One of my favorite subjects to discuss regarding baseball- the MLB Hall of Fame. The author here notes a few players that increased their standing this year as HOF candidates. He mentions Ortiz, Beltran, Beltre, Pedroia, and Kershaw. I want to focus on Beltran, Beltre and Pedroia.
Carlos Beltran
-A slew of writers have talked about Beltran's HOF positioning over the last few years, and I will share their links in the comment section. The thing to remember with Beltran is that he played CF for the majority of his career, and CFs have a slightly lower HOF standard than corner OFs because of how rare it is to dominate the position long enough to accumulate the necessary stats that make a player HOF worthy.
-After Beltran won ROY in '99 (.293/.337/.454, 22 HRs, 108 RBIs, 27 SB), he got hurt the following season. Moving on from that, here are his average numbers from '01 -'08, before he got hurt again in '09 & '10:
.282/.363/.513
29 HRs, 104 RBIs, 29 SBs, 34 2Bs & 6 3Bs
46.6 WAR (5.8 per year)
-For you disgruntled Mets fans, Beltran averaged 5.8 WAR from '05 - '08, when the Mets were in contention. He also averaged a .275/.362/.505 split, with 29 HRs, 104 RBIs, 21 SB & 36 2Bs during his time in Flushing. And after two injury plagued seasons, Beltran recovered to the point where the Mets flipped him for stud pitcher Zach Wheeler. So, overall, it was a positive tenure for Beltran. That's just an objective fact.
-From '11 - '13, Senor Octubre kept hitting, with a..288/.356/.503 split, 26 HRs, 88 RBIs & 32 2Bs, all while averaging 3.6 WAR.
-In the postseason, Beltran has no rivals statistically. While he also has no World Series rings, he does have this resume to fall back on:
215 PAs
.333/.445/.583
16 HRs, 40 RBIs
11 SB - 0 CS
13 2Bs
35 BBs - 24ks
15 RBIs in '13 postseason (Cardinals scored 17 total runs)
-I personally think Carlos Beltran is a HOF player.and he will add to his counting stats over the next two-three years, which will help his cause in the counting stats obsessed community.
Adrian Beltre
-Can you believe Beltre has 2,426 career hits? Or that he's made 132 million dollars so far? Or that he played in 149 games or more ten times?
-Beltre is another under the radar HOF candidate. If you take away his rookie year, here are his career averages from '99 - '13:
.284/.335/.481
25 HRs, 86 RBIs & 32 2Bs
159 hits
70.4 WAR (4.7 per year, +dWAR)
-However, in the last four seasons, Beltre has made statistical leaps towards the HOF. Here are his averages from '10 - '13:
.314/.358/.545
32 HRs, 100 RBIs & 37 2Bs
182 hits
26 WAR (6.5 per year, +dWAR)
-Assuming Beltre's performance declines by 3-5% a year, he should be able to get to 3,000 hits, which up until this year, was an automatic HOF qualifier. Right now, he's 574 hits away. He's averaged 182 hits over the last four years, he plays in a hitters paradise, and his team is competitive. I believe he'll get it, but only if voters once again choose to recognize 3,000 hits as an automatic HOF qualifier.
Dustin Pedroia
-Before you start with your bullshit, hear out his case:
1 ROY
1 MVP
2 WS rings
'07 - '09
.313/.375/.462
188 hits
47 2Bs
16 SB
13 HRs, 68 RBIs
57 BB - 46 Ks
16.4 WAR (5.5 per year)
'11 - '13
.300/.370/.446
184 hits
39 2Bs
15 HRs, 80 RBIs
21 SB
69 BB - 71 Ks
19.4 WAR (6.5 average, +dWAR)
-I skipped 2010 because he got hurt. In six full seasons, Pedroia has established himself as a leader at his position and inside his clubhouse. I can definitely see Pedroia's career playing out into a HOF ceremony someday. He's on a team with resources, talent, and drive to become a perennial fixture in the World Series. The possibility of Pedroia getting one more WS ring and hitting over .300 for his career is strong and that would make him a good candidate.
What does everyone else think? What's your feeling on the HOF? Sound off in the comment section.
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