Major League Baseball has seen many talented names in the past make it to the Hall of Fame. Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Ted Williams, Ken Griffey Jr. and many more have found their way into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Sometimes other younger players get called a future hall of famer and are on the road to a successful career. However this list will not be about those future hall of famers. Instead I want to talk about players that were once some of the young talented baseball players that were compared to greats and were considered the future of the sport and would soon later get the future hall of fame name added into their play. I’m a big baseball fan and I have seen many great players come and go from the sport and I have witnessed somewhat could of been in the sport as well. The next couple of weeks I want to finally use my knowledge of baseball and love for baseball and make top 10 lists for baseball. This week I will be talking about 10 baseball players that were heading to greatness and found success but careers were either cut short or their play got worse overtime due to injuries and/or age. Now some of these guys have won awards like Rookie of the Year or MVP and were considered future hall of famers early on in their career and were even compared to the greats that made it in the hall. I will most likely miss some names as there are a lot of players that I could put on this list. Now this is an opinion list like I usually do and these actually are some of the great players that I watched that literally had the great talent but was cut short. These guys could have been future hall of famers and are instead what could have been. Here is the list of my top 10 what could have been hall of famers.
Top 10 What Could Have Been Baseball Hall of Famers
10. Ryan Howard (2004 – 2016) – The Philadelphia Phillies had probably one of the best power hitters in baseball as Ryan Howard literally only hit dingers. He wasn’t the best contact hitter, he struck out a lot and wasn’t the best glove, but he was able to take the Phillies out of tight situations. In 2005 Ryan Howard won the Nation League Rookie of the Year. He played 88 games that year with a .282 batting average, 22 homeruns, 63 runs batted in, .567 slugging percentage and .924 on base plus slugging percentage. After that season he became one of the faces of the team as he would then win the NL MVP in his next season. In the 2006 season he crushed 58 homeruns, scored 149 runs batted in, had an impressive batting average of .313, made the All-Star team and won both the Hank Aaron and Silver Slugger award. 2006 was Howard’s best year in his career and he continued to hit dingers the next few seasons. From 2007 – 2011, Howard averaged 41 homeruns and 129 runs batted in. Then in 2012 Ryan Howard started the season on the disabled list and did not hit well when he came back to play full time hitting only 14 homeruns, scoring 56 runs batted in and his batting average was .219. From there injuries plagued Howard as in 2013 he was hit with the injury bug and he was not the same player after that. His power would drop and he averaged at least 20 homeruns per season when he was healthy and on the field. Howard retired after not playing in the major leagues in 2017. Howard was a defiant future hall of famer and could of hit at least 500 career home runs in his career if injuries never bothered him. I watched him a lot growing up and was so disappointed in how his career ended. At age 40 Howard is a baseball analyst for ESPN and while his time to be elected in the Hall of Fame is still to come, I don’t think he will make it in and you can thank the injuries in the prime of his career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC7xD4CmLgw
9. Eric Gagne (1999 – 2008) – Eric Gagne was probably the most what could have been great starting pitchers as early in his professional baseball career Gagne underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 1997 baseball season. Tommy John surgery is a surgery procedure named after baseball great Tommy John and it’s a procedure in which a healthy tendon extracted from an arm is used to replace a torn ligament. It’s a surgery done by the elbow and it takes 9 – 15 months to recover. It’s a pitcher‘s nightmare if you ask me but Gagne made the best of it. Gagne struggled as a starting pitcher after getting the surgery and he would later transition into a closer. And boy was he unhittable and filthy as a closer as he would strike out so many batters and was considered a hall of famer. 