Rangers ace Jacob deGrom’s injury at the end of the season has already prompted us to examine how it affects his Hall of Fame chances. The overall fear is that he will end up on the same list as so many before him who have had Hall of Fame talent but have been thrown off balance by injuries.
In fact, let’s take a look at some of the players on this list. I’ve rounded up 20 who could very well be in Cooperstown already, or unlikely to be in the future without injuries.
Well, this is not an exhaustive list. You won’t find every single player who meets the subjective criteria, nor will you find players who should either be in the hall (hello, Kenny Lofton and Bobby Grich) or out due to PED ties (what’s up, Barry Bonds and Roger). Clemens) or are absolute Hall of the Very Good types (hey, Paul Konerko and Jimmy Rollins). This is just a collection of players that it seems deGrom will forever be associated with. Some of course have better cases than others as no two players are alike.
Also, this will look modern. There’s one player who goes back to the 50’s and we’ll see some from the 70’s, but most of them are more recent. There’s a reason for that, mostly because a much larger percentage of players further down the line have made it into the Hall of Fame, and it’s also much harder to get injury data from players further down the line. Also, the majority of readers here will have memories of the players listed, while nobody really remembers seeing the 1920s.
Anyway, here are 20 players who were straight out of the Hall of Fame due to injury issues.
catcher
*Joe Mauer – I put the asterisk there because I think Mauer will come in. We’ll find out in the upcoming off-season. However, if he doesn’t make it, his concussion issues will be the main culprit. During his season at age 27, he was a .327/.407/.481 hitter and had won an MVP. I think he’ll still make it, but the concussion issues have created a discussion that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.
Thurman Munson – Here is the only case on the list that was not an injury but a tragic death. The seven-time All-Star earned an MVP and finished his career as a .292 hitter with a 116 OPS+ and two rings. He ranks 12th in the all-time catcher JAWS. Munson ran for Hall of Fame for 15 years and never received more than 15.5 percent of the vote.
First base
Don Mattingly – Donnie Baseball was ruined by back injuries. During his season at age 28, he was a .323 hitter with an OPS+ of 144. He had an MVP and a second place finish, as well as two other top 7 finishes. He led the league three times in doubles, batting twice, batting RBI once and winning a batting title. He voted in the BBWAA election for 15 years and has since served on veterinary committees but does not serve.
Will Clark – Throughout his season at age 28, Will the Thrill was a career hitter with .302/.374/.507 (149 OPS+) and four top-five finishes in the MVP pick. A series of injuries held him back the rest of the way. He still averaged over .300 (by three points) and amassed 2,176 hits and over 1,200 RBI, but a perfectly healthy career likely got him indoors.
second base
Dustin Pedroia – His first two full seasons with the Red Sox resulted in a Rookie of the Year, a World Series title and an MVP. He would tackle another ring and two more top-10 MVP finishes, but Pedroia, too, ended his career with just eight seasons of 105+ games. He hasn’t been on the Hall of Fame ballot yet, but I seriously doubt he’ll make it. Considering how close he is, we can blame the whole array of injury issues he’s been struggling with.
third base
David Wright – Wright finished his batting career with .296/.376/.491 (133 OPS+) and a 5.0 WAR average per 162 games. That sort of odds stats at the still-underrepresented third base position would play a part in discussions at Cooperstown. Unfortunately, what was left of his career after his season aged 29 was due to injury. He finished the race with 1,777 hits, 390 doubles, 242 home runs, 970 RBI and 949 runs.
short stop
Nomar Garciaparra – During his season at age 29, “Nomah” was a .323 hitter, averaging 48 doubles, 30 home runs, 117 RBI and 120 runs per 162 games. He averaged just 84 games per season for the rest of his career. He received 5.5 percent of the vote in his first election attempt, but fell to just 1.8 percent in the next ballot.
Troy Tulowitzki – A way could have been cleared with Larry Walker and Todd Helton to break the stigma of Coors Field and make room for Tulo, but he just couldn’t stay on the field enough. He only played three times in at least 140 games and only eight times in 100+ games. He still finished a .290 hitter with an OPS+ of 118 and an excellent defense.
outfield
Albert Belle – For a variety of reasons, Belle has actually turned into an underrated thug. A degenerative hip injury forced him to retire after his season at age 33, ending his career with 1,726 hits, 389 doubles, 381 home runs, 1,239 RBI and 974 runs. These are not enough for a corner outfielder/designated hitter. But man, Belle could rake. He batted .295/.369/.564 (144 OPS+) and led the league in RBI three times, batting twice and making three total bases. He racked up over 100 RBI in every season that he qualified for the batting title, even scoring 95 points in 1991 in just 461 at-bats.
