The New York Yankees are without a doubt the most historic franchise in all of MLB, since they are not only the team with the most championships of all time with 27 World Series, plus several of the most legendary players Major League Baseball passed through the Bronx like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Jo DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, among many others, the latter being the most recent Yankee to join to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.
But after the recent induction of Jeter and Mariano Rivera into the Hall of Fame, who will be the next player to enter Cooperstown with the Yankees plaque? There are several candidates who have a good resume to be eligible for soon, but for one reason or another, they may fall short or postpone their election to the Ring of Immortals in the future.
Roger clemens
Along with Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens will be in his 10th and final year on the ballot for 2022, seeing how his relationship with banned substances has kept him from being inducted to Cooperstown, having the numbers and the race to be sure. candidate for the Hall of Fame.
In his ninth year of eligibility, Clemens obtained only 61.6% of the vote, requiring 75% of the votes to enter, making it very difficult for him to take that enormous leap necessary to convince the voters of his case to the Hall of the Fame.
In the same way, Clemens, if he could enter, could be the situation that he entered with the Boston Red Sox cap on his plate, spending 13 of his 24 seasons in MLB with the eternal rivals of the Yankees, although it was in the Bronx where he had his greatest successes, winning two World Series and two Cy Young’s with the Mules.
Alex Rodriguez
As with Roger Clemens, Alex Rodríguez’s relationship with prohibited substances could deny him entry to Cooperstown, with the difference that A-Rod was found guilty and suspended for its use, being the protagonist of perhaps the largest scandal in steroids in MLB history, Biogenesis, where along with other players such as Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz and Bartolo Colón, he was involved in an illegal trafficking scheme for prohibited substances.
A-Rod’s numbers are undeniable: 696 home runs, 3,115 hits, 2,086 RBIs, three MVP’s, a World Series and 14 All-Star nominations would be enough to earn you your Hall of Fame entry, but when it’s available in the ballots for next year, it is not known what the reception will be.
CC Sabathia
While Sabathia wasn’t as dominant or overly good as A-Rod and Clemens were, CC did it clean and had an excellent run that could well win him enough fans to induct him into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame as Yankee, where he passed 11. years of his career and where he was perhaps most recognized, in addition to Cleveland.
CC was a great pitcher at the time, but perhaps he is a step below the best of modern times such as Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine, Roy Halladay or Pedro Martínez. However, his numbers are excellent and there are similar players who entered Cooperstown like Mike Mussina himself, who has numbers similar to Sabathia’s.
Hitting 3,000 strikeouts is one of the rubrics often seen as key to entering the Hall of Fame, with Sabathia striking out 3,093 in his career, in addition to having a 251-161 record, a Cy Young and a World Series in his career. career, which might be enough to get in.
Others who could enter
Although the previous three are those that could enter via traditional ballots, there are commissions that give second chances to players who could not enter through ballots, how could Don Mattingly enter through the Veterans Committee or members, or also the entrance of the same Boss, George Steinbrenner, through different commissions and committees.
Another player could be catcher Thurman Munson, who had a short 11-year career that was cut short by his death, but full of achievements, where he won Gold Gloves, MVP’s, All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year and two Series. World Cups, but that was left out of the ballot and could be having another chance on the committees.
Munson played from 1969 to 1979 for the Yankees, dying at the age of 32 on August 2, 1979 in the middle of the season because of having crashed a plane that the same player was flying on his day off.
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