Supplied10. Larry Walker: Larry Walker represents some much needed Canadian content in baseball. Even though he played at the hitter friendly Coor’s Field in Colorado for most of his career, Walker was a true five-tool player, finishing his career with 383 homers, a .313 batting average, and 230 stolen bases. He’s also one of the best Canadians to ever play the game.
9. Mike Piazza: Piazza redefined the catching position with his home run power, creating offence from a position known mostly for its defence. His sparkling .308 career batting average and 427 career home runs while playing a very physically demanding position definitely warrant him a place in Cooperstown.
8. Jeff Bagwell: A model of consistency over his career, Bagwell hit fewer than 15 homers only once in his career, and that was his last season, when he only played in 39 games. Bagwell finished his career with 448 career home runs and a .297 career batter average. A few ballots later and he’ll likely find his way in.
7. Sammy Sosa: Any player who hits more than 600 home runs over their career should be in the hall of fame, steroids or not. Aside from Mark McGwire, Sosa was pretty much the most prominent hitter in the mid 1990s, actually out-homering him for his career.
6. Mark McGwire: McGwire was Sammy Sosa’s home run compatriot in the mid 1990s and early 2000s. Year after year, the two duked it out for the home run crown and more often than not, McGwire won. McGwire lit up the pitchers throughout his entire career, hitting 583 home runs and holding nearly every single-season home run record until Barry Bonds came along and shattered them.
5. Roger Clemens: “Rocket” Roger Clemens is pretty easily the best pitcher of the past 30 years. He put up 353 wins, 4,672 strikeouts, won two World Series Championships, seven Cy Young Awards and an MVP to boot. He also did this during the steroid era, when balls were leaving the park like it was nothing. That seems impressive, but of course, there’s a catch. Clemens has also been accused of using steroids and also lied under oath to congress saying that he was clean.
4. Tommy John: When you hear the name Tommy John, you think of the reconstructive arm surgery that has saved the careers of hundreds of pitchers. The procedure isn’t named after the surgeon who discovered it, it’s named after a player who had his career saved by the revolutionary surgery in 1970s. John won 288 games over his 26 year career and the most impressive part is his best seasons all came after the surgery.
3. Shoeless Joe Jackson: The Chicago White Sox of 1919 are known in baseball history as the Chicago Black Sox as eight players on the team were accused of throwing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds for their own individual financial gain. Shoeless Joe Jackson was one of the accused and as a result, was banned from baseball. His career numbers proves he’s good enough to be in the Hall of Fame, as he put up a .356 batting average over 13 seasons and his performance in the 1919 World Series, a .375 batting average and no errors, suggests be played to win.
2. Pete Rose: Pete Rose is best known as either the hit king for his incredible baseball career, or the king of controversy for the dark side of his career. Rose is the all-time leader in games played, plate appearances and hits, but was banned from baseball in 1989 due to an investigation that suggested he was involved in betting on his own games. It’s unclear how much money he bet, or whether he ever put money on his team losing, but Rose will likely never be allowed in the Hall of Fame because of Major League Baseball’s strict no gambling policy.
1. Barry Bonds: Barry Bonds is the face of the steroid era and easily the most controversial figure in Major League Baseball history. Just the sight of his name makes voters sweat. Although he was never caught, everybody knows Barry Bonds used performance enhancing drugs throughout his career as he nearly doubled in size between his days with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Fransisco Giants. Bonds put up video game numbers throughout his career — an impressive feat, ‘roids or not. He holds the record for most home runs in baseball history with 762 and a wealth of other hitting records. He also has the most walks of any player who ever played with 2558, so it clearly wasn’t all the work of steroids.
