Twelve Active Career .300 Hitters and Whether They Can Make the Hall of Fame

The list of active career .300 hitters in Major League Baseball that have had at least 3,000 plate appearances now numbers twenty-two batters, many of whom are destined for the Hall of Fame. Stars such as Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols, and Vladimir Guerrero are certainly bound for upstate New York and Cooperstown when they hang up their spikes, and they are four of the top ten active hitters for average. The next dozen batters on that roster after these greats include some equally accomplished players, three of whom can already begin to contemplate which team's ball cap they want their likeness wearing on their Hall of Fame plaque. However, as you will see, there is more to making the Hall of Fame than hitting .300. Following are the dozen players that have the 11th through 22nd best lifetime averages that are currently active, and their chances of making the Hall of Fame on a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being a sure bet and 1 meaning forget about it.

.306 lifetime- Alex Rodriguez- New York Yankees
A-Rod eclipsed 500 homers this past summer and when he is done the shortstop turned third baseman may very well hold the all-time record as well have reached the 3,000 hit plateau. He currently stands at 11th among active players in career average, and is having the year of his life at the age of 31 as he strives for a third Most Valuable Player Award. Alex has won an AL batting crown, four home run titles, two RBI crowns, and has been an All-Star every full season he has played. HOF chances-10

.305 Placido Polanco- Detroit Tigers
Polanco is up there to swing the bat, and he makes contact. He has struck out just 297 times in 4,222 official at-bats, and walked even less with 238 bases on balls. The former Cardinal and Phillie is on pace for career highs in runs scored, average, and RBI, however, he is not going to be awaiting a call during the winters from Major League Baseball concerning his entering the Hall. Polanco has just 439 lifetime ribbies and although he hits for average, he is a Punch and Judy hitter with no batting titles. HOF chances-1