Is former Cleveland Indian Manny Ramirez Hall of Fame worthy?
Now that this year's Baseball Hall of Fame class has been inducted into Cooperstown, it's time to start looking ahead to the next few classes of candidates.
While he won't be eligible until 2017, there's a lot of debate surrounding the HOF status of former Indians slugger Manny Ramirez.
Despite his amazing career numbers, Ramirez's involvement with PEDs will likely keep him out of the Hall, as noted by Mike Axisa of CBS Sports:
"The numbers -- career .312/.411/.585 (154 OPS+) hitter with 555 home runs -- say Manny is one of the best hitters in history and a first ballot shoo-in, but two performance-enhancing drug suspensions, indifferent defense and Manny being Manny distractions means he has close to zero chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame."
Denying ManRam of election into the Hall would be a travesty to the game of baseball, especially when you take a look at the players that his numbers most resemble (according to Baseball Reference):
-- Frank Thomas (Hall of Famer)
-- Jimmie Foxx (Hall of Famer)
-- Ted Williams (Hall of Famer)
-- Ken Griffey Jr. (likely first-ballot Hall of Famer)
-- Albert Pujols (likely first-ballot Hall of Famer)
Ramirez undoubtedly has the credentials to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but will his involvement in PEDs keep him out?
The Hall is meant to honor the greatest players in the game, and Manny Ramirez is one of them.
(h/t Wahoo's On First)
