American League Players Who Don’t Have Baseball Hall of Fame Credentials 

On January 24th, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will make the announcement of which of the 28 players on their ballot will be inducted in Cooperstown, NY this summer.

The qualifications for gaining entry have begun to change in recent years, with starting pitchers not getting as many wins because of limited pitch counts, and with the value of home runs being diluted by power numbers going up because of more focus on launch angle and swinging for the fences and less towards batting average and situational hitting.  Pitchers with 200+ victories being inducted will become more commonplace if other numbers like K/BB ratio or WHIP are at a certain level, while those with 500+ HRs could have more trouble if their average gets perilously close to the Mendoza line.

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Beltran does not have the numbers (and his association with the Astros kills his chances)

Carlos Beltran had what many would describe as an excellent major league career, playing 20 seasons split almost down the middle between the American and National League. A three-time Gold Glover and 12-time All-Star, Beltran had 435 career home runs with Kansas City, St. Louis, Houston, Texas, San Francisco, the New York Mets, and Yankees, but fell 275 hits short of 3,000 hits, and won only one World Championship with Houston at the age of 40.

His sterling reputation was besmirched by his central role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal in 2017, which in the end cost him the Mets managerial job in 2020. The fact that his numbers fall short might in the end been overlooked with Hall-of-Fame voters willing to give borderline candidates without the taint of steroid use the benefit of the doubt, but associated with the most infamous cheating scandal in baseball history should be the final nail in his coffin.

Buehrle was a consistent compiler but is not a Hall of Fame arm

Mark Buehrle has a resume that includes a perfect game, a World Series title, five All-Star appearances, and four Gold Gloves, but in spite of a 214-160 record during his 16-year career, he does not meet the new qualifications of a starting pitcher being Hall-of-Fame worthy and likely never will.

The crafty lefty was the definition of an innings eater (mostly with the Chicago White Sox, and later with the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays) averaging more than 200 innings, over 30 starts, and double figures in wins all but one season, but he never won 20 games, he never won a Cy Young award, and unlike other 200+ win HOFer’s (Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz) or non-HOFer’s (David Cone, Curt Schilling), Buerhle was never considered a dominant top-of-the-rotation starter. His claim to fame was low walks, low strikeouts, and getting the ball in play. In four seasons with the White Sox, he allowed the most hits in the American League.