‘Forgotten’ teams of HOF candidates

There are many ways to get to Cooperstown.

Players are drawn into the Draft and signed from all over the world. Some have the opportunity to become the face of the franchise and chart their own route in the same organization straight to the Hall of Fame ballot. Others take a completely different path thanks to trades, free agency, and the quest for a World Series ring.

When a player is immortalized in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, each team he played for is named on the plaque.

With the voting results for the Hall of Fame in its 2022 edition to be announced live on the MLB Network on January 25, let’s remember 12 forgotten teams of the 30 players who appear on the Hall of Fame ballot this year.

Note: Players had to make at least one presentation for their “forgotten team” to be considered on this list.

Bobby Abreu – Houston Astros

Signed as an amateur free agent by the Astros in 1990, Abreu made his Big Top debut with the club late in the 1996 season and had offensive numbers of .248 / .325 / .362 across 74 games when he was 22. and 23 years old before being unprotected in the 1997 expansion draft.

The Venezuelan patrol car was seized by Tampa Bay before being dispatched immediately to Philadelphia in what soon became a very uneven maneuver. Abreu would hit a .312 / .409 / .497 batting line in 151 games in his first season with the Phillies, and the rest is history.

Roger Clemens – Toronto Blue Jays

Depending on how old you are, Clemens is probably remembered as a member of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees or Houston Astros. But this ignores the fact that the “Rocket” had two of his best years – which included a pair of Cy Young Awards, hitting 3,000 career strikeouts, and going 41-13 – while pitching for Toronto in 1997 and 1998. Clemens and the Blue Jays missed the postseason in both seasons.

Andruw Jones – Texas Rangers

While Jones also briefly donned the Dodgers and White Sox uniforms during the final stretch of his illustrious career, the talented outfielder’s one-year stint with the Rangers in 2009 stands out for several reasons.

Specifically, it was the first major league season in which he did not play center field. He also had eight appearances at first base (the only eight of his career) and 55 as a designated hitter.

Kent was traded three times in less than seven years early in his career before settling with the San Francisco Giants and establishing himself as one of the best second basemen in major league history.

That included a trade at the 1996 deadline that sent the talented New York infielder to Cleveland, where he would hit .265 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 39 games. After winning 99 games that season, Cleveland was surprisingly eliminated by the Orioles in the ALDS and Kent was sent to the Giants in the offseason.

Tim Lincecum – Los Angeles Angels

After winning two Cy Young Awards and being called up to the All-Star Game four times, Lincecum left the Giants organization and signed with the Angels in May 2016. The right-hander spent a month in the minor leagues trying to get in shape before pitching. six great innings in his first start with Anaheim on June 18.

Unfortunately, it all fell apart for Lincecum after that and the then 32-year-old pitcher was released after just nine starts with a 9.16 ERA.

Justin Morneau – Pittsburgh Pirates

Morneau went from the Twins to the Pirates at the end of the 2013 season as Pittsburgh tried to make the playoffs. The Canadian first baseman had a .370 on-base percentage during his first 25 games outside of the AL and went 25-7 in six postseason games for the Buccaneers that year, but it wasn’t enough as Pittsburgh was eliminated by the Cardinals. on the SDLN.

Joe Nathan – Chicago Cubs

Tommy John surgery knocked Nathan out of action when he was 40 years old after pitching just a third inning in 2015, but the Cubs signed the reliever to a major league contract the following year in hopes that the veteran would raise his bullpen down the stretch of the season and in the postseason.

Plans changed for Nathan and the Cubs when Chicago beefed up its reliever corps with a couple of moves at the trade deadline. Nathan was released despite throwing three blank innings for the club in July. The flamethrower ended his season back with the Giants and made seven appearances for the same club with which he began his career.

David Ortiz – Minnesota Twins

Before being known to baseball fans as “Big Papi,” Ortiz spent six seasons in Minnesota from 1997-2002. The Dominican gunner was released after the 2002 season despite posting 108 OPS + during his stint in the Twin Cities and signed with the Red Sox a month later. In Boston he won seven Silver Bats and three World Series rings.

Curt Schilling – Houston Astros

The Astros acquired Schilling from the Orioles prior to the 1991 season and accommodated the 24-year-old right-hander in their bullpen. He made eight of Houston’s 36 saves that season and finished 3-5 with a 3.81 ERA in a total of 56 appearances, but was traded – this time to the Phillies – prior to the start of his 1992 season.

Sammy Sosa – Baltimore Orioles

The Cubs sent Sosa to the Orioles prior to the 2005 season, ending a stellar stint in the “Windy City,” which included six Silver Bats and seven All-Star calls. The 36-year-old Sosa battled during his brief stint at Camden Yards, hitting just 14 home runs in 102 games in Baltimore.

Mark Teixeira – Los Angeles Angels

Teixeira was shipped to the Angels less than a year after being acquired by Atlanta as part of a seven-player mega-trade at the 2007 season trade deadline.

The switch hitter and first baseman punished the AL West pitching down the stretch that year, producing 1,081 OPS in 54 games for an Angels squad that won 100 games.

After becoming a free agent, the Maryland native signed an eight-year deal with the Yankees in January 2009.

Billy Wagner – Boston Red Sox

Wagner scrapped his no-trade clause and joined the Red Sox at the end of the 2009 season, just 11 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 37-year-old left-hander served as the setter for closer Jonathan Papelbon, but his stint in Boston came short after the Patirrojos were eliminated by the Angels in the ALDS.

The Virginia native closed his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2010 despite being called up to the All-Star Game and having 37 saves that year.