Now that the dust has settled, and Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza have been voted into the 2016 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, it’s time to look into our crystal ball and predict the 2017 MLB Hall of Fame class.
Before any predictions get made, here is the list of notable players who will be included on the ballot for the first time in 2017: Ivan Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Jorge Posada, Magglio Ordonez, and Jason Varitek.
With that said, please give a warm round of applause to your 2017 inductees:
Tim Raines
It seems like everyone and their mother has been petitioning for the last several years for Tim Raines to be introduced into the Hall of Fame, and with good reason.
Raines had a career slash line of .294/.385/.425 over the course of twenty-three seasons. While Raines missed out on key milestones such as 3,000 hits and was never much of a power hitter, he did manage to steal seventy bases or more in a season six times, and his 808 career steals rank fifth all time.
Raines’ numbers are matched only by Rickey Henderson and Ty Cobb, which puts him in pretty exclusive company. Raines appeared on 69.8% of the ballots in 2016, and with 2017 being the last year of his eligibility, expect Raines to get the last big push he needs to cross the 75% threshold.
Vladimir Guerrero
Vladimir Guerrero finished his impressive career with an outstanding .318/.379/.553 slash line to go along with a 140 OPS+ and 449 home runs. Guerrero was one of the best hitters in the major leagues during his career, and was famous for his free swinging approach and his ability to make contact with just about any pitch.
Guerrero also won an MVP award, made nine All Star teams, and won eight Silver Slugger awards. The only knock against Vlad is that he doesn’t have any signature statistical achievements, such as 3,000 hits or 500 homeruns.
Of the 2017 candidates, Guerrero has the best chance to get in on the first ballot as a result of his on the field dominance, which he achieved while also avoiding suspicion of performance-enhancing drug use(Rodriguez and Ramirez). With voters looking to include someone from the recent ballot, expect Vlad to get be indicted in 2017.
Jeff Bagwell
Jeff Bagwell was this close to being enshrined in Cooperstown in 2016, but he just missed the cut when he appeared on 71.6% of the ballots.
Bagwell spent his entire career with the Houston Astros. During his tenure with the team, he was a regular All Star and competed for MVP awards, all while leading the Astros to the most successful period in the franchise’s history.
Bagwell is the Astros all-time leader in home runs, RBI, and walks. He is also the only player in MLB history to hit thirty home runs, score 100 runs, collect 100 RBI, and generate 100 walks in six consecutive seasons.
Unlike Raines, Bagwell still has a few more years of eligibility, but he will nonetheless become the third and final member of the 2017 Hall of Fame class.
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