MLB Hall of Fame: 10 current players who are locks
6. Robinson Cano
Just ten years into his amazing career so far, Robinson Cano is easily thought to be a lock by many, and certainly will be if he can continue performing like the player who has a career slash line of .310/.357/.501/.859 in those ten seasons.
Back when there were rumblings about Cano leaving the New York Yankees, Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated wrote an article about Cano, talking about how valuable he is to the Yankees, and would be whatever price was paid:
"There’s no player like Cano, a 31-year-old established superstar, on the market. The next-best players, such as Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza and Shin-Soo Choo — have nothing like Cano’s track record, nothing like Cano’s peak, nothing like Cano’s durability. There’s no good backup plan for the Yankees to spend the money earmarked for their incumbent second baseman."
Of course the Seattle Mariners shocked the world by signing Cano, and while the Yankees might be in tears, the Mariners are rejoicing! Cano hasn’t missed a beat!
| Year | Tm | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | NYY | 78 | 155 | 34 | 4 | 14 | 62 | 1 | 16 | 68 | .297 | .320 | .458 | .778 | RoY-2 |
| 2006 ★ | NYY | 62 | 165 | 41 | 1 | 15 | 78 | 5 | 18 | 54 | .342 | .365 | .525 | .890 | AS,MVP-22,SS |
| 2007 | NYY | 93 | 189 | 41 | 7 | 19 | 97 | 4 | 39 | 85 | .306 | .353 | .488 | .841 | |
| 2008 | NYY | 70 | 162 | 35 | 3 | 14 | 72 | 2 | 26 | 65 | .271 | .305 | .410 | .715 | |
| 2009 | NYY | 103 | 204 | 48 | 2 | 25 | 85 | 5 | 30 | 63 | .320 | .352 | .520 | .871 | MVP-17 |
| 2010 ★ | NYY | 103 | 200 | 41 | 3 | 29 | 109 | 3 | 57 | 77 | .319 | .381 | .534 | .914 | AS,MVP-3,GG,SS |
| 2011 ★ | NYY | 104 | 188 | 46 | 7 | 28 | 118 | 8 | 38 | 96 | .302 | .349 | .533 | .882 | AS,MVP-6,SS |
| 2012 ★ | NYY | 105 | 196 | 48 | 1 | 33 | 94 | 3 | 61 | 96 | .313 | .379 | .550 | .929 | AS,MVP-4,GG,SS |
| 2013 ★ | NYY | 81 | 190 | 41 | 0 | 27 | 107 | 7 | 65 | 85 | .314 | .383 | .516 | .899 | AS,MVP-5,SS |
| 2014 ★ | SEA | 47 | 114 | 22 | 1 | 6 | 53 | 7 | 32 | 45 | .330 | .389 | .452 | .841 | AS |
| 10 Yrs | 846 | 1763 | 397 | 29 | 210 | 875 | 45 | 382 | 734 | .310 | .357 | .501 | .859 | ||
| 162 Game Avg. | 94 | 195 | 44 | 3 | 23 | 97 | 5 | 42 | 81 | .310 | .357 | .501 | .859 | ||
| NYY (9 yrs) | 799 | 1649 | 375 | 28 | 204 | 822 | 38 | 350 | 689 | .309 | .355 | .504 | .860 | ||
| SEA (1 yr) | 47 | 114 | 22 | 1 | 6 | 53 | 7 | 32 | 45 | .330 | .389 | .452 | .841 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/12/2014.
The table above shows Cano’s amazing stats, that include five All-Star selections, four seasons of top tier voting as an MVP, two Gold Glove awards (Cano is a great 2nd baseman!), and four Silver Sluggers.
Some would argue that over the long-haul, it could hurt Cano’s chances to be a Hall-of-Famer by moving to Seattle, but I doubt it. Cano certainly isn’t worried about that, and if he keeps plays out the rest of his career like his first ten, we shouldn’t worry about it either. He may well be one of those locks for the Hall.