The latest Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced on Tuesday, January 22. We asked members of the Gow Media staff to share their selections on who they would put in the Hall of Fame if they had votes. The results were interesting, to say the least. Take a look and see how your favorite personality voted.
A.J. Hoffman, ESPN 97.5
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. I considered Mariano Rivera, Gary Sheffield and Manny Ramirez, whom I think are all deserving, but until these two guys are in there, shouldn't be anyone else inducted.
Charlie Pallilo, ESPN 97.5
Bonds, Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Rivera, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, and Curt Schilling are easy picks. Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, and Andruw Jones with flawed resumes but most deserving among the rest. Bonds and Clemens were Hall Made Men for me before their careers shifted for whatever reasons. Halladay's first-ballot chances are probably helped by his tragic death. That should have nothing to do with it. Halladay was a Grade-A ace for a decade.
With Rolen, third base is the least represented position in the Hall, and at which only Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt won more Gold Gloves. Unlike Omar Vizquel among shortstops, Rolen was a major plus offensive player for years.
Walker's years in Denver inflated his stats and he was far from the most durable player, but a megaforce. Jones should have become a no-brainer but grew lazy way too young. He still averaged 34 homers and 103 RBI for a decade, while probably playing centerfield as well has anyone has ever played it. I seriously doubt Willie Mays was better.
Barry Laminack, ESPN 97.5
Mariano Rivera (The one player on the first-time list that is a true first-ballot Hall-of-Famer), Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds. These players were great baseball players before the steroid era and were on a patch to be Hall of Famers regardless, so I say let them in. Manny Ramirez was one of the most feared hitters of his era. He could hit for power and average. Only two players on the ballot had a higher career average than he did, and they both played in Coors Field.
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Continue reading our Hall of Fame picks on SportsMap.
