MLB’s Future Hall of Famer Hitters

By Brendon Rosenau
Love of Sports Correspondent

The recent rumblings of Curt Schilling’s retirement had most of the baseball world asking themselves whether or not this guy is a Hall of Famer?

I guess you could call me Old School in the sense that I still hold the Hall in high regard and enjoy debating the merits of players.

I’m fascinated and appreciative of the fact there are several players currently playing who’ll deservedly make their way to Cooperstown. Some of these players have had their plaques already bronzed. Others will wait five, six, maybe 10 years to get inducted, if they do at all.

Then there are the numerous players who have had great starts to their careers, but have a long way to go to maintain play at an elite level.

Below are the guys I think are locks and the ones who should get strong consideration. Later, I’ll take a look at players who are rising stars (or already stars), but who still have a long way to go before Cooperstown becomes their final destination.

In this edition, I’ll look at all the position players. Also be sure to find all my Future Hall of Fame Pitchers.

Feel free to disagree or agree. Just note that these are players on current rosters.

HALL OF FAME LOCKS (HITTERS)

1. Manny Ramirez (Cleveland, Boston)

Ramirez might be the best run producer the game’s seen in the last 30 years. He’s in his 16th season, has passed the 500 home run mark and is on the verge of becoming just the 22nd player in history to reach 1,700 RBI (1,653).

He has a lifetime batting average of .312 (one batting title) and will surely reach 2,300 hits at some point this season. His career OPS is .999, which ranks as the 10th best in history.

Manny’s an 11-time All Star and has won nine silver sluggers. Amazingly, he hasn’t won an MVP, but had a string of nine straight 30 home run, 100 RBI seasons that ended last year. He’s one of only two major league players to drive in more than 160 runs in a season since 1938. And his 20 career Grand Slams is second all-time.

Ramirez has played in the postseason for both Cleveland and Boston and holds the record for most postseason home runs (24) and is second in RBI (64). He won the World Series MVP in 2004 and is tied for the longest LCS hitting streak of all time, hitting in 15 straight games.

2. Alex Rodriguez (Seattle, Texas, N.Y. Yankees)

In 14 seasons, A-Rods put up ridiculous numbers. He’s won three MVP awards, hit 532 home runs and driven in 1,544 runs. The scary thing is, he’s only 32. He has more than just a good chance to reach 700 homers and drive in over 2,000 runs. He already has over 2,300 hits already, so 3,000 isn’t that far fetched. His .307 career average is super strong as well. We’re talking the best of the best here, folks. Each year since 1996, he’s scored over 100 runs, putting him on mark to eclipse 2,000 for his career.

He’s made 10 All-Star Games, won nine silver sluggers and a pair of Gold Gloves. He’s hit over .300 eight times, and in 2001 became the first shortstop ever to hit 50 home runs. He’s set several other offensive marks at the position, and he hasn’t even played shortstop in two years. He’s also the youngest player to reach 500 homers. Lock him up.

3. Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)

Jeter won a World Series ring in his first four years and has never missed a postseason. While he’s known for his clutch hits and leadership, he’s also developed a Hall-worthy career in the process.

Jeter has over 2,400 hits and is a lifetime .316 hitter. He’s eclipsed 200 hits six times and has reached 190 three others.

His value’s increased in the playoffs where he has a .309 average in a record 123 playoff games. He has the most hits, at-bats, total bases and runs in postseason history. He’s also fourth in RBI and fifth in home runs. Oh yeah, he was the MVP of the 2000 World Series, too.

Jeter’s made eight All-Star Games, won three Gold Gloves and two silver sluggers. He’s annually among the league leaders in runs, hits and average and has been considered the face of the latest Yankee dynasty.

4. Ivan Rodriguez (Texas, Florida, Detroit)

This guy is the best defensive catcher to ever put on shin guards and a chest protector.

In 18 seasons, Rodriguez has collected over 2,500 hits, 500 doubles and 1,200 RBI. All this while maintaining an average above .300. He has more hits and doubles than any other catcher in the history of the game.

Rodriguez has won more Gold Gloves (13) than any player at his position and has made 14 All-Star Games (12 starts), which ties him with Johnny Bench for the most ever at the position.

The best example of his defense is the caught stealing numbers. He’s thrown out 593 would be base stealers and has allowed just 662 stolen bases. Seven times in his career he’s thrown out more potential base steals than he’s allowed.