2003 was Gagne’s best season as he set many records that season. For starters, he set the record for most consecutive save chances of 84 saves from 2002 – 2004, but he broke the record in 2003 and he also became the fastest closer to reach 100 career saves in their career. He won the CY Young award that year, which is pretty rare for a closer as only 9 closers, including Gagne, had won the CY Young Award in baseball. From 2002 – 2004, Gagne averaged 51 saves, 1.79 ERA and 122 strike outs, which is pretty filthy for a closer. Gagne was considered one of the best closers in baseball at that time and then tragedy struck. Gagne was doing well in the 2005 season but in June 21st, 2005 he announced that he needed to get Tommy John surgery again. He returned in the middle of the 2006 season but he wasn’t the same pitcher he used to be and got injured again, he felt pain in his elbow and also needed to get back surgery. From 2007 – 2008 he lost his pitching velocity and arm strength and was practically a different pitcher. After the 2008 season he never played in the major leagues and would try and make a comeback multiple times but failed both times. He officially retired in 2017 but he could have been one of the top closers of all time had he not gotten injured multiple times, plus the 2nd Tommy John surgery that pretty much took away the hall of fame career he would of had. If he continued to pitch the way he did from 2002 – 2004 he would of had at least anywhere from 400 – 500 career saves and been a hall of famer, but all we could think now is what could have been. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBucEt1Zqic
8. Prince Fielder (2005 – 2016) – This one hits me in the feelings as it was something I have never seen in baseball history and it sucks to be honest when you think about it. Prince Fielder is probably one of the greatest baseball players to never win the MVP Award, because there were seasons when he went off and yet better players hit better that year than him. Prince Fielder became the everyday first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2006 after they traded Lyle Overbay to the Blue Jays. That probably was the best thing they ever did because Fielder went off. In his rookie season in 2006 Fielder hit 28 home runs, had 81 runs batted in and came in 7th place in the NL Rookie of the year. But then Fielder would become an All star in baseball as the 2007 season he hit 50 home runs, had 119 runs batted in, had a .288 batting average, made the All-Star team, won the Silver Slugger award, won the Hank Aaron Award, led the league in homeruns and came in 3rd place for NL MVP award behind Matt Holiday and the winner of that year Jimmy Rollins. From 2006 – 2013, Fielder averaged 35 home runs, 108 runs batted in and made 5 All-Star teams during that 8 year span. He was considered one of the best baseball players in first base and even was considered a future hall of famer and then in 2014 he was traded to the Texas Rangers and then injuries hit Fielder hard. In 2014 Fielder underwent season ending neck surgery. He bounced back in the 2015 season winning the AL Comeback Player of the year Award and while the power wasn’t fully there and only hit 23 home runs, but he was hitting very well with 187 hits and had an average of .305. 2016 the injury bug hit Fielder again as he broke his neck once again. However that would be the final season of his major league career as he announced in a press conference that due to his neck injury he wouldn’t be able to continue to play professional baseball. At age 32, Fielder was forced to retire. In 12 seasons Fielder posted a .283 career batting average, had 319 homeruns, 1,028 runs batted in and was considered one of the best first baseman to hit for power, contact and have a great glove. He never won many awards but he was defiantly one of the best to play on the field and it’s very upsetting how his career ended so quickly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6h1IPaaqh8
7. Tim Lincecum (2007 – 2016) – Tim Lincecum was one of my favorite pitchers to watch this century. He had one of the most unique pitching motions and because of his unique motion he was given the nickname, “The Freak”. Now this entry is a little different than the others as Tim Lincecum never announced his retirement so this one is still up for debate. Although at age 36 and with his career numbers, I don’t see Tim Lincecum making into any Hall of Fame but the San Francisco Giants Hall of Fame. Now he had a pretty decent rookie of the year going 7-5 with a 4.00 ERA with 150 strikeouts in just 24 starts and 146.1 innings pitched. Now that’s not terrible considering it was his rookie year; it actually is pretty decent since there weren’t many great rookie pitchers that season. But from 2008 – 2009 Tim Lincecum became one of the filthiest pitchers on the field. He won back to back CY Young’s and he went combined 33-12, with 526 strikeouts and with an ERA of 2.55. He was very young at the time and for a young sophomore pitcher to win back to back years as the CY Young award is pretty insane. He was turning into the ace of the Giants and one of the top