Baseball Hall Makes Call

Its a phone that every athlete dreams of getting. Congratulations, you've been selected for the hall of fame. That phrase means that you are just simply better then everybody else. By definition, a hall of famer is a person recognized as one of the top performers in a particular activity, especially a sport. As of now, there are 220 men that have been inducted into the hall, and that number will grow by three more this July. After about six weeks of debate and discussion as to who might get into the hall this year, we finally have our answer. This years inductees will be John Schuerholz, and Bud Selig, who were selected by the Veterans Committee, to be joined by the three men selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez.

Jeff Bagwell
Bagweel played his entire career with the Houston Astros, spanning from 1991 to 2005. Bagwell's numbers stack up pretty well for his career. He was a career .297 hitter, he played in 2,150 games, racking up 2,314 hits, 449 home runs, 1,529 RBI, and 1,517 runs scored. During his career, Bagwell was a four time All-Star (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999), he won National League MVP in 1994, this after winning NL Rookie of the Year in 1991. He also claimed a Gold Glove in 1994, to go along with leading the NL in RBI's that season with 116. On three different occasions, Bagwell won the Silver Slugger Award (1994, 1997, 1999), and his number is currently retired by the Houston Astros. Bagwell received 86.2 percent of the vote in his seventh year on the ballot.

Some of what Jeff Bagwell managed to do during his career was simply amazing. Bagwell is the only player in MLB history to achieve six consecutive seasons with each of 30 home runs, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks, doing that from 1996 to 2001. Bagwell is just the fifth to achieve 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI and 1,000 runs scored in his first ten seasons. He is just one of 12 players in history to hit 400 home runs and record an on-base percentage of .400, and the only first baseman with at least 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases.

That's what made Bagwell so good, he was a balanced hitter and could do so much on both sides of the ball. At the plate he had good power, as his 449 home runs will show. Be he was a good hitter overall, as evident by collecting over 2,300 hits in his career. Lets also not forget, he was a pretty good fielder. Collecting a gold glove in 1994 should speak to that. He's no slouch in the field, but Bagwell was way more known for his hitting numbers.

Tim Raines
In his final year on the Ballot, Tim Raines will see induction into the hall, getting in with 86% of the votes. Raines played from 1979 to 2002. He played for the Expos from 1979 to 1990, the White Sox 1991 to 1995, the Yankees 1996 to 1998 (where he won two World Series), the Athletics in 1999, the expos and Orioles in 2001 and finally the Marlins in 2002. Raines played in 2,502 games, with a batting average of .294 lifetime. He collected 2, 605 hits, 170 home runs, 980 RBI's, 1,571 runs scored,  and 808 stolen bases. Raines finished as a seven time All-Star going from 1981 to 1987, he's got three World Series rings, winning in 1996, 1998 and 2005 (as a coach with the White Sox). He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1986, he was MVP of the All Star game in 1987, he won the NL batting champion in 1986, and he lead the NL in stolen bases four times, from 1981 to 1984.

What made Raines such a fan favorite was how aggressive he was on the basepaths. nobody really ran as fast or as hard as Raines did. He ranks fifth behind Ricky Henderson, Lou Brock, Billy Hamilton and Ty Cobb with 808 stolen bases, and his 84.7 percent success rate is the best ever among players with at least 400 career attempts. He isn't in the same relm with a bat in his hand as Bagwell, but that's not what he's paid to do. He was paid to get on base and make something happen out on the paths He was, and still is in many eyes, considered one of the greatest leadoff hitters to ever play the game.

Iván Rodríguez
Better known to most baseball fans as Pudge, Ivan Rodriguez will go down in the books as one of the greatest all around catchers to ever play the game. Pudge played 21 seasons in the Majors, going from 1991 to 2011. He played for the Rangers from 1991 to 2002, the Marlins in 2003, the Tigers 2004 to 2008, the Yankees in 2008, the Astros and Rangers in 2009 and the Nationals from 2010 to 2011. During his career, Pudge played inn 2,543 games, he collected 2,844 hits, placing him with a .296 lifetime average. he finished with 311 home runs, drove in 1,332 runs and scored 1,354 runs. Pudge won his lone World Series in 2003 as a member of the Marlins. Fourteen times Pudge was named an All-Star, from 1992 to 2001 and 2004 to 2007. He won MVP of the American League in 1999 and was named MVP of the NLCS in 2003. He also bagged thirteen Gold Glove Award (1992–2001, 2004, 2006, 2007) and seven Silver Slugger Award (1994–1999, 2004) .

Rodriguez joins Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar as the fourth Puerto Rico native in Cooperstown. He also joins Johnny Bench as only the second catcher to make the Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot. His 2,844 hits, 1,354 runs, 572 doubles and 2,543 games played are the most ever for a catcher. Which means the guy had no trouble handling the bat. Oh yeah and he was pretty good with the glove too. the fact that he won thirteen gold gloves behind the plate speaks a lot to how good he was on the defensive side of the game.

For my argument with Pudge is he's going to go down as one of the greatest all around catchers to ever strap on the gear. He just so happened to play in the same era as Mike Piazza as one of the greatest hitting catchers ever, but Piazza had the way better power numbers. Pudge is without question the best defensive catcher I have ever seen play. There was nobody better behind the plate then Pudge. And to back it up he could swing a pretty good bat too.

Now for the guys who didn't get in. I'm quite surprised that Vladimir Guerrero isn't in this year, missing out three and a half percent. Then there's Trevor Hoffman, who missed out by one percent on getting in. Those two guys are more then likely to get in next year. Also, it is worth noting some of the names on the ballot for next year. I mean think about it. Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Johan Santana, Scott Rolen, Omar Vizquel, and Andruw Jones are just a few of the names who are on the ballot for the first time next year. Out of that group and the guys who are left on the ballot, here's who I see getting in. I see Hoffman, Vlad and maybe Chipper getting in next year. Rolan and Omar are long shots.

Now, of course, there's the big story. is the guys who haven't gotten in yet, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Those two still have a shot to get into the hall of fame and with the trend over the last couple of years I think its possible that it might happen. One of the reasons is because Bud Selig, the man who oversaw the "steroid" era in the game, is getting inducted this year as well. Some believe that because he's getting in, the steroid guys should as well. I can see the argument, but not all the guys who were accused should get in. The only two should be Bonds and Clemens. Reason being is because both put up outstanding numbers throughout their entire careers. Not just a stretch of time, but they put up great numbers wire to wire.