We’re just hours away from the announcement of the 2015 Hall of Fame class. While there are plenty of worthy candidates on the ballot this year, some have no shot at getting elected. Sure, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez are going to coast in this year, and John Smoltz and Craig Biggio look like they’ll roll in this year, but there are plenty of players that aren’t going to be getting that sort of love. You’re not going to see many people giving votes to down ballot candidates like Brian Giles, Nomar Garciaparra, and Carlos Delgado with good reason – the ballot this year is loaded.
However, in acknowledgement of the careers that these likely one and done players had, I thought it would be cool to look at some of the career highlights of these guys, who look like 2015 will be their only year on the ballot.
Rich Aurilia. In 2001, he was an All-Star, won the NL Silver Slugger award at shortstop, finished 12th in NL MVP voting, and led the National League with 206 hits. The only other year he’d finish with any offensive gray or black ink was in 2002, when he finished fifth in the NL with seven sac flies. In the 2002 NLCS, Aurilia hit .333/.421/.800 – only some “Bonds” guy had a higher OPS on the Giants in that series.
Aaron Boone. NL All-Star in 2003. Hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS for the Yankees, but played just 54 regular season games with New York. Had back to back 20/20 seasons in 2002 and 2003.
Tony Clark. AL All-Star in 2001. Third in 1996 AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Derek Jeter and James Baldwin. Hit 30 homers in three straight seasons from 1997-1999.
Carlos Delgado. Hit 473 career homers. Hit 40 homers in three seasons, and 30 homers in another eight years. Led the American League with 57 doubles in 2000, the second highest total in baseball over the last 80 years. Was a two-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger winner, and a seven-time MVP vote getter. Was the runner-up in the 2003 AL MVP voting after hitting .302/.426/.593 with a league-leading 145 RBI. Walked over 100 times in four straight seasons from 2000-2003.
Jermaine Dye. Two-time AL All-Star, one-time AL Silver Slugger winner, one-time AL Gold Glove winner. Received MVP votes in two seasons. Finished sixth in 1996 NL Rookie of the Year voting. Hit .438/.526/.688 during the 2005 World Series with the White Sox, winning the MVP award.
Nomar Garciaparra. Won back-to-back AL batting titles in 1999 and 2000. His .372 average in 2000 is the highest in the American League since George Brett’s .390 mark in 1980. Won the 1997 AL Rookie of the Year award. Six-time All-Star and one-time Silver Slugger winner (thanks, A-Rod). Received MVP votes in seven seasons, and was the runner-up to Juan Gonzalez in 1998. Led the AL with 56 doubles in 2002. (Nomar ended up receiving 5.5% of the vote, and will live to see another year on the ballot)
Darin Erstad. Led the American League with 240 hits in 2000. Two-time AL All-Star. Three-time AL Gold Glove winner. One-time AL Silver Slugger winner. Finished sixth in 1996 AL Rookie of the Year voting despite playing in just 57 games. Received MVP votes in two seasons.
Cliff Floyd. One-time NL All-Star, two-time MVP vote getter. Finished fifth in the 1994 NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Brian Giles. Two-time NL All-Star, five-time MVP vote getter. Walked 347 times more than he struck out during his career. Walked more than 100 times five times during his career. Homered 30 or more times in four consecutive seasons (1999-2002).
Tom Gordon. Three-time All-Star, runner-up to Gregg Olson in the 1989 AL Rookie of the Year voting. Finished 13th in the 1998 AL MVP voting. Led the AL with 46 saves in 1998. Won 138 games and saved 158
Eddie Guardado. Two-time AL All-Star. Finished 15th in the 2002 AL MVP voting. Saved 40+ games in 2002 and 2003, leading the AL with 45 saves in 2002.
Troy Percival. Four-time AL All-Star. Finished 4th in the 1995 AL Rookie of the Year voting and 15th in the 2002 AL MVP voting. Saved 40 games twice and 30 games an additional six times. 358 career saves are ninth-most all-time.
Jason Schmidt. Three-time NL All-Star, two-time Cy Young vote getter. Finished 22nd in 2003 NL MVP voting. Runner-up in 2003 NL Cy Young voting behind Eric Gagne. Led the NL in ERA and WHIP in 2003.