pitchers in the league. He had a couple of great years after that but wasn’t the same after the 2011 season. His ERA was above 4.00 each year and he got less and less strikeouts each year. He was still a good pitcher don’t get me wrong but his velocity and accuracy and ability to not give up runs was not all there. During his tenure with the Giants though he won 3 World Series titles, including winning the back to back Cy Young awards, led the league in strike outs 3 times, made 4 straight All Star teams from 2008 – 2011 and pitched two no hitters. And then his career took an all time low. His final season with the Giants was pretty disappointed going 7-4 with an ERA of 4.40 and only 60 strikeouts. He got injured in the middle of the season and then in the end of the season he was elected to free agency and was never resigned from the team. He signed with the Angels but the Tim Lincecum that won back to back CY Young’s and striking out almost every person he faced wasn’t there. In his final year in the major league level Lincecum went 2-6 with an ERA above 9 and only had 32 strikeouts. He was released in the end of the season. Lincecum tried to make a comeback with the Texas Rangers in 2018 but was constantly getting injured and was let go just a few months after being signed. Lincecum was a great young arm when he first started out and by the time he got to his prime he was already losing his velocity and momentum on the pitching mound. He was no longer the ace; he was the 3rd or 4th starter or even a bullpen arm. Now he never did retire but at this point Lincecum will always be remembered for his best years early on in his career. This guy could have been the next Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens, both amazing pitchers during their time. I was lucky enough to see Lincecum pitch in his best years and he will always be one of my favorite pitchers to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbkkon5WwOs
6. Brandon Webb (2003 – 2009) – The 2000’s saw some of the greatest young pitchers become aces. C.C Sabathia, Roy Holladay, Justin Verlander, Johan Santana, Roy Oswalt, Mark Buehrle just to name a few. However one young talented starting pitcher that also could be on that list and was a very great pitcher was Brandon Webb. Webb wasn’t a huge strikeout pitcher and low ERA pitcher either, he was an ace for a team that had lost some of their best players over the years and yet from his 1st game till his last Brandon Webb was considered the best player of the team. Webb was the starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team who won the World Series in 2001 but would slowly decline each year. Once the two aces of the team, Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, both left the team from 2003 – 2004 the team needed a new ace. Thankfully Webb stepped up big time and in time became the number one starting pitcher for the team. He had a really good rookie year in 2003 with a 10-9 record with a 2.84 ERA with 172 strikeouts. And his sophomore year in 2004 was not great with a 7-16 record with a 3.59 ERA with 164 strikeouts, but he still had potential. In 2006 he started to become the ace that I was talking about and was getting a huge fan base in the baseball community. From 2006 – 2007 he made two straight All Star teams and led the league in wins in 2006 with 18 wins and also won the CY Young award. In 2008 Webb had his best season in baseball going 22-7 with an ERA of 3.30 with 183 strikeouts and leading the league in wins and making the All Star team. He came in 17th place for MVP voting in the National League and 2nd in the NL CY Young voting, losing it to our last entry Tim Lincecum. All was going well for Webb going into the 2009 season until Opening Day. Webb pitched four innings gave up 6 hits, 6 runs and walked 2 batters. He was placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder injury and missed the entire season. He even missed the entire 2010 season to rehab the recently repaired shoulder. He never made another start in the major leagues and only pitched in the minors until he injured his shoulder again. He retired in 2013 at the age of 33 and man what a missed opportunity for this amazing starter. Webb was a phenomenal pitcher that gets forgotten today because he played only 6 seasons and people forget that he was one of the best pitchers in the first decade of the century. He could have been a Hall of Famer as he was going strong in his first 6 years but unfortunately shoulder injuries took him away from the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyYDt24J56E
