Call to the Hall, Part 4 of 4 Class of 2014

After the mess that will be the 2013 ballot the 1st time eligible players for 2014 exude class. Could be 4 guys get in, only obstacle would be that some writers who vote take issue with guys getting in on their first try. I think thats dumb if he is good enough to get in then why not vote for him the first time. In this case we know what type of players we are dealing with from the previous year so there really is no reason why one shouldn't vote for the following guys.

**Greg Maddux: The Mad Dog heads up what figures to be a fruitful class, with a Cooperstown-cinch 355 wins to go along with his 3.16 lifetime ERA, four Cy Young Awards and 18 Gold Gloves.

Tom Glavine: Maddux's longtime lefty buddy in Atlanta is right behind the right-hander, with 305 wins, five 20-win seasons, two Cy Youngs, a 3.54 career ERA and a .600 winning percentage. Done deal.


Frank Thomas: He's a member of the 500-homer club, which used to mean automatic enshrinement, so the Big Hurt has a good head start. Then you add the 1,701 RBIs, the .301 career batting average, .419 OBP, .555 slugging and two MVPs, and the picture becomes very clear. If he's not a mortal lock, he's close to it.

Jeff Kent: He hit 377 homers, drove in 1,518 runs, won an MVP, had a legendary competitive scowl and, most important for his Hall of Fame future, he was a second baseman. That means he's practically a given for the Hall. ** 1

Maybe Kent will not get in right away but the other 3 should go on 1st try. The pitchers numbers are no brainers and Thomas should look like a saint compared to most of the HR hitters of the late 90's and early 2000's. He was as consistent as they come  for a period from 1991 - 2000 but for '99 when he went on DL and his HR numbers slipped. He only had 1 year with a BA below .305 and only 1 year where he failed to drive in at least 100 runs. Not to mention the fact that he has managed to steer clear of the steroid scandal.

I'd put Kent in on the simple fact that his numbers are near the top for the position he played and he attempted to put Barry Bonds in his place on at least one memorable occasion.

**1 excerpt taken from Doug Miller/MLB.com full article is here