I’ve noticed a lot talk about A-Rod not getting into the Hall of Fame now that it’s been revealed that he has taken steroids. Well does this mean that Alex was going to get in the Hall before he took ‘roids? I’ve heard the term “future-hall-of-famer” thrown a lot recently (*cough* *cough* Michael Kay) especially when talking about guys like A-Rod and Jeter. Well that brings me to my main question: who are the “future-hall-of-famers” and what did they do to get that honorable title. Players with a “*” next to their name have won a major award (Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, MVP) Well I’ve selected the bunch that I believe will make it (in no particular order):

The Sure-Things:

Greg Maddux*: If you go up to someone, in this day and age, and tell them that a pitcher, that pitched during the steroid era and in the age of 5-man rotations, would rack up 335 career wins, a 3.16 ERA, 109 complete games, 3371 Ks and over 5,000 innings, they would think you’re crazy (especially for that giant run-on sentence). But none the less, Greg Maddux did all that. He might even get the first unanimous Hall of Fame election ever.

Derek Jeter*: One of the things that I would be amazed to see in my life, is an argument against putting the captain in the Hall. He’s a sure bet for 3,000 hits, he’s one of the greatest leaders, shortstops and post-season performers of all-time. There really isn’t any limit on the good things you can say about Jeter. He’s definitely going to make the 218 mile trip to Cooperstown sometime soon.

Mariano Rivera: Another Yankee, another post-season great. In the post-season, “Mo” is 8-1 with 34 saves and a 0.77 ERA. You put that with more sub-2.00 ERA seasons than Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman combined, and you’ve got yourself the greatest closer of all-time. Looks like he will be the first pitcher ever to make the Hall with one pitch.

The Probablys:

Alex Rodriguez*: He had it all. He was young, rich, and was possibly more talented than any player in MLB history. But in 2003, Alex Rodriguez took a turn to the dark side when he took performance-enhancing-drugs. However, that is the only mark in what could be, the greatest career in big league history. A-Rod is pretty much a sure bet to break the home run record and some have even speculated that he could even reach 800 career big-flies. I think that says enough.

Ken Griffey Jr*: Once called the best player of all-time, Griffey put up possibly the best clean-numbers of anyone during the “Steroid Era.” “The Kid” blasted his 600th home run this past season and probably could’ve even hit 700 if he had stayed healthy. However, the one mark against Griffey is that he’s never won a championship; something that could play a big role in his Hall-consideration.

Manny Ramirez: Manny is definitely one of the greatest right-handed-hitters of all-time. I really don’t need to go into statistics, just know that they’re huge. There isn’t much reason to keep him out of the Hall other than his personality (which I’m sure you all know about). However, I highly doubt any writer will care that much.
Other “probablys” include:

Randy Johnson*
Tom Glavine*
Pedro Martinez*
Albert Pujols*
Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez*
Ichiro Suzuki*
Trevor Hoffman
Frank Thomas*
John Smoltz*
Chipper Jones*
Jeff Kent*
Omar Vizquel
Mike Mussina
Jim Thome
Carlos Delgado
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Todd Helton
Roy Halladay*
Jorge Posada
Andy Pettitte
Troy Percival
Todd Jones
Vladamir Guererro*
Kerry Wood*
Jamie Moyer

The Close But Not Quite (no description):

Mark Prior
Roy Oswalt
Andruw Jones
Adam Dunn
Johnny Damon
Tim Wakefield
David Ortiz
Bobby Abreu
Vernon Wells
Jason Giambi*
Carlos Beltran
Carlos Lee
Jermaine Dye
Travis Hafner
Torii Hunter
Troy Glaus
Nomar Garciapara*
Alfonso Soriano
Aramis Ramirez
Derek Lee
Jason Varitek

The Too-Young-To-Tell, But Promising:

Johan Santana*
Miguel Cabrera
Mark Teixeira
Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez
David Wright
Joe Mauer
Hanley Ramirez
Evan Longoria*
Grady Sizemore
Lance Berkman
CC Sabathia*
Brandon Webb*
Joba Chamberlain
Chien-Ming Wang
Robinson Cano
Dustin Pedroia*
Kevin Youkillis
Jason Bay
Fausto Carmona
Matt Holliday
Jonathan Papelbon
Joe Nathan
Nick Markakis
Felix Hernandez
Tim Lincecum*

If there are any players you feel were left off this list, please leave a comment.