Rodriguez won the A.L. MVP in ‘99 and a World Series ring with the Marlins in ‘03. He was the MVP of the NLCS that year and made the memorable final out of the NLDS.

5. Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox, Oakland, Toronto)

The Big Hurt was the definition of a slugger in the early ‘90s. He’s currently in his 19th season and has hit 520 home runs, which ranks 19th all-time. He could always hit for average too, as evidenced by his .302 career mark. He’s one of only eight players to hit .300 and 500 homers and is one of only six to walk 1,600 times and hit 500 bombs. His 1,702 career RBI are 21st all-time.

Thomas burst onto the scene in 1991 with the first of his eighth straight 100 RBI seasons. In ‘93 and ’94, he won back-to-back MVPs.

In ’99, his power numbers slipped and many thought his career was in decline. The very next year he proved the experts wrong by hitting 43 homers and driving in 143 while finishing second in the MVP voting. Injuries would strike him down again, but each time he was counted out he came roaring back. After missing over 200 games between ‘04 and ‘05, he hit 39 home runs with 114 RBI in with Oakland.

Thomas’ 162-game averages are staggering: 37 homers, 120 RBI, 35 doubles and a .302 average.

Thomas has a career OBO of .420 and has slugged at a .558 clip. He was named to five All-Star teams and was in the Top 10 in MVP voting nine times. He led the league in both OBP and walks four times.

6. Ichiro (Seattle)

If Ichiro retired today, would he be in the Hall?

I say absolutely.

In seven full years, he’s made seven All-Star teams (six starts), won seven Gold Gloves and had over 200 hits each year.

He has a .331 career average and had 1,592 hits coming into this year. In 2001, he won both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards while hitting a league best .351. He added another batting title in 2004 when he hit .372 and set the single-season mark for hits with 261. Ichiro’s led the league in hits four times and has finished second three others.

He’s also been in the Top 10 in stolen bases each year and has finished in the Top 10 in runs and triples six times each.

In the field, he’s made just 15 errors and has a .994 fielding percentage in eight years.

7. Albert Pujols (St. Louis)

Normally I’d say a guy with only seven full seasons under his belt has more to prove, but with Albert that’s not the case.

Pujols has been tearing up the majors since he drove in a rookie-record 130 runs in 2001. He’s the first player to hit 30 or more homers in his first seven seasons, the youngest player to hit 250 home runs and the first player since Ted Williams to drive in 100 runs in each of his first seven years.

Since 2001, Pujols has finished in the Top 4 in MVP voting each year, winning the award in ‘05. He’s played in six All-Star Games, won three Silver Sluggers at three different positions and won a Gold Glove at first base in ‘06.

He has a career .332 average, which ranks first amongst active players, and already has 1,421 hits, 313 doubles and over 900 RBI. His career slugging is .621 and he has a OBP of .423. His 1.044 OPS is already the fifth highest EVER.

In his first seven years, Pujols has averaged the following line: 192 hits, 121 runs, 43 doubles, 40 home runs and 123 RBI.

He’s 28 years old and, if he stays healthy, could become one of the greatest all-around hitters in the history of the game.

8. Ken Griffey, Jr. (Seattle, Cincinnati)

Junior finally got some headlines with his 600th homer this year. He’ll be a first ballot Hall of Famer thanks to the great ability he’s shown ever since his rookie season. In Seattle, “The Kid” had the sweetest swing in baseball and was one of the game’s most exciting players.

The 13-time All-Star has won 10 Gold Gloves, seven silver sluggers and has driven in over 1,700 runs and collected over 2,600 hits.

He was the best player in the game from 1996-2000 when he hit, 49, 56, 56 and 48 home runs and drove in 140, 147, 146 and 134 runs, respectively.

Injuries robbed him of at least half of a season on three different occasions. Otherwise, he could be close to 3,000 hits, 1,900 RBI and 700 dingers.

9. Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, L.A. Angels)

The 32-year-old Guerrero already has over 1,200 RBI and is closing in on 400 homers.

The man without a strike zone is a career .323 hitter and has passed the 2,000 hit plateau as well.

Guerrero was a 30-30 man in back-to-back seasons with the Expos in 2001 and ‘02. Upon moving to Anaheim, he immediately won the MVP in ‘04.

The eight-time All-Star has had three 200 hit seasons and has eight 30 home run seasons and nine 100 RBI years. He’s only struck out more than 80 times twice in his career and has seven silver slugger awards.

