MLB Hall of Fame Indicators: Hitters

These are guidelines I use to determine whether a Major League Baseball player should be in the Hall of Fame if they do not have the Golden Numbers (500 HRs or 3000 Hits).

A hitter must have at least 350 HRs, 1400 RBIs, 2500 Hits, and a .280 lifetime BA. Of course with any formula there are extenuating circumstances (for instance, Stolen Bases are not factored in here.), but I find it to be effective.

In MLB history, there have been 20 players that have fit these standards, 14 of which are Hall of Famers. They are Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Mel Ott, Eddie Murray, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Dave Winfield, Carl Yastrzemski, Billy Williams and Al Kaline. A great bunch to say the least.

The six who are not in the Hall of Fame, active players or not, are the following:

1) Barry Bonds: 762 HR/1996 RBI/2935 H/.298 BA

2) Ken Griffey, Jr: 609 HR/1763 RBI/2663 H/.288 BA

3) Rafael Palmeiro: 569 HR/1835 RBI/3020 H/.288 BA

4) Gary Sheffield: 493 HR/1618 RBI/2596 H/.293 BA

5) Harold Baines: 384 HR/1628 RBI/2866 H/.289 BA

6) Luis Gonzalez: 353 HR/1432 RBI/2579 H/.283 BA

There's no doubt that Bonds, Griffey and Sheffield will eventually make it to Cooperstown. They will be first-ballot HOFers. The other three are more interesting cases.

Palmeiro - Should never make the Hall under any circumstances due to his vehement finger-wagging at Congress denying steroid use (he was later suspended that year for steroids).

Gonzalez - Barely scrapes by in all four categories. Good player, but shouldn't and won't be in.

Baines - The rap on him is that he was a DH, and therefore didn't contribute to the team defensively. However, his RBI total (1628) is the highest of any non-active player who is not in the Hall of Fame (excluding Palmeiro), plus he nearly reached 3000 Hits, falling short by under 150. He probably will never make it even though Bill Mazeroski did, a player with statistics nowhere near worthy. Even though, I'm pulling for ya, Harold.