Blue Jays have plenty of ties to the Hall of Fame ballot

This year’s crop of eligible candidates for baseball’s Hall of Fame has been announced, and there are several players with ties to the Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s that time of year again, when baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot is announced, and we start arguing about who should be enshrined at the 2018 ceremony next summer. It’s a drawn out discussion every year, and adding the “Steroid Era” to the debate makes things even more complicated. No matter what though, it’s always fun to look back at the best players of recent generations and be reminded of their contributions to the game before the announcement in January.

Among the candidates this year, there are several that have ties to the Blue Jays. In fact, there are nine among the 33 candidates that had some sort of experience with the organization, so we here at Jays Journal thought it might be fun to look at the careers of those players, their Hall of Fame candidacy, and also their time with the Blue Jays.

Unfortunately the late, great, Roy Halladay is not yet eligible for the vote this year, but he will be a candidate on next year’s ballot, and hopefully a first time inclusion. Halladay was tragically lost a few weeks ago in a plane crash over the Gulf of New Mexico, and passed away at the age of 40.

For now, let’s have a look at those who are eligible and their time in Toronto, whether it was several seasons, or a blip on the radar.

Scott Rolen

Contribution from Clayton Richer

Scott Rolen will make his way onto the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time after hanging up the spikes at the conclusion of the 2012 season. Rolen presents an interesting case for voters after a successful 17-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays.

The native of Evansville, Indiana was selected in the 2nd round, 46th overall in the 1993 amateur draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Rolen would finish his career with a .281/.364/.490 slash line along with 316 home runs and a 70 WAR.

Rolen was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Cardinals in exchange for Troy Glaus during the winter of 2008. The third-baseman spent a season and half north of the border before being traded to the Reds in the deal that brought Edwin Encarnacion to Toronto. During his tenure in Toronto, Rolen batted .288/.358/.452 with 19 round trippers in 203 games with the Blue Jays.

Rolen’s Hall of Fame portfolio includes 8 Gold Glove awards coupled with 7 All-Star Game appearances and a World Series Championship with the Cardinals in 2006. The hot corner specialist should have a legitimate shot at Cooperstown when you compare his numbers to other third basemen that have been enshrined. Rolen has comparable if not better career numbers than the likes of Ron Santo, George Kell, Jimmy Collins and is not far from George Brett and Wade Boggs.

Rolen was never attached to any performance-enhancing drug speculation and would in all likelihood enter the Hall donning a Phillies or Cardinals cap if he can muster the votes.

The One The Jays May Have Given Up Too Early On

Chris Carpenter

Carpenter debuted with the Blue Jays as a 22 year old in 1997, and was part of a hopeful dynamic duo with Roy Halladay in the late 90’s. He did eventually go on to have a pretty great career, which is why he’s on the ballot at all, but unfortunately he never realized his full potential in Toronto.

That doesn’t mean it was all bad though either, as he was 49-49 as a Blue Jay, with his best season coming in 2001 when he was 11-11 with a 4.09 ERA in 34 starts and 215.2 innings pitched.

When he moved on to St. Louis to pitch with the Cardinals, his career went to a whole other level, pretty much immediately. He was 15-5 in his first season in the National League in 2003, and won the Cy Young in 2004 with a 21-5 record and a 2.83 ERA.

For his career he finished with a record of 144-94 with a 3.76 ERA in 15 seasons. He was an All-Star three times, and finished in the top three of Cy Young voting three times as well, with the lone win coming in 2004. In those three seasons, he actually was good enough to earn MVP votes as well.

Unfortunately for as good as he was, his candidacy looks like a long shot at best. He battled injuries while with the Cardinals around his excellent performance, and I don’t think he compiled enough stats or had enough of a “wow” factor to earn the distinction. Still, making the ballot at all is a pretty significant honour, and one that I’m sure the former first round pick of the Blue Jays will always cherish.

Why didn’t they call him up again??

Vladimir Guerrero

Contribution from Brendan Pannikar

Vladdy Guerrero is going to have his second go-around on the ballot to get into Cooperstown and this time he should get in to the Baseball Hall of Fame. That would be a fantastic accomplishment for Guerrero who even though he never played for the Blue Jays, still has a very strong connection to the organization and the country of Canada.

Vladdy’s career began with eight seasons with the Montreal Expos, where he was quite possibly one of the best players in their franchise history. Certainly Guerrero’s best seasons of his career came with the Expos as three of the top by fWAR were in Montreal. He had fWARs of 6.2 in 2000, 6.7 in 1998, and 71. in 2002. He also eclipsed 40+ home runs twice in his career, which were both with Montreal.

Guerrero then spent six good seasons with the Los Angeles Angels followed by one in Texas, and his final season at the MLB level with the Baltimore Orioles. His last season of pro ball did come with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he played in the minor league system but never reached the big league club before asking for his release.

Now, Vladdy Sr. is still strongly connected to the Blue Jays as his son Vladdy Guerrero Jr. is in the Blue Jays’ organization. Vladdy Jr. tore it up in the minors this past season and rose to be ranked the #2 prospect in all of baseball. Guerrero Jr is labelled as the Blue Jays superstar of the future and he can attribute a lot of that to his Dad, who myself and all Blue Jays fans should be rooting for to get into Cooperstown.

