MLB: Top 5 Hall of Fame candidates for 2017

1. Jeff Bagwell

After suffering from PED allegations, Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell has an excellent chance of getting elected into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2017. He nearly made the MLB Hall of Fame in 2016, getting 71.6 percent of the votes. Bagwell only needs a few more votes to get into Cooperstown. Since it appears that writers have begun to start voting for Bagwell, it’s likely that he’ll get the 75 percent required for election in 2017.

Bagwell was extremely underrated because he played for the Astros. His career OPS of .948 is mind boggling, even though Bagwell played in an era that was defined by offense. It bodes well for him that his career 86.2 fWAR is better than Frank Thomas and his 72.1 career fWAR.

Perhaps Bagwell suffered because people spent too much time focusing on Bagwell’s lack of magic numbers (2,314 hits and 449 home runs). He might have suffered because he was always buff, though Bagwell’s muscles were always huge, even in his days as a prospect for the Boston Red Sox. What matters now is that Bagwell is starting to win over voters. 2017 seems to be the year that he’ll be elected into Cooperstown. It is, however, a darn shame that Bagwell couldn’t be inducted in the MLB Hall of Fame alongside teammate Craig Biggio.

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