HOF Candidates in 2011 Topps

I'm for a small Hall.  Let me get that out first of all.  Hall of Fame was an unfortunate name.  There are lots of famous ballplayers in baseball's history for whom nobody is making a Hall of Fame case. (Bob Uecker, anyone?)  I think we can look at the first couple of Hall of Fame induction classes and get a really good feel for what the intent of the honor was.  It was to recognize the greatest baseball players ever.  And that's where the fun come in!  Everybody has a different idea of what makes a player great.  So I really enjoy the conversations each year!

My family knows that for Christmas I want nothing more than sportscards.  And they all realized long ago that they have no idea what to get me.  I'm not much of a pack ripper.  I have pretty specific wants.  So everybody gives me cash, and I'm happy with that!  This year I anticipated that and did a little spending before Christmas was even here.  Two packages have arrived already, those being the Topps complete sets of 2011 and 2012.

There are several players from this year's Hall of Fame class in the 2011 Topps set.  And some of them have very familiar faces in very unfamiliar uniforms.

How strange is this card?  It's easy to forget that Manny played 24 games for the White Sox in 2010.  A look at Manny's career statistics show he's easily one of the greatest players of all time.  But the failed drug tests make him a No vote for me.

Living in Twins land, Jim Thome in a Minnesota uniform isn't that strange.  But I bet it is for many of you.  He's got the career power numbers.  I wish he had a better batting average.  But 612 HR's and 1699 RBI's put him over the top for me.  He's a Yes, but not by much.
How about Johnny Damon in a Rays uniform!  He played one season in Tampa, and did pretty well.  He's got a lot of hits and runs scored, and overall a very good resume.  But he falls just short in my mind.  This isn't the Hall of Very Good.

I'll talk about Chipper when I get to the 2012 set.  Omar Vizquel looks strange in a White Sox uniform.  He played his last two seasons with them.  Vizquel is a No for me, and he's not even close.  He was such a below average hitter, that not even his brilliant fielding can make up the difference for me.

Trevor Hoffman in a Brewers uniform is odd too.  He played there his last two seasons.  I'm really torn when it comes to relief pitchers.  The save statistic has really blown up in the past 30 years.  I could easily be swayed, but right now I still don't consider someone who averages an inning an appearance, even at the end of close games, an all-time great.  I'm No for Hoffman, but reconsidering each year.
Johan Santana is another challenging case.  To me, to be considered one of the best players of all time, you have to have played at a very high level AND played at that level for an extended period of time.  I hear lots of people rationalizing a Yes vote based on one or the other.  But to me, it takes both.  Santana was terrific for a spurt of time, but it didn't last long enough.

Here's Vlad Guerrero in a Rangers uniform.  I love that he was a power guy with average.  He played at a high level just long enough for me.  He's a Yes.

I'll also cover Scott Rolen with the 2012 set.