Who's deserving? A four part Hall of Fame preview.

A constant source of battle in barrooms across America is the Baseball Hall of Fame. Who belongs in it, who should be kept out, and who's in it that shouldn't be? As we near the retirement of two of the greatest players of our era we should sit back and see, "Who among the current players deserves the Hall and who is close?"

Today we will attack the fielding positions. There are 13 everyday players that I feel are locks for the Hall of Fame with another 13 on the edge. I'm not sure if that's a high percentage or not. Say 18 HOF players out of approximately 400 everyday players are inducted, this makes it less than 5 percent. Should the HOF be the five percent mark? Perhaps the three percent or one percent mark. Have we thought of it that way before? Good questions all and maybe someday we'll cover those. For today, however, it's just the sure things, those everyday players who are a lock to make it.

CATCHER -- Mike Piazza is the best hitting catcher of all time. There is no doubt of that. His defensive skills have always been in question, but he has developed (matured) into a solid, if unspectacular, receiver. His offensive stats, though, say it all: .325 lifetime batting average, 301 HR's, 937 RBI's, and a .578 slugging percentage. Even if he does switch to the outfield or first base, he will go into the Hall as a catcher. The only question is who's hat will he wear?

Ivan Rodriguez may be the best defensive catcher in history. Certainly no one has been so dominant from behind the plate. Rodriguez has, essentially, kept players from running on the Rangers during his entire tenure behind the plate. Offensively he has been great in his own right, hitting a respectable .304 with 191 HR's and 752 RBI's. While not near Piazza's level, his .486 slugging percentage isn't bad in its own right(Johnny Bench's, albeit in a different era, was .476). I would venture to say that at least half the major league managers would take Rodriguez over Piazza if they had to choose. I think I would join them.

FIRST BASE -- Mark McGwire: Big Mac will be voted in for the home runs, but he has been a solid defensive player his whole career. He even garnered a Gold Glove in 1990. It will be his homeruns, though, for which he is remembered. He will probably finish fourth all-time behind Hank, Babe, and Willie. At his HR pace of the last two years it will take him 835 AB's to get to Willie Mays and 1680 AB's to get to Aaron. I just don't see it happening. '97, '98, and '99 were magical years for McGwire and baseball. Those were his first years over 500 AB's since 1990. I think the magic may be over and he will end up with around 620 HR's.

SECOND BASE -- Roberto Alomar: Spitting aside, he is the complete five-tool player for the era. His .304 batting average and 435 stolen bases would be enough to raise an eyebrow, but he also has 183 HR's and 983 RBI's as a second baseman. Enough, you say? There's more. The man has, deservedly, won the Gold Glove for nine of the past 10 years. He's also a winner, going to the playoffs six of the past ten years with three different teams. You can start making his plaque now.

THIRD BASE -- I don't see any, not one. NADA. Too bad, it has been such a great position over the years. I am pulling for Pujos, though.

SHORTSTOP -- Cal Ripken Jr. -- Throw away the consecutive game streak and what do you have? A shortstop who has over 400 HR's, 3100 hits, and 1600 RBI's. A shortstop who was rookie of the year, twice MVP and twice All-star MVP. A shortstop who has the respect and admiration of everyone who comes in contact with him. So throw away the consecutive games streak and what do you have? A HOF career. Throw in the streak and you have the most influential player in thirty years. Something most people forget is that he is the reason we have Alex Rodriguez, who may be the most complete baseball player we may ever see. Without Ripken, the myth that big guys can't play shortstop may still be around and we might be seeing Rodriguez at third or in the outfield (where I am sure he would still be a HOF caliber player). Ripken re-wrote the book and I suggest it to everyone; it's a great read.

OUTFIELD -- It's a crowded outfield for the HOF in this day and age. Sammy Sosa leads the list as he vies to become the second player to have four consecutive seasons of 50 or more home runs. Sammy has developed into a superstar and he continues to flourish in the spotlight. He is 32 and has 419 HR's. I can see 600 in his future and a plaque in Cooperstown.

Ken Griffey Jr. was the player we all wanted to be five or six years ago. He was "The Kid." Just playing around having fun at the ballpark. Somewhere he lost that and it shows in his game. I really don't think he stays in the game that much longer. He may stay to hit 500 or 600 HR's, but the long haul necessary to catch Hank would require him somewhere over 4000 more AB's. That could be as many as eight, nine or ten seasons and I don't think he will stay that long.

Juan Gonzalez is just thirty years old and should reach 400 HR's this year. He is enjoying a rebirth after the horrible year in Detroit. 600 HR's and two MVP awards make him a sure fire HOFer.

Tim Raines stole over 800 bases while batting .295. He is the fifth leading base stealer in MLB history and deserves to be in the Hall.

Tony Gwynn finished in top ten in batting in the NL for 15 straight years, top five for 13, and was the champion eight times. Some people have described him as just a slap single hitter, but he has 134 HR's and over 300 SB. People also forget about his five Gold Glove awards. He is a first ballot guy no doubt.

Ricky Henderson was the best leadoff hitter ever and if I was picking fielders for my team of the last forty years, he might be my number one. He is moving towards his three thousand hits and three hundred home runs, but he was the best leadoff man I have ever seen. If he got on, you could see not only the pitcher, but the catcher, second baseman, and opposing manager start to sweat. It was magnificent. He may have made just as big an impact by keeping the pitcher's head out of the game for the batters following him. His 1,385 SB's and 40 percent on base average make him an unstoppable offensive force that deserves every vote cast on the first ballot.

Barry Bonds -- sometimes you get the feeling he is just starting, but his numbers, when he is done, will be as complete as any who have played the game. He needs somewhere near 2,000 AB's to catch Aaron and I think he could do it. I can see him making 700; I just don't know how high in the 700's he will go.

Part two will cover the everyday players that are on the edge, or still too young, or early, in their careers to be considered sure things. Part three will cover the whole pitching panorama. Part four is a discussion as to how the specialization of pitching and the explosion of hitting has changed what is considered a Hall of Fame career.

Later...