Prior to the Steroid Era, 500 home runs was considered the milestone a slugger could reach to ensure that one day he would be immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame. From 1936 to 2003, all 15 eligible sluggers who hit 500 or more home runs were voted into the Hall of Fame. In addition, from 1939 to 2001, nine sluggers who finished their careers with 407 to 493 home runs appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, seven of those nine were elected to the Hall of Fame, with five--Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Willie Stargell, Carl Yastrzemski, and Dave Winfield--gaining election in their first year on the ballot and the other two--Billy Williams and Duke Snider--being voted in on their sixth and eleventh ballot, respectively. It was clear that a slugger who reached the 400 home run milestone had almost as good a chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame as a slugger who reached 500. However, like everything else, the Steroid Era has complicated Hall of Fame voting. Since 2002, six sluggers who hit between 431 to 493 home runs have appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot but only two of those six, Andre Dawson and Cal Ripken Jr., have been voted in. Two others, Jose Canseco and Juan Gonzalez, fell off the ballot after failing to collect 5% of the vote, while Jeff Bagwell and Fred McGriff remain on the ballot but are currently on the outside looking in.
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Bagwell
The fact that Bagwell is getting so few votes is an absolute travesty. Give me 5 first basemen who were better than Bagwell during his career. On top of that, there was never any proof of steroids. People need to get their heads out of their rears.
cgardner2006 - February 12, 2012
1529 RBIs and a career .297 batting average over 15 years should have equaled a first ballet HOF for Bagwell.
Almost 2500 hits, 1550 RBIs, and 493 HRs should have equaled first ballet HOF for McGriff.
It’s going to be a shame to see Barry Bonds get elected before either of these players. Personally, I’m of the belief that the player that defines a franchise for a decade or more like Bagwell did for the Astros and Chipper has done for the Braves, should get them into the hall, regardless if they reached the elite milestones or not. The Crime Dog was one of, if not the most feared power-hitting first basemen of the early 90s. I’m forever grateful for the spark he provided the Braves offense.
rxadam - February 14, 2012
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