New players on the HOF Ballot

Come mid-January, we should know who was lucky enough to be enshrined in Cooperstown. As with every year, there a bunch of new candidates, and I'll take some time to break them down for you.

Brady Anderson-If ever a player's rep was built on one year, it was Brady. His 50 homers in 1996 were more than his previous 3 seasons combined. In fact, he never had a season before or after in which he hit half that many. He's become almost a poster boy for the steroid one-year wonder club. If you ignore the speculation, he actually had a good career, 210 homers, 315 steals, and a lifetime OBP of .362, and was a 3 time All Star. Still, no chance he gets in, more likely he falls off the voting after 1 year.

Rod Beck-One of the more fun players of his era, Beck passed away this summer at the age of 38. Beck had some incredible seasons, primarily with the Giants. Still, closers have a hard enough time getting in, and his 286 saves and 3.30 ERA just arent good enough. There are a number of more worthy relievers ahead of him.

Shawon Dunston-The shortstop whose arm was so good, it was considered to rival Dwight Goodens. A former #1 pick, Dunston never really lived up to the hype, never hitting more than 17 homers or stealing more than 32 bases in a season. His arm was a cannon though, and he was fun to watch. But a career OBP under .300 is not going to get you into the Hall of Fame.

Chuck Finley-Finley in his prime was one of the tougher pitchers in the majors. A 5-time All-Star, Finley won 200 games and finished with a decent 3.85 ERA. Still, the only real categories he ever led the league in where innings(once), games started(once) and complete games(also once).

Travis Fryman-Another solid player, Fryman managed 5 All-Stars nominatiosn, a Silver Slugger Award, and a Gold Glove. Still, he never hit 30 homers, or led the league in any major offensive category. And he spent most of his career with the Tigers when they were bad.

David Justice-Also Known As Mr. Halle Barry, Justice had an excellent career derailed by injuries. You have to wonder what would have happened if he had managed some healthy seasons, as he surpassed 500 AB's just 3 times(and only once before hitting 30 oddly). 305 homers and a career slugging of .500 are nothing to sneeze at, and neither are the Rookie of the Year award and ALCS MVP he won. But they are not enough to get him into the Hall of Fame.

Chuck Knoblauch-Before coming to the Yankees at the age of 28, Knoblauch was someone I would have thought was on his way to a HOF career. By the age of 28, he was a 4-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glover(the season before he was traded to the Yankees ironically), and won two Silver Slugger Awards, no easy feat considering who he had as competition. At the end of 1997, he had 1,197 hits, and had he gotten to play 15 seasons at that pace, he would have had 2,565 hits. Heck, by that point he had almost 300 steals as well. Still, its the Hall of Fame, not Hall of What-if's, and Knoblauch was more infamous than famous. Too bad, as he was terrific to watch, sort of a poor mans Craig Biggio.

Robb Nen-We're getting into a period where we are starting to see more and more closers pop up. Another fine closer, Nen's career was cut short by arm troubles. He ended his career on a fine note, saving 7 games in the Giants 2002 postseason, posting an ERA of 1.00 at that time. But again, there is a line of relievers more accomplished than Nen.

Tim Raines-One of the premier leadoff hitters of the 80's right behind Rickey Henderson. Raines finished his career as a 7 time All-Star, and won the 1987 All-Star game MVP(he went 3 for 3 with a triple, 2 RBI's and a stolen base. Oh yeah, and he didnt start the game). Oh, and as a leaadoff hitter, he even managed a Silver Slugger. He finished his career 5th in steals, 68th in hits, 46th in runs, 33rd in walks, and 100th in total bases. Bonus points go to Raines because he probably lost an MVP award in 1987 to owners collusion(and it possibly cost the Expos the pennant, as Raines missed the first 21 games of the season, and the Expos went 8-13 during that time. The Expos finished 4 games back).

Jose Rijo-When he was healthy, he was fun to watch. Unfortunately, it wasnt often enough, and he was pretty much done by 30, finishing with 116 wins, and a World Series MVP to show for his career. Considering how many players dont even get to the WS, thats pretty good. He was also part of the Yankees trade for Rickey Henderson, and later, the A's trade for Dave Parker(who was pretty good in his own right).

Todd Stottlemyre-Another player whose career was cut short. Even when healthy though, Stottlemyre was good sometimes, average others.

In another post, I'll cover the players still on the ballot who are deserving of consideration, not necessarily enshrinement.