You gotta give a little, to get get a little

Jeff Kent

The man that never played a full season for the Blue Jays, but still made an impact as a minor leaguer. Kent was traded to the New York Mets in 1992 for a pitcher by the name of David Cone, who helped put the staff over the top on the way to the first championship north of the border. He represents one of those stories where paying a high prospect price was arguably worth it, and considering they employed Roberto Alomar at second base at the time, the trade certainly made sense.

Kent went on to star with the Mets and eventually the San Francisco Giants, slashing .290/.356/.500 with 373 home runs and earned 55.2 WAR throughout his career. He also had a short cameo with the Cleveland Indians in1996, before he finished out his career playing one season in Houston with the Astros and then four more with the Dodgers, still providing power into his late thirties.

Teaming up with Barry Bonds in San Francisco, they didn’t always get along, but the power numbers were pretty staggering from the one-two punch.

Kent feels like a long shot to get included in the Hall of Fame, but he does have a decent case, especially when you compare his numbers to other second baseman. However, last year was Kent’s fourth year on the ballot and he received just 16.7 percent of the vote, or 74 votes. He’s got a long way to go before he’s a realistic candidate, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

The Crime Dog was criminally underrated

Fred McGriff

The “Crime Dog” will appear on the ballot for the 9th time, and he’s had a difficult time gaining momentum with Hall of Fame voters. He earned just 21.7% of the vote last year, and is often overshadowed in an era of sluggers, especially others who played first base, as he did.

Still, McGriff was a force throughout his big league career, and it got started with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He debuted in 1986, getting just three at bats, before becoming a starter the following year. He played in 107 games and slugged 20 home runs as a rookie, showing the Jays early on that he was going to bring some thunder from the corner of the infield.

He was good enough to receive MVP votes in his next three seasons with the Blue Jays, even winning a Silver Slugger award in 1989 when he hit 36 home runs and drove in 92 RBI. He was part of a young and talented Blue Jays’ team, before suddenly he was off to the San Diego Padres in a blockbuster before the 1991 season. The Padres sent Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to the Blue Jays in exchange for McGriff and Tony Fernandez, in a deal that worked out well for the Jays even if they did send some significant talent back.

All told, McGriff would slash .284/.377/.509 over his 19 seasons, blasting 493 home runs (just shy of the magical 500 mark), and driving 1550 runs for the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs, and Dodgers. Those are rock solid numbers, but it appears they’ll be just short of getting him into the Hall, unless something changes in the next two years.

A Gloveman and an Ace

Orlando Hudson

One of the best defensive second basemen to ever play in Toronto was Orlando Hudson, who played with the club from 2002-2005. Known mostly for his glove work, he was an adequate hitter as well, and brought a little bit of speed to the Blue Jays in the early 2000’s. In his best season in 2004, he hit .270/.341/.438 with 12 home runs, 58 RBI, and 32 doubles, while adding seven stolen bases.

However, it really was his glove that brought his best work to the diamond, as he earned 7.4 dWAR from 2003-05, and won the American League Glove Glove Award in 2005, his last with the Blue Jays.

He went on to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks for three seasons, before jumping around to the Dodgers, Twins, Padres, and White Sox to finish out his career in 2012. He’ll be on the ballot for the first time this year, and as much as I loved watching the guy play, he’s likely a one and done candidate.

Johan Santana

While Johan Santana may be an extreme long shot for inclusion in the Hall of Fame, you can’t help but wonder what might have been if he had been healthy through his career. He was an absolutely dominant force early on in his career with the Twins, finishing in the top 5 in Cy Young votes for five straight years, and six straight if you make it top seven, running from 2003-08. He would win the award in 2004 and 2006, and would garner MVP votes three times during that span as well.

He signed a mammoth deal to join the New York Mets, and unfortunately that’s when things started to fall apart for his career. His shoulder just couldn’t stay in tact, and after shoulder capsule, Tommy John, knee, and Labrum issues, he finally had to call it quits.

He did try to make a comeback with the Blue Jays signing a minor league deal, but unfortunately just didn’t allow him to make it all the way back to the big league level.

The softest hands this side of Sault Ste. Marie

Omar Vizquel

I’m going to give you the Cole’s Notes version of Vizquel’s story, and then encourage you to check out our own Bob Ritchie’s analysis of Vizquel’s candidacy as well.

The Venezuelan played an incredible 24 seasons, finishing up his career with the Blue Jays in 2012 at the age of 45. He played in 60 games that season for the Blue Jays and had a modest contribution on the stat sheet, but provided invaluable veteran leadership and guidance to the young players on the roster back then.

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Throughout the rest of his career playing with the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and Chicago White Sox, Vizquel slashed .272/.336/.352, which makes you wonder why he’s in the conversation. That’s not bad by any means, but this is the Hall of Fame we’re talking about.

Of course, the reason would be the smooth as silk fielding skills he possessed, and the defensive clinic he put on for more than two decades. He won 11 Glove Gloves, and if not for some other premier defenders in the game at the time, he could have won more. He finished his career with 45.3 WAR, without ever being a premier offensive player. That’s pretty impressive.

So there you have it, the nine players eligible for this year’s Hall of Fame ballot who have ties to the Blue Jays. Some more extensive than others and some fans will likely root for more than others as well.

For what it’s worth, I believe Clemens has the best shot of this group, but I think he’s another couple years away from enshrinement. For my money, I believe the next former Blue Jay inducted will be Roy Halladay in 2019.

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