5. David Wright (2004 – 2018) – I used to hate to watch this guy take on the Yankees but I respect him so much and know that he is one of the best players to ever wear the uniform for the Mets. David Wright became the Mets hottest hitter and greatest player in the team really quick in his career. He came up in the big leagues in the middle of the 2004 season and only played 69 games, but man did he hit really well. He hit .293 with 14 homeruns, 40 runs batted in, 77 hits and 6 stolen bases. Imagine he played a full season; he could have been Rookie of the Year possibly. From 2005 – 2008, Wright had a combine total of 116 homeruns, 449 runs batted in with an combined .311 batting average and also winning two straight gold gloves and silver sluggers from 07 – 08 and making 3 straight All-Star games. In 2009 David Wright got a concussion, nothing bad but nothing good either but his numbers drastically dropped from 30 plus homeruns to only 10 and he also only got 72 runs batted in. It wasn’t a serious injury but it was scary to see a guy average 25 – 30 homeruns and 100 runs batted in a season to only get 10 homeruns and 72 run batted in. He bounced back in the 2010 season but after 2010 his numbers began to drop and he started to be plagued with injuries. The Mets captain would continue to battle through them the next couple of years but come 2014 season he wasn’t the same David Wright Mets fan came to love. He was injured proned and every year was another worse year for him. From 2014 – 2016 David Wright would constantly be placed on the disabled list. He even missed the entire 2017 season so he could rehab his neck surgery from the prior year but by then it was announced that Wright had a shoulder injury and people questioned if Wright would ever play again. It was then announced that David Wright had spinal stenosis, which is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal. This would be the career ending injury for David Wright as he played his final game in 2018 and then retired after the final game. In his 14 year career David Wright went on to be one of the greatest Mets players ever holding the franchise record for most career runs batted in (970), doubles (390), hits (1777), and many more categories. David Wright is undoubtedly one of the best to ever play at 3rd base and may have a chance to make it into the Hall of Fame. It’s not likely but it could happen but only time will tell. Wright would have been in the 3000 hits club and have at least 400 career home runs and 1500 career runs batted in if he stayed healthy but we can only guess now what could have been. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u72ZKxIOD5U
4. Kerry Wood (1998 – 2012) – If you were at the Chicago Cubs/Houston Astros game on May 6, 1998 then you would be one of the luckiest people to witness history being made. On that day Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters and gave up one hit against the Houston Astros. Kerry Wood had a very amazing rookie year, a year in which he went 13 – 6 with a 3.33 ERA and striking out 233 batters in just 166.1 innings. He won the NL Rookie of the Year and to this day no one has been able to beat the record of 20 strikeouts in a single game. However his season was cut a month short after feeling soreness in his elbow, thus leading to why he is on this list. Wood would miss the entire 1999 season after he got Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2000 but wasn’t fully in his 98 form. In 2001 he finally was the Kerry Wood he was back in 98 and from 2001 – 2003 struck out 700 batters, and also in 2003 he led the league in strikeouts with 266K’s. Kerry Wood was nasty as a starter but the injury bug would once again haunt Kerry, this time it was his triceps. And then his knee, and then he tore his rotator cuff. Wood from 2004 – 2006 only played in 44 games and he never had the velocity like he did in 98. Going into the 2007 season Kerry Wood decided to transition into a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and for the next couple of years he actually pitched pretty well as a relief pitcher. Yeah it wasn’t the same like he was as a starter but he still managed to pitch pretty well. While he was only limited about an inning, he still made it his best to get out of the jams, get some need saves and strike out batters. Wood was released from the Cubs after the 2008 season and signed with the Cleveland Indians and shocking he couldn’t stay healthy, landing on the D.L in multiple stints in the 2010 season. However once he was traded to the Yankees in 2010 he stayed healthy and pitched well going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in 24 games, which included a 21 inning scoreless streak. 2 years later he pitched his final game in baseball striking out Chicago White Sox’s Dayan Viciedo. While Wood’s career was a rollercoaster he still managed to make the best of it. He could have been a top starting pitcher that could have struck out 200 plus batters a season but injuries plagued his entire career. In fact Wood was injured 14 times in his 14 year career, and only had a handful of healthy seasons. I thought Wood was an excellent pitcher, starter or relief and could have been a future Hall of Famer. Tommy John surgery and injuries over the years kind of took that away from him and it’s kind of sad considering he had one of the most amazing rookie seasons ever in baseball history and really showed potential. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luA9O5Ii1ew
