The Baseball Hall of Fame vote came out on Wednesday, with no one getting in for 2013. Craig Biggio and Jack Morris were the closest to getting in, earning 68 and 66 percent of the vote.
According to the Associated Press, "Since 1965, the only years the writers didn't elect a candidate were when Yogi Berra topped the 1971 vote by appearing on 67 percent of the ballots cast and when Phil Niekro headed the 1996 ballot at 68 percent. Both eventually made it to Cooperstown."
The vote was muddled this year by a number of players connected to steroids who made the ballot this year, including Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa. While Piazza was only rumored to be on PEDs, the other three were directly connected.
There are a number of deserving players on the ballot, including Lee Smith, Dale Murphy, Edgar Martinez and Alan Trammell, but none will likely get in for at least a few more years. Currently in the majors there are a number of players still active that have a good chance at making the Hall. Here is a look at a few of them that are destined for Cooperstown.
Derek Jeter, Shortstop
New York Yankees
The Yankee captain is an obvious choice, but a safe one. It is basically a guarantee that Jeter will get into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot after making it to 3,000 hits, but his resume is hard to beat. He has complied 3,304 hits over 17 seasons and won five World Series championships and is a 13-time All-Star. Jeter was named World Series MVP in 2000 and has taken home five Gold Gloves along with five Silver Slugger awards.
Jeter's stats are enough to get him in, but the fact that he has played for the New York Yankees for his entire career is a big help as well. He has been able to play shortstop into old age, unlike many other players and showed last season that he is still not finished despite being 38-years-old. He had one of his best seasons in recent memory, leading the majors in hits while batting .315, his highest average since 2009 when he placed in the top part of the MVP voting after hitting .334 with 212 hits.
Justin Verlander, Pitcher
Detroit Tigers
Verlander has been making his case over the past few years as the best pitcher in baseball and he proved it last season by winning the AL MVP award and the Cy Young after going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts, winning the AL pitching triple crown. He could make the Hall just for dating bombshell Kate Upton, but voters don't usually take girlfriends into account when looking at players' resumes.
This season Verlander was excellent again, going 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA while helping the Tigers make it to the World Series. Verlander already has 124 wins in his career and could reach 300 if he plays long enough. He won rookie of the year in 2006 and has been a five-time All-Star, including four years straight from 2009 to 2012. Making Verlander even more likely to get in is the fact that he has thrown two no-hitters in his career and could add another one. Verlander has led the league in strikeouts three times and has proven to be durable starter, going at least seven or eight innings in most of hist starts and completing games on a regular basis.
Albert Pujols, First Baseman
St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels
Pujols is the easiest one to select for this list. Barring some huge scandal, there is no way Pujols is not getting in. His numbers from the first half of his career are as good as anyone's in MLB history and he has proven to be one of the most talented players of the modern era. Pujols has a career .325 batting average with 475 home runs and will likely finish his career with at least 700 dingers. He has won the NL MVP three times and has finished in the top five in numerous other years. He is a two-time Gold glove winner and took home the rookie of the year award in 2001.
Pujols helped lead the Cardinals to two World Series championships and tied a record with three home runs in one game while battling the Texas Rangers in 2011. He is the all-time active leader in batting average as well as slugging percentage and OPS. By the time he is done with his career, Pujols will likely have one of the highest totals in RBIs in baseball history. A pure hitter and a consummate professional, Pujols is the definition of a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has hit at least 30 home runs in every professional season and has been under 100 RBIs just once
(2011).
Other probables:
-Mariano Rivera, Closer, New York Yankees
-Alex Rodriguez, Third Baseman, New York Yankees (Don't believe the HYPE. He will be a Hall of Famer. Look at the STATS!)
-Ryan Braun, Outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers
-CC Sabathia, Pitcher, New York Yankees
-Buster Posey, Catcher, San Francisco Giants