Since it began in 1869, there have been many eras of MLB Baseball players that should have made their way into the hall of fame. There are many cases where outstanding players have not made it in but are most certainly eligible for a place.
Here is our list of players we believe should be MLB hall of famers.
Barry Bonds
Despite being one of the greatest players of all time, 15 years after retirement Bonds can no longer be considered for the hall of fame.
As an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates, Bonds completed a record total of 762 home runs throughout his 22 years in the sport.
Not only has he broken records, Bonds won a range of rewards during his career including seven NL MVP awards, 12 Silver Slugger awards and 14 all-star selections.
Albeit, Bonds has been known to use performance enhancing drugs so this could play a part as to why he never made it into the hall of fame. Although, there have been many users of enhancing drugs that made it, so this is a poor excuse.
Billy Wagner
Also known as “Billy the Kid”, Wagner played 16 seasons in MLB for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.
During his career, Wagner achieved 6 NL All-Star selections, a total of 422 saves, 1,196 strikeouts and made it into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame.
Wagner announced his retirement in 2010, although he didn't make it into the hall of fame this year with 51% of the vote, it still gives him a few more years to make it.
Dave Parker
Right fielder and designated hitter, David Parker is another MLB player that sadly missed his much deserved chance of getting into the hall of fame.
Parker played for several teams in the league before retiring in 1991 with the Toronto Blue Jays, but he was most loved at the Pittsburgh Pirates where he became a World Series Champion, won three Gold Glove Awards and was NL Batting Champion twice!
Not only did he achieve all these great things with the Pirates, but he made many others with his other teams during his 18 year career. He was a much feared hitter especially after winning two batting titles.
Tommy John
Tommy John played a huge 26 seasons in MLB and throughout those seasons he showed strong eligibility to make it into the hall of fame.
John is nicknamed “The Bionic Man” because, when he was playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, at age 34 he underwent Ulnar collateral ligament construction, he was the very first person to undergo this surgery and so it has been named after him as Tommy John surgery.
Despite this surgery John came back to the game better than ever, he was an All-star four times, 288 career wins and was the CY Young Award runner up twice.
Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros and then the New York Yankees again!
Clemens strived in all teams and gained a range of different achievements and awards during his 24 seasons in the sport. He is an eleven times All-Star selections, a two times World Series title Champion, seven time CY Young Awards winner and so much more. Clemens also held the MLB record with 20 strikeouts in one game, this has now been topped by Tom Cheney with 21.
Despite all these achievements he never made it to the Hall of Fame but as he stated ‘I didn’t play baseball to get into the hall of fame’.
Dick Allen
Allen, MLB first baseman, third baseman and outfielder has missed reaching the hall of fame by just one vote twice and unfortunately, he can no longer be considered a feature in the museum.
Named Rookie of the Year in 1966, Dick Allen played for many MLB teams, but was mostly known for his impact on the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. During his career he made seven All-Star selections, one AL MVP, and was AL home run leader twice.
A lot of people have disputed the reasoning behind him never making the hall of fame, his detractors said that he did not play long enough and his bad temper has turned a lot of people off.
Although, Allens slugging percentage was .534 which was the best of any non-hall of famer until Albert Belle beat his record, this was still not enough to sway the votes.
Kenny Lofton
Kenneth Lofton was a centre fielder in the MLB and at retirement he was ranked 15th amongst all-time stolen base leaders with 662.
Lofton is one of seven players with 600 steals and 100 home runs, making his career an impressive one. Not only this, he was selected as an All-Star six times, won four Golden Glove Awards and five times AL stolen base leader.
Surprisingly, Lofton lasted just one year on the ballot for the Hall of Fame. Possibly due to the fact that, the Wins above replacement of the average hall of famer centre field is 44.7, putting him a little far out with 44.5. This score has put his WAR, 12th in MLB history which is higher than Hall of Famers Kirby Puckett and Larry Doby.
Kevin Brown
Brown spent 19 years in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.
Brown is a World Series champion, six time All-Star selection, two times NL ERA Leader and finished in the top six in the Cy Young Voting five times.
Brown was named in the Mitchell report as a possible steroid user, however, there was not real evidence to support this. Albeit, this could be one of the main reasons for him to not make it into the Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose
It is likely that Rose will never make it into the hall of fame, one, because he has run out of time and two, because he was banned from the sport in 1989 due to betting on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.
Despite these accusations, Rose was a great player and made several achievements during his career. To name a few, he is a three times World Series Champion, 17 times All-Star selection, two times Gold Glove Award winner, Silver Slugger award winner and three times NL Batting Champion.
Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa was a right fielder that made his debut and last appearance for the Texas Rangers, while playing for a few other teams throughout this time.
During his career, Sosa received six Silver Slugger Awards and seven All-Star selections. Sosa is also the only MLB player in history to hit more than 60 home runs in three seasons.
In 2009, Sosa was outed for testing positive to using performance enhancing drugs in 2003, so this could be a main factor as to why Sosa never made it into the Hall of Fame.
Alex Rodriguez
Shortstop and Third baseman, Alex Rodriguez completed 22 MLB seasons during his career. During this time he hit a batting average of .295 and a total of 696 home runs, making him the fourth all-time.
A-Rod also became World Series Champion in 2009 with the New York Yankees, he also received ten Silver Slugger Awards and 14 All-Star selections.
Rodrigues was banned from playing in the 2014 season due to the Biogenesis Scandal as he violated the leagues performance enhancing drugs policy, possibly making him miss his chance of ever getting into the hall of fame.