Guerrero’s been in the Top 10 in OPS 10 times, led the league in slugging eight times, as well as hits, home runs and RBI seven times each. Defensively, he’s been credited with one of the strongest arms in the game.

BORDERLINERS

1. Gary Sheffield (MIL, SD, FLA, LAD, ATL, NYY, DET)

Sheffield’s quietly making his way towards 500 home runs and should become the 25th player to join the exclusive club either this year or next. The well traveled Sheff has a lifetime average of .294 and has hit over .300 nine times in his career. He has 1,588 career RBI, which ranks eighth among active players, and has scored 1,558 runs.

He’s hit 30 or more home runs on eight occasions and has knocked in over 100 runs eight times as well. A stretch of dominance is always a hot topic when debating this issue, and Sheffield certainly had his. From ‘99 to ’05, he averaged over 35 homers and 110 RBI, all while hitting over .300.

He’s been named to nine All-Star teams and has won five Silver Slugger Awards. He’s also been Top 10 in MVP voting six times.

2. Jim Thome (Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago White Sox)

Thome’s a pure power hitter. He’s clocked 523 (and counting) round trippers, which is currently 16th all-time. Eleven times he’s hit more than 30 home runs in a year, and six times he’s jacked out more than 40. He’s driven in 100 runs nine times and has scored more than 100 runs eight more. He also has a career OPS of .969.

Thome’s regularly been among the league leaders in home runs. With the exception of an injury shortened 2005 campaign, he hit at least 42 home runs every season while playing with three different teams. From ‘01-’03, he totaled 148 homers and 373 RBI.

Ad to that his 17 career postseason bombs, which is the fifth-most all-time.

3. Jeff Kent (TOR, NYM, CLE, SF, HOU, LAD)

Kent might me the most forgotten name on this list, but he should be a lock for the Hall. His 374 homers are the most for a second baseman in the history of the game, and he’s the only player at the position with six straight 100 RBI seasons. He’s also driven in 100 runs eight times and has hit 20 or more home runs 12 others.

Kent won the MVP in 2000 and has made five All-Star teams. He has 548 doubles (22nd all time) and is a career .289 hitter. His 1,492 RBI rank him in baseball’s Top 50.

4. Andruw Jones (Atlanta, L.A. Dodgers)

It’s hard to imagine Jones as an all-time great right now, but he’s put up some impressive numbers over his career.

He’s always been labeled one of the best centerfielders to play the game, which is evident by his 10 straight Gold Gloves from ’98-’07. He’s made only 44 errors and has a fielding percentage of .991 over the course of his career.

At the dish, he’s never hit for a high average, but he has 370 home runs and has driven in 1,124 runs. He’s just 31 right now, and if he reverts back to his old form he could collect 500 home runs and surpass Roberto Clemente’s outfield-record 12 Gold Gloves.

5. Chipper Jones (Atlanta)

Chipper’s gotten some serious love this year with his near .400 average. However, Larry’s been a hitting machine for a long time now.

Finally, in his 15th major league season, Jones has started moving himself onto some impressive leaderboards.

The lifetime Braves third baseman recently became just the third switch-hitter to hit 400 home runs. He has over 2,200 hits, has driven in over 1,300 runs and is a lifetime .310 hitter. He has a career OBP of .406 and a OPS of .956. His steady eye at the plate has led to 1,198 walks and just 1,112 career K’s.

He’s a five-time All-Star, two-time silver slugger winner and took home the NL MVP in ‘99. That year, Jones become the first player to hit over .300 with over 40 home runs, 40 doubles, score 100 runs, drive in 100 runs, walk 100 times and steal more than 20 bases in a season.

He co-holds the single-season home run record for switch-hitters and has nine 100 RBI seasons overall. Jones has been to the playoffs 11 consecutive times before finally failing to last year, and has played in 92 postseason games. In his first ever playoff game, he homered twice.

6. Omar Vizquel (Seattle, Cleveland, San Francisco)

Vizquel has, year in and year out, been the best defensive shortstop of his time, earning 11 Gold Gloves.

While he was never a great hitter, just .273 for his career, he’s totaled over 2,600 hits and stolen 382 bases. Offensively, his numbers where better across the board than Ozzie Smith, who’s already in the Hall of Fame, based on his defensive play.

Defensively, in 2,606 games, Vizquel’s made just 182 errors with more than 7,400 assists and nearly 4,000 putouts. He’s also had a fielding percentage of better than .990 on four occasions.

Vizquel’s played in six postseasons with the Indians and hit .314 in six Divisional Series.

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