The Pecan Park Eagle

In fairness, the cigar in this instance depends on how you look at it. If you mean, did it keep most of these players out of the Hall of Fame? No,  it did not. A few of the guys who’ve come within 200 hits of a 3,000 career hit total aren’t there, that’s true, but the reasons for it lay elsewhere.

First base here is the list itself. It includes mostly retired players, and most of them are now deceased. The two still-active players appear to be on their ways to crossing the 3,000 hit line before they are done. In current times, that number sometimes may be the cigar of difference between a few guys getting in, or staying out of, the Hall of Fame, especially if a player has a sub-.300 career bating average and is in need of another number that glows in the dark.

The Following Chart Is Courtesy of Baseball Almanac.com

Players, Career Hit Totals, & Position on All Time Leader List:

The 15 former players shown above in blue type are all inducted members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The 4 former players shown above in red type are currently not members of the Hall of Fame. And, who knows, Barry Bonds may never reach induction because of his prominent role in the steroids era scandal. Ivan Rodriguez may reach induction as an excellent defensive catcher and a very good hitter. Harold Baines and Omar Vizquel probably are examples of two very good major league ballplayers who, without some kind of political movement by informed and passionate backers, lack the field accomplishments and big market media memory to reach the Hall of Fame on their own.

Adrian Beltre and Albert Pujols, the 2 active players in bold black type are simply passing through the “near miss” territory beneath the 3,000 career hits or more line. Both should make it beyond 3,000 and eventually be inducted into the Hall of fame.

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Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags: Near 3000 Hits Close but not always a Cigar

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