Fansided

These players are Cooperstown locks in the next five years

By David Salituro

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 6: Barry Bonds #25 of the San Francisco Giants watches the ball fly during game three of the National League Western Division Series against the Atlanta Braves on October 6, 2002 at the Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California. The Giants won 8-3. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 6: Barry Bonds #25 of the San Francisco Giants watches the ball fly during game three of the National League Western Division Series against the Atlanta Braves on October 6, 2002 at the Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California. The Giants won 8-3. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OCTOBER 7: Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on October 7, 2001 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OCTOBER 7: Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on October 7, 2001 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images) /

Class of 2021

Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox/Toronto Blue Jays/New York Yankees/Houston Astros (24 seasons, 354 wins, 3.12 ERA, ninth year on ballot)

If there is a year when Clemens and Barry Bonds make the Hall of Fame, it is this year. No first-year eligible player sticks out as a certain Hall of Famer, leaving Clemens and Bonds room to pick up votes. The case for Clemens is clear: he is one of the best pitchers in baseball history. He won seven Cy Young Awards, 354 games and seven ERA titles. His 139.0 WAR ranks third all-time among pitchers. But Clemens is hurt by one thing: the suspicion that he was taking performance enhancing drugs. Despite his credentials, he never received more than 57 percent of the vote to get into the Hall. As the Steroid Era moves further away from the public consciousness, however, the case for Clemens becomes too strong to ignore.

Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates/San Francisco Giants (22 seasons, 762 home runs, .298 average, ninth year on ballot)

The case for Bonds is the same as for Clemens. The all-time home run leader, Bonds won seven MVP awards and made 14 All-Star appearances. He ranks first all-time in WAR for position players. Like Clemens, however, Bonds is hurt by steroid allegations. His involvement in the BALCO scandal has made him anathema to Hall of Fame voters. Like Clemens, however, Bonds’ case improves as the Steroid Era recedes from memory. What also helps Bonds is that he was a sure Hall of Famer even before he was suspected of taking PEDs.

Curt Schilling, Baltimore Orioles/Philadelphia Phillies/Arizona Diamondbacks/Boston Red Sox (20 seasons, 216 wins, 3.46 ERA, ninth year on ballot)

Schilling is another controversial Hall of Fame candidate, but for a different reason than Clemens and Bonds. The positives in his case are clear: Three World Series titles, a 2.23 ERA in 19 playoff starts, six All-Star appearances. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is fifth all-time, and first among pitchers with at least 3,000 innings. Schilling was also one of the most clutch pitchers in modern history. He threw a shutout in Game 5 of the 1993 World Series to keep the Phillies alive, allowed just four runs in three starts, two of them on short rest, in the 2001 World Series, and pitched one-run ball over seven innings in the Bloody Sock game in 2004. What hurts his chances: he just isn’t well liked. A series of controversial comments and his right-wing politics have made some voters hesitant to vote for him. His vote total is trending in the right direction, however, and he finally gets more than 75 percent this year.

Falling short: Omar Vizquel, Tim Hudson

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