With the 2017 Hall of Fame voting behind us we will take a look at a couple of current Mariners players who may one day be enshrined in Cooperstown. Which current players have what it takes to be Hall worthy?
As Mariners fans hope to see Edgar Martinez get enshrined into Cooperstown one day soon, it is also a good time to see if any current Mariner has what it takes to get the call to the hall.
On the 2017 Mariners, there are quite a few players who have legitimate Cooperstown cases.
Based on their stellar careers including their time with the Mariners, here is who I believe will one day be enshrined into the MLB Hall of Fame that is currently playing in Seattle.
The Reign of The King
The first Mariner who’s hall of fame case we will review is Felix Hernandez. Since his debut in 2005, “The King” has been the poster boy of consistency.
In his career, he has won a Cy Young Award and on August 15, 2012, he threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Throughout his first 11 seasons, Felix has eclipsed 190 IP in 9 of those seasons. The only times he failed to reach 190 IP was during his 2005 rookie year and his injury plagued 2016.
He has a career 3.16 ERA, 154 wins, and 2,264 strikeouts.
If Felix can reach the elusive 200 wins and 3000 strikeouts -a feat that only 16 players in MLB history have achieved- there still won’t be much against Felix to not enshrine him. If the M’s can win it all in 2017, that will only add to “The King’s” case for the hall.
Smooth as Silk
The next current Mariner who has a chance for Cooperstown is Robinson Cano.
Cano will certainly get into Cooperstown. Also, he may be regarded as one of the greatest second baseman ever. The back of his baseball card has no shortage of jaw-dropping stats.
Since his debut in 2005, Cano has a career .307 BA, 2,210 hits, .853 OPS, and a .988 Fielding percentage. Those numbers would be a dream for any baseball player. Amazingly, he is still a premier player and shows no signs of slowing down.
When Cano finally decides to hang up his cleats, in my mind, he will no doubt be a first ballot player. He transformed his era and had a swing almost as sweet as The Kids.
If Their Trends Continue…
Now, here a couple of players who, with continued success, can punch their ticket to the hall of fame.
The first player who I predict to have a HOF career is Jean Segura.
In his first few seasons, Segura has had to deal with an unbearable tragedy off the field. A couple of years ago, Segura’s nine-month-old son passed away, and everyone could tell that impacted Segura’s play on the field, and why shouldn’t it?
More from SoDo Mojo
Nevertheless, in his two best seasons, Segura put together hall of fame numbers. Those years Segura hit a combined .307 with 376 hits and only 185 K’s.
Furthermore, Segura will be only 27 years old in 2017. If he can put together a lengthy career, the sky is the limit for the rest of his hopefully less tragic career.
Next up, if he can continue to have seasons like his rookie year, Edwin Diaz could get to the hall. In 49 games, he converted 18/21 saves with a 2.79 ERA.
In 49 games, he converted 18/21 saves with a 2.79 ERA. Also in that span, Diaz threw 88 strikeouts compared to 15 walks. With a fastball that can reach 100 MPH and a wipeout slider, he should have a great career.
Diaz’s arsenal of pitches along with his command and poise could lead to one of the best reliever careers ever.
For all of these men, the time is not near for hall of fame nomination let alone enshrinement, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t speculate as to who the future Mariners player will be to join Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Jonhson and soon to be, Edgar Martinez in the hall.