Roger Maris – Yes, there were injuries (particularly in 1963 and 1965), but it’s also hard to tell what toll the stress of the 1961 home run chase took on Maris. The two-time MVP had a great peak but didn’t make it to 1,500 games in his career. That kept all his counting stats short.
Dale Murphy – Murphy won back-to-back MVP titles in the early ’80s. He was an icon and throughout his 31-year season he appeared to be headed for Cooperstown. He’s already had 1,555 hits, 310 homers, and 927 RBI with a 132 OPS+ and five Gold Gloves. Then a knee injury ruined him. He finished the game with 2,111 hits, 398 home runs, 1,266 RBI and a .265/.346/.469 slash.
Fred Lynn – With Lynn, it wasn’t really anything special. He was just broken, seemingly the whole time. In his 17 years, he only played four times in at least 140 games. He was a nine-time All-Star with an MVP and a few other big seasons, but finished the season with 1,960 hits, 388 doubles, 1,111 RBI and 1,063 runs.
pitchers
Johan Santana – How great was Prime Johan? Man, he just felt like a Hall of Famer, you know? He won two Cy Youngs and twice finished third in voting. He led the league in the ERA three times, twice in innings, three times in strikeouts and four times in WHIP. I think he should still be indoors, but he’s only made 21 starts (all in one season) after his season at the age of 31. He lost 12 strikeouts under 2,000 and finished with just 139 wins.
Dave Stieb – Back and shoulder injuries bothered Stieb, but he was an ace up until the mid-80s. From 1980 to 1985 he had a 3.07 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP (139 ERA+) and finished top three times seven of the Cy Young vote. The workhorse led the league twice in innings and once in full games. He’s performing decently in JAWS, to the point that those 176 200+ wins and 1,669 2000+ strikeouts would have gone a long way in his Hall of Fame case.
Bret Saberhagan – The two-time Cy Young winner came on in 1984 and was still playing in the majors in 2001. However, he only had five seasons with at least 30 starts. He finished the race with 167 wins and 1,715 strikeouts to go, with a 3.34 ERA (126 ERA+) and a 1.14 WHIP. Imagine again if he had at least 200 wins and over 2,000 strikeouts and there could have been different discussions. Beyond that, however, more full seasons instead of partial seasons could have meant more All-Star play and hardware.
Orel Hershisher – Arguably the best pitcher in baseball in the late ’80s, Hershiser finished in the top four of the Cy Young pick four times from 1985-89. He’s led the league innings there for the past three seasons, and it’s taken its toll on him. He lost much of the next two seasons to injury and was never the same.
Fernando Valenzuela – Fernando Mania was not so badly injured in 1981, but rather overworked as a youngster. He was incredible. He won Rookie of the Year and Cy Young. In his season at the age of 25, he had 99 wins, 1,274 strikeouts and a 2.94 ERA (119 ERA+). In addition, he already had over 1,500 innings and 84 complete games. The rest of his career was marked by injuries and mediocrity.
Brandon Webb – Webb was good from the start. Then he was exceptional. Then it was over. He won the 2006 Cy Young, finished second for the next two seasons, injured his first start in 2009 and that was it. He was never in the majors again. In 198 career starts (including one appearance as a backup player), he was 87-62 with a 3.27 ERA (142 ERA+).
JR Richard – Richard basically had five full seasons and then a half season of excellence. He twice managed 300+ strikeouts. He finished in the top seven of the Cy Young poll three times. He topped the ERA majors in 1979 and had a 1.90 ERA in 1980 before suffering a career-ending stroke at age 30.
Stephen Strasburg – We don’t really have to review this, do we? As talented as anyone we’ve seen, his MLB career could be over. He has made 247 starts. He had a 113-62 record with 1,723 strikeouts in 1,470 innings. He’s a three-time All-Star with a World Series title (and World Series MVP).