3. Bo Jackson (1986 – 1994) – The thing about Bo Jackson was he was an amazing athlete who played two sports. Bo Jackson played both Baseball and Football and was really great at both. Bo really knew how to get his name in the media and he was an icon in the sports world during his time on the field and gridiron. Bo wasn’t the best contact hitter as he was more known for being a power hitter, a base stealer and a great fielder. From 1987 – 1990 Bo Jackson averaged 27 homeruns and 20 stolen bases, which was pretty impressive if you ask me. He could have been a better contact hitter but he was really good at getting dingers and then on the football side he was one of the fastest running backs in the sport. And then tragedy struck in 1991 during a playoff game. Bo Jackson suffered a dislocated hip after he got tackled down to the ground. Because of his hip injury and how serious it was he retired from football after that season and in baseball it didn’t get better for the two sport star. The Royals would cut him and he was later picked up by the White Sox where he was limited to only playing 23 games. He finally got surgery in 1992 on his hip, forcing him to miss the entire season. When he returned to baseball fulltime in 1993 he wasn’t the same player and only played in 85 games. He won comeback player of the year but it wasn’t enough to prove that he was going to be the Bo Jackson from the late 80’s. The 94’ season was cut short due to the strike and Bo decided to retire soon after. In total he only had 141 career homeruns and 598 career hits. The problem with Bo was the fact that he was a two sport athlete. Had he chosen to only play baseball we could of seen a promising athlete that career could of lasted 15 – 18 years and he could have been considered a Hall of Famer but because of his huge injury in the football world he not only cost himself his football career but it also took years out of his career in baseball and the player he once was. Bo’s career in baseball was never great to be honest but his power numbers were pretty decent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnjZU7Hp8yk
2. Mark Prior (2002 – 2006) – This one is pretty sad considering he had so much potential and was the 2nd overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft. Mark Prior played for the Chicago Cubs in his 4 year tenure in the major league and he really could have had a longer stint. We will get to that but let’s talk about his rookie year. He went 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA in 19 games and struck out 147 batters in 116.2 innings. Pretty decent rookie year if you ask me as he showed the talent that he had and was even a great strikeout pitcher. His sophomore year in 2003 was his best season in his career as he went off that year. He made it into the All-Star game, came in 9th place in NL MVP voting and 3rd place in NL CY Young voting. Prior went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA striking out 245 batters in 211.1 innings. Prior had an amazing season and he missed a few games that year after getting into a collision at second base with Atlanta Braves second baseman Marcus Giles. But just like Kerry Wood all good things must begin to end as in the 2004 season Prior began to show shoulder problems and started the season with an injured Achilles tendon. There were also rumors about Prior needing Tommy John surgery but thankfully those rumors were false. When he returned to play he wasn’t the same pitcher and quite frankly it was showing that his velocity wasn’t all there. 2005 he missed some games as well due to injuries but he pitched a lot better going 11-7 with 188 strikeouts. In 2006 he started the season on the disabled list as he had a strained shoulder prior to Spring Training and once he got off the disabled list Prior began to show that his shoulder was damaged and he began to suck. He finished the year with a record of 1-6 with a 7.22 ERA. Mark Prior career in the big leagues was soon over and injuries kept taking him away from the game he loved. Mark Prior continued to be positive though signing with the Padres in 2008 but his shoulder continued to damage even more, forcing him to get season ending surgery and missing another year. He was let go from the team in mid 2009 and every year a team would sign him to a minor league deal but he never got the call up, he wasn’t the same Mark Prior that we watched in 2002 and 2003. Prior retired from baseball in 2013 after failing multiple times to make a comeback. While he could have been a future hall of famer, Prior’s career was shortened due to shoulder problems, throwing too many pitches in multiple games and injures plaguing him from the beginning of his career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPGSkVGCxL4
