A few weeks ago, Bleacher Report’s MLB Featured Columnists celebrated the 2010 Hall of Fame inductions with a mock vote of our own to see who really belonged in Cooperstown. It became one of our most popular polls to date and was far and away the most hotly debated.
Last week, we did something similar, but with a twist: Instead of voting on players who are already retired, I took 10 current players who are nearing the ends of their careers and asked who among them would be worthy of Cooperstown if they all hung up their cleats tomorrow.
These aren’t sure-thing players like Chipper Jones or Derek Jeter, or guys like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez whose main obstacles to induction would be PEDs. They’re stars, but not legends—Jim Edmonds, Vladimir Guerrero, Todd Helton, Trevor Hoffman, Andruw Jones, Andy Pettitte, Scott Rolen, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, and Billy Wagner.
Included in each slide are the players’ vote totals (75 percent is required for induction, which means 18 votes here), and explanations from two different writers: one who voted for him and one who did not.
Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I hope this poll inspires as much debate as the last one did.
Note: I sent this survey only to the Featured Columnists who have been active in previous polls. If you are a new FC or you have changed your mind about wanting to participate, send me a message and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop for next time!