Who Else Belongs In Baseball Hall Of Fame?

Who Else Belongs In Baseball Hall Of Fame?

A yearly tradition in Major League Baseball, admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame was granted to two players whose careers were among the best in the history of the sport. This year, catcher Mike Piazza and outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. earned the nod to be enshrined in Cooperstown. And with plenty of other legendary players left out of the Hall of Fame after this year’s voting, it’s time to look at players who belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame when the 2017 vote occurs.

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds will probably never get into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his lifetime, which can be justified by the fact that his Major League Baseball career was tainted by performance enhancing drug use. However, Barry Bonds is undeniably one of the best players in MLB history and should be admitted to the Hall of Fame as a reward for his unbelievable statistical output and ability to hit home runs better than anyone who has ever lived.

Bonds is the all-time leading home run hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, and is the single season home run leader as well. He carried some less than impressive San Francisco Giants teams to deep playoff runs, including a trip to the World Series. He was intentionally walked by dozens of pitchers whose teams were too scared of his immense power to pitch to him on a regular basis. Whether or not Barry Bonds used performance enhancing drugs is irrelevant, he was the most dominant hitter in the history of MLB and should be remembered as such in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose

Pete Rose is banned for life from Major League Baseball as he was caught gambling on the sport while he was a player for the Cincinnati Reds. However, it’s time for that ban to be lifted and, more importantly, for Pete Rose to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose has credentials that undeniably put him among the best players in the history of the sport and should be a part of the place where those players are honored.

Rose has more hits than anyone who has ever played in Major League Baseball, and was a legend for his ability to play harder than anyone else on both offense and defense. To this day, it could be argued that nobody has played the game with as much reckless abandon as Rose, who earned the nickname Charlie Hustle for his reputation as one of the hardest workers on the field. The fact that he isn’t in the Hall of Fame is a farce.

To be perfectly honest, Barry Bonds and Pete Rose are two of the best players in the history of baseball, right up there with the likes of Babe Ruth and other players whose reputations have not ruined their status as legends. No matter who is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017’s election process, they will not be as good as Bonds and Rose, which speaks to just how deeply flawed the process is.

By: Jason M. Sanin