Who's headed to Cooperstown? (AL West edition)

Saturday, May 09 2009 @ 11:10 PM EDT

Contributed by: Mick Doherty

Second in a six-part series ...

Last week, we examined the "hometown" AL East in terms of who among active players is headed to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. Now, while staying in the junior circuit, we switch to the left coast to examine the same likelihoods for players on the four teams in MLB's smallest division.

Once again ...

... to be absolutely clear -- this is not a prediction or a projection, but just an off-the-top starting point. I'll miss some stuff -- last week's too-low placement of Nick Markakis drew some ire from Box readers, as did the supposed slighting of hometown hot corner hero Scott Rolen.

So as we move ahead, each team's Hall possibilities are broken down into six, (no longer just five -- see #3 below) categories ...

Absolute slam-dunk mortal lock, also known as The Schmidt-Seaver Level
Certainly on pace to make it, or The Rod Carew in 1977 Level;
Borderline case, makes for a good argument in and of itself, or -- in deference to a candidate we will meet today -- the Omar Vizquel Level;
Will get some votes, but probably never get inducted, or The Steve Garvey Level;
Solid player, but no real chance at enshrinement, or The Larry Bowa Level; and
Too early to tell, but worth watching, or the, um, Is He Ruben Sierra or Dave Parker or Hank Aaron? Level.

Again, just as a refresher:

That last one is the toughest. There are many players who are off to incredible, obviously Hall of Fame starts, but will they flame out like Sierra? Have a nice career but not quite Hall-worthy, like Parker? Or become part of the pantheon, like Aaron?
There are very few players in that first "slam dunk" category, which refers players who could retire right now and rest comfortably while drafting their acceptance speeches.
There are just about as few in the "on pace to" category that acknowledges the current greats who just haven't been around long enough yet to get the plaque-makers busy. There are many players at the fourth and fifth levels -- solid, but not Hall-category guys, though some will at least get some support from voters.
As for that "Too early to tell" category, it's not really at all just for rookies or brand-new players; as you saw last week, it includes names like Pedroia and Longoria, too.

This is all pretty random. Feel free to jump in with "How could you not even mention ...?" comment.

The list only considers active players, though if you really want to make a shout-out for a manager, umpire, front office guy or even a recently-retired player, please feel free to do so.

One final note -- there is no consideration given below to whether or not a player also belongs in The Mark McGwire Level ... use of PEDs, suspected, confirmed, or even admitted, is not one of our criteria. So those of you who niffed last week that Alex Rodriguez is never getting into the Hall of Fame, whether or not I disagree, that is not a consideration here.

Methodology ... I scanned rosters and drew unscientifc, non-statistical knee-jerk conclusions. You got a problem with that? I freely admit this almost certainly missed someone(s) really obvious, that I misplaced or miscategorized ("Markakised") others, etc. So what? This is a discussion starter. Go to it!

RANGERS

Absolute slam-dunk mortal lock: Nobody
Certainly on pace to make it: Michael Young
Borderline case: Omar Vizquel
Will get some votes, but probably not: Andruw Jones
Solid player, but no real chance: Kevin Millwood, Hank Blalock
Too early to tell, but worth watching: Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton

ANGELS

Absolute slam-dunk mortal lock: Vladimir Guerrero
Certainly on pace to make it: Nobody
Borderline case: Nobody
Will get some votes, but probably not: Nobody
Solid player, but no real chance: John Lackey, Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter
Too early to tell, but worth watching: Nobody

MARINERS

Absolute slam-dunk mortal lock: Ken Griffey Jr.
Certainly on pace to make it: Nobody
Borderline case: Ichiro Suzuki
Will get some votes, but probably not: Nobody
Solid player, but no real chance: Adrian Beltre, Mike Sweeney
Too early to tell, but worth watching: Felix Hernandez

ATHLETICS

Absolute slam-dunk mortal lock: Nobody
Certainly on pace to make it: Nobody
Borderline case: Nomar Garciaparra
Will get some votes, but probably not: Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday
Solid player, but no real chance: Orlando Cabrera, Eric Chavez
Too early to tell, but worth watching: Nobody

Thoughts ... This is a weak division ... On the "may be placed too high" level, toughest calls were Young and Garciaparra ... On the other end of the spectrum, "may be placed too low," that'd be John Lackey and Matt Holliday ... There were a number of players, especially pitchers, who almost earned a spot in the "Solid but no chance" area, but Vicente Padilla is too inconsistent, and do Jay fans really want me to "honor" Kelvim Escobar and Miggy Batista? ... Okay, take your best shots. Who'd I leave out and where'd I screw up?

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