Not in the Hall of Fame
There are currently over 250 players enshrined in the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Yet there are quite a few guys that stick out in my mind as potential hall-of-famers or at least near hall-of-famers. So no, I wouldn't say that all 101 of these guys should be in there but I do say they are indeed worthy of consideration ahead of everyone else among those who played in the '50s or later and have retired.
Some of the guys on the list are not in the Hall of Fame yet since they retired recently and haven't come up on a ballot yet. In that case I asterisked the name and then mentioned in the adjoining column the year they will first be eligible. I only put those players on here if I felt they weren't going to get in on the first ballot anyway. That is why Yankees Jeter and Rivera aren't on here. I believe they are shoo-ins.
There were some other great ballplayers that aren't on this list but were close to making it, but I wanted to keep the list at 101 just like my other extremely awesome lists located elsewhere on the site. In a similar vein the very amazing audio music clips section is 1001 songs strong. So there, I am providing continuity for you my wonderful visitor and isn't that such a nice thing in this world of upheaval and turmoil?
Among the guys who didn't quite make it on the list might be some of your personal favorites who you might include if you made up your own such list. Anyway, it's just my personal list and not meant to be a definitive one. That's what makes baseball so great. Folks debate and argue about this stuff all the time eerywhere especially at the barrooms. Not to mention at pubs, taverns, saloons, speakeasies, lounges, alehouses, beer gardens, rathskellers,and cantinas. Just not bistros. Annoying self-absorbed people are too busy there staring at their stupid I-phones or gabbing away about whatever..... But I'm not bitter.
Guys that came super close were Mel Stottlemyre, Dewey Evans, Rusty Staub, Bill Buckner, John Olerud, Steve Finley, and Mickey Vernon among others. Had to make the cut someplace. After them I was also a big fan of David Justice, Mike Sweeney, Danny Tartabull, Dean Palmer, even Ryan Howard though he struck out a ton, but again the list was 101 so...It is what it is. Now take a trip down memory lane and ENJOY!
Note: Players are grouped by position and then within that position they are listed chronologically from debut year.
1B | OF | RP |
Mickey Vernon | Dom Dimaggio | Roy Face |
Ted Kluszewski | Del Ennis | John Franco |
Boog Powell | Carl Furillo | Billy Wagner |
Dick Allen | Vic Wertz | Joe Nathan |
Lee May | Harvey Kuenn | Francisco Rodriguez (KRod) |
Bill Buckner | Rocky Colavito | X |
Steve Gervey | Frank Howard | SP |
Keith Hernandez | Vada Pinson | Allie Reynolds |
Mark McGwire | Pete Rose | Billy Pierce |
Rafael Palmeiro | Rusty Staub | Lew Burdette |
Don Mattinly | Al Oliver | Vern Law |
Tino Martinez | Dwight Evans | Mike Cuellar |
Carlos Delgado | Dave Parker | Dave McNally |
Todd Helton | Dale Murphy | Tommy John |
Paul Konerko | George Bell | Mickey Lolich |
Mark Teixeira | Joe Carter | Mel Stottlemyre |
X | Barry Bonds | Luis Tiant |
2B | Fred McGriff | Dennis Leonard |
Junior Gilliam (Jim) | Gary Sheffield | Ron Guidry |
Willie Randolph | Albert (Joey) Belle | Dave Stewart |
Lou Whitaker | Juan Gonzalez | Orel Hershiser |
Jeff Kent | Sammy Sosa | Roger Clemens |
X | Moises Alou | Jamie Moyer |
SS | Bernie Williams | Jack McDowell |
Merty Marion | Jim Edmonds | Kevin Brown |
Johnny Pesky | Manny Ramirez | Curt Schilling |
Maury Wills | Garret Anderson | Andy Pettitte |
Dave Concepcion | Johnny Damon | Johan Santana |
Julio Franco | Jermaine Dye | X |
Tony Fernandez | Raul Ibanez | X |
Omar Vizquel | Andruw Jones | X |
Alex Rodriguez | Bobby Abreu | X |
Miguel Tejada | Maggio Ordonez | X |
Jimmy Rollins | Carlos Beltran | X |
Michael Young | Lance Berkman | X |
X | Carlos Lee | X |
3B | 3 | 3 |
Bob Elliot | 3 | 3 |
Frank Malzone | 3 | 3 |
Ken Boyer | 3 | 3 |
Matt Williams | 3 | 3 |
Scott Rolen | 3 | 3 |
Aramis Ramirez | 3 | 3 |
3 | 3 | 3 |
C | 3 | 3 |
Joe Torre (As Player) | 3 | 3 |
Thurman Munson | 3 | 3 |
Jorge Posada | 3 | 3 |