Future Hall of Fame Baseball Player Series:
- First Basemen
- Second Basemen
- Shortstops
- Third Basemen
- Outfielders – American League
- Outfielders – National League
- Catchers
- Starting Pitchers
- Closers
In my opinion, there is only one no-brainer future hall of fame third baseman right now, that being Alex Rodriguez. There are a few others with a shot at making it to the Hall of Fame, but no one else that would be considered a done deal. On to the candidates.
No Doubters
- Alex Rodriguez
Not only is A-Rod the best third baseman going right now, he’s possibly the best baseball player of his generation. He’s only 31 years old, but he could retire today and be a first ballot hall of famer with the numbers he’s put up. By the end of this season he’ll be over 500 home runs, and possibly be over 1,500 RBI’s and runs scored. He’s also got a career batting average of .306 and 2,163 hits. He’s also won two MVP awards and is working on a third this seasons. Not much more needs to be said about Rodriguez. He’s in.
Really good chance
- Chipper Jones
Chipper is very close to assuring his place in Cooperstown, but I don’t think its a done deal just yet. He’s got really good numbers for a third baseman and with another couple of good years, he’ll be all but guaranteed a spot in the Hall. He’s 35 years old and has been injured some in recent years, but when he’s in the lineup, he can definitely still hit. Here are his career numbers thus far:
- 2,016 Hits
- 370 Home Runs
- 1,229 Runs
- 1,234 RBI
- .305 Batting average
- .543 Slugging %
Iffy at Best
- Troy Glaus
I wasn’t really sure where to place Glaus. I think it will be tough for him to continue to play at a high enough level long enough to put up the numbers he needs in order to make the Hall of Fame. He’s really a one dimensional baseball player. He’s got good power, but not much else. His career batting average is just a tad over .250, and that’s not good. I think his only hope of getting to the Hall is to end up with 500 career homers, and he’s just over half way there with 268 right now. He’s also got 750 RBI so he’s half way to the 1,500 RBI benchmark. It’ll be tough, but he’s got a shot at making it.
- Scott Rolen
Rolen’s numbers are pretty comparable to Glaus’ right now. Rolen has more home runs and RBI’s right now, and a better batting average, but I don’t like Rolen’s chances of making the Hall as much as Glaus’. The main reasons being age (he’s a couple of years older than Glaus) and power decline. He missed most of the 2005 season and only had 22 homers last season. Right now Rolen’s at 257 home runs, 985 RBI’s, 930 runs scored, and a career .284 batting average. He’ll need another 5 years of 30+ homers and close to 100 RBI’s to have a shot at the Hall, and I don’t see that being very likely.
Too early to tell
- Miguel Cabrera
Cabrera is one of the best young players going right now. He’s only 24 years old, but is already a four-time all-star. At this point in his career he’s got 121 home runs, 461 RBI’s, 407 runs scored, and a .313 batting average. I know he’s young, but barring major injury, there’s no reason to think this guy won’t put up Hall of Fame numbers.
- Aramis Ramirez
Aramis Ramirez’s career thus far looks a lot like Troy Glaus’, only with a better batting average. He just turned 29 years old, and has been consistently putting up around 30 homers, 100 RBI’s, and batted .290 plus. Another three or four good years, and we’ll be talking about him being on his way to the Hall of Fame. Its just a little too early to say that right now.
Close but no Cigar
Let me make mention of a couple of nice third basemen – Adrian Beltre and Eric Chavez. These are both guys in the their late 20’s that had great starts to their careers, but have started to trend downwards (post steroids possibly?). They’ve both amassed decent power numbers, but that’s really the only noteworthy part of their offensive game. Maybe one of them will surprise us and pick it up, but right now they are probably just on their way to nice, but non-Hall of Fame careers.
