Rafael Palmeiro's Hall of Fame Numbers

It is not for me to decide what to do with Rafael Palmeiro when it comes to the Hall of Fame. I don't know whether Rafael Palmeiro used steroids or not to gain a competitive advantage while he played Major League Baseball for twenty seasons. His adamant denial in front of Congress and then positive test a few weeks later put Rafael Palmeiro in an untenable position at best, and basically led to his exit from the game in a most ungraceful manner. But when it comes to basing his Cooperstown eligibility solely on his statistics, Rafael Palmeiro may be a no-brainer first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Rafael Palmeiro ranks so high on so many lists of important offensive categories that one cannot possibly make the argument that he is not Hall worthy. One of the registers he is lowest on is slugging percentage, where Rafael Palmeiro's .5145 has him at 65th all-time, tied ironically with Jose Canseco, one of his chief accusers in the steroids mess. In games played, Rafael Palmeiro currently sits in 15th place. Cal Ripken and Rickey Henderson are ahead of him in this category, a pair of Hall of Famers as soon as they are eligible. The player who has played in the most games, Pete Rose, is also a Hall of Famer if and whenever his lifetime ban from the game is lifted. That leaves only Rusty Staub ahead of Rafael Palmeiro on the games played roster that is not in the Hall of Fame. Rafael Palmeiro's 2,831 games played are the most by an individual who failed to make it to a World Series.

His 10,472 at-bats put Rafael Palmeiro 14th lifetime; everyone ahead of him is enshrined except for Ripken, Henderson, and Rose. Rafael Palmeiro scored 1,663 runs. Only 28 other baseball players tallied more and all are in the Hall except for Craig Biggio, Rose, Henderson, and Barry Bonds. Biggio will eventually be elected, you can bet on that, and Bonds will be too, after much angst regarding his own situation. Rafael Plameiro sits at 23rd on the total hits roll call, with 3,020. Needless to say, everyone who has achieved 3,000 hits has been honored with a plaque in Cooperstown, except for the aforementioned Rose, Ripken, and Henderson.