1. Jose Fernandez (2013 – 2016) – Jose Fernandez’s careers began so perfectly to be honest. He started his career in 2013 and he started on a hot note. His first career game was against the New York Mets and he pitched 5 innings giving up 3 hits, 1 run and striking out 8 batters. From there he continued to shine as he was selected to pitch for the NL in the All – Star game and later on would win NL Rookie of the Month for July and August. He was the obvious person to win the NL Rookie of the Year as he went 12 – 6 with a 2.19 ERA in just 170 plus innings, striking out 187 batters. He also came in 3rd place for NL CY Young voting, thus cementing himself to having one of the best rookie years ever in major league baseball history. The young 21 year old was starting off his career on a hot note until 2014. He started the season really hot until he sprained his elbow, which led him too unfortunately to get Tommy John surgery. He returned in the middle of the 2015 season and once again was on fire. He only pitched in 11 games but in those 11 games he went 6 – 1 with a 2.95 ERA and 79 strikeouts. Not bad considering he retuning from Tommy John surgery, something that plagued many great pitchers careers over the years. 2016 was where Fernandez was shown as a big deal. He went off that year as in the 1st half of the season he went 11-4 with an ERA of 2.52 and 154 strikeouts. Fernandez was one of the few pitchers considered for the NL CY Young award. He also appeared in the 2016 All-Star game and was proving to the world that he was the future of MLB. On September 25th, 2016, MLB and the world became silent as Jose Fernandez was killed in a boat crash as he and two other men were found dead at the scene. Fernandez was only 24 years old. I don’t want to go too into what happened because that’s not what this list is for but I want to say how sad it was for not only the Miami Marlins and baseball but to the fans of Jose Fernandez. I remember when he debuted and I was like this guy was going to be something and he proved that he was. Fernandez finished the season with a 16 – 8 record with a 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts. If Fernandez would have lived then there may be a chance he would have won the CY Young that year, but he could have had one hell of a career and maybe even a future Hall of Famer. In just 4 seasons in the major leagues Fernandez went 38 – 17 with a 2.58 ERA and 589 strikeouts in just 471.1 innings pitched. The Marlins retired his number the night after he died and to this day no Marlin will ever wear Number 16 on their uniform. All we could thing now is what could have been? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbWoCa33xbs
I know this one was long so I’ll make the honorable mentions short but I was very interested in this topic since I have watched baseball for a long time and have watched many of these players come and go so quickly so I felt like putting my heart and knowledge of the game and use it in this top 10.
Honorable Mentions:
Chris Carpenter (1997 – 2012) – The former NL Cy Young award winner had many setbacks in his career as multiple elbow and shoulder surgeries took him off the field for many months and seasons. He looked to be a promising pitcher but the injury bug would take over his career. In his career he went 144 – 94 with a 3.76 ERA and 1,697 strikeouts. Nomar Garciaparra (1996 – 2009) – Nomar was the Derek Jeter for the Red Sox as he was there top hitter in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Unfortunately injuries plagued his career from 2001 – 2009 as he would have a handful of injuries that either cut his season short or miss a good amount of playing time. In his career he was a 7 time All Star and had a .313 career batting average with 229 career homeruns. Thurman Munson (1969 – 1979) – The fact that Munson isn’t in the Hall of Fame is ridiculous. Munson was a 7 time All-Star and 1976 AL MVP. He has won 3 Gold Gloves in his career and was the captain of the Yankees from 1975 – 1979. Munson tragically passed away from a plane crash. He was only 32 years old and in the prime of his career. Troy Tulowitzki (2006 – 2019) – Tulo is the most recent player to fall under this category as he started off hot in his career, even being considered the next Derek Jeter. However injuries plagued his career and after he left Colorado it just got worse. The 5 time All-Star and 2 time Gold Glover and Silver Slugger did manage to have a decent career hitting .290 with 225 homeruns.
Written on July 12th, 2020
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