consider where the player is in his career, lifetime stats, impact on the game, and the types of teams they played on that might have impacted their notoriety. The categories are:
The Harmon Killebrews are the first or second ballot no-brainers. The players that will be enshrined as soon as they are eligible. Guys like Albert Pujols have made such an impact on the game that they are among the greatest of all time. These names will be called as soon as they hang up their cleats.
The Joe Mauers are the future Hall of Famers with a hole or two in their resume. They might not get in right away, but their names belong with the all-time greats. They don’t have the certainty of the Killebrews, but they have earned their place through the totality of their career.
The third group is the Jim Kaat tier. Jim Kaat had to wait almost 40 years from the end of his career to hear his name called this year. These are the guys whose numbers and achievements place them in that Hall of Fame category but maybe lacked that dominance or star power that made them clear-cut entries.
Then we have the Torii Hunter category. Unlike the Jim Kaats, these are players that maybe had the star power or periods of dominance but don’t have the overall resume that earns them their place in Cooperstown.
Finally, the Byron Buxton tier. These are the guys who have the potential to leave their mark on the game, but it is just too early to tell. These are the players that are exciting to watch and might even be changing the way the game is played today.
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