5 of the most shameful Baseball Hall of Fame snubs of the Steroid Era

Another Hall of Fame induction season has come and gone. This time around, Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, and CC Sabathia got the call. As we reminisce on the careers of these three monumental figures in baseball, let’s also recognize those who made the sport just as memorable but were turned down to receive a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Throughout the years, we’ve witnessed head-scratching decisions in to immortalize or not immortalize the iconic players in halls of baseball prestige. But when it comes to the Steroid Era, HOF voting becomes tricky. Several players whose careers were stained by PEDs posted jaw-dropping numbers. Look no further than the 70-home run club. Numerous players that performed exceptionally well but played clean were vastly overshadowed.

This led to a HOF voting debacle. Players that used PEDs garnered votes from writers who dismissed their steroid use as a norm at the time but were essentially boycotted by those who deemed it a crime. This led to a split vote and several great players fell off the ballot.

Today, we’ll lay out the case for five such players who played it clean and were overlooked; falling off the ballot after only one year. If you don’t find some of the names you’re expecting to see, chances are, you might find them here. But this list will exclude controversial players in all forms that are already excluded for obvious reasons; from steroid users (Mo Vaughn), corked bat users (Albert Belle), and tech savvy sign-stealers. First, we’ll go through a short list of honorable mentions who deserve a second, third, or twelfth look, then we’ll run through some studs with compelling arguments that fell off the ballot after just one year.

Honorable mentions: Tim Salmon, Alfonso Soriano, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Will Clark, Paul Konerko, Moises Alou      

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5. Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard came onto the scene as the Steroid Era was nearly ending, but his contributions were largely overshadowed by the PED users he shared the HOF ballot with. The reason Howard fell off the ballot after only one year is rather simple. He only played for 13 years and injuries both hampered his performance and kept him off the field in the latter half of his accomplished career. But there is still a strong case for his inclusion.

During the first half of his career, Howard was an unstoppable dynamo. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 hitting 22 home runs to a .288 average. The very next year, he was the NL MVP, slugging 58 home runs to a .313 average. From that year through 2009, Howard led the MLB in home runs twice and RBIs three times hitting 45+ home runs for each of those four years. He was the fastest player to 100 home runs and later to 200 home runs. He garnered MVP votes each year from his MVP year through 2011 always finishing in the top 10.

Howard wrapped up his career with a slash line of .258/.343/.515/.859 with 382 home runs, shockingly only winning one Silver Slugger. He won a World Series with his only team, the Phillies, in 2008 and was the NLCS MVP in 2009. His home run total topped 30 six times.

If inducted, Howard’s .258 career average would tie him with Rabbitt Maranville as the HOFer with the third lowest batting average (for a hitter). The injury-riddled last five years of his career weighed heavily on his career numbers and sunk his HOF case. But there is a case to be made here that his dominant stretch was long enough to carry him into Cooperstown despite the last five years of his career. The legendary Ralph Kiner only spent ten years in the majors. Given this, even if his case isn’t strong enough to land him in the HOF, Howard at least deserves a longer look than the one year he received. Howard only received a two percent share of the vote in 2022.

4. Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman is one example of a player whose skillset would be much more valuable today than it was when he played. Berkman was always a touted slugger; topping 30 home runs six times (eclipsing 40 twice), and typically hitting for high averages (topping .300 five times). Though he never won an MVP, he received votes across seven seasons and led the NL in both home runs and RBIs once each.

But even with Berkman’s talent for collecting both hits and home runs, his HOF case is somewhat of a borderline ordeal. Berkman finished his career with a .293 average and 366 home runs. But Berkman’s overwhelming HOF-worthy talent was evident in his on-base percentage which stands at .406. To put it in perspective, his OBP is higher than that of Jim Thome, Chipper Jones, Joe DiMaggio, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson and Rod Carew. If inducted into the HOF, he would be tied with Arky Vaughan for the 36th highest OBP just behind his teammate Jeff Bagwell. He is ranked 43rd in OBP overall (among qualifiers).

Berkman retired with a slash line of .293/.406/.537/.943. In 2011, he won his only World Series with the Cardinals. To make things interesting, let’s make a modern-day comparison.

Berkman’s 366 home runs come out to an average of 32 a year. Juan Soto, who is still in his prime, maintains a career average of .285, an on-base percentage of .421 and hits 35 home runs a year on average. As it currently stands, Soto is undeniably on a HOF trajectory.

Given that the culmination of Berkman’s career contributions are similar to the numbers Soto (who is yet to experience a slowdown) has posted, Berkman has a strong HOF case that needs to be revisited. Strangely, Berkman only received a 1.2% vote share knocking him off the ballot in his first year. This was likely due to the overabundance of HOF-worthy names on the ballot that time around in 2019.

3. Jorge Posada

Jorge Posada may lag the others on this list when it comes to slugging home runs or hitting for super high averages with consistency, but HOF voting often comes down to perspectives from a positional standpoint. Catchers often lag the MLB in standard stats as the position itself is physically taxing. However, this didn’t seem to stop Posada as one of the Yankees’ hallmark catchers and one the games most talented switch-hitters.

Posada got off to a relatively slow start his first few years in the majors. But before long, he began producing at a high level. Posada hit 20+ home runs across eight seasons while consistently putting up quality batting averages year after year. Throughout his 17-year career, Posada collected five Silver Sluggers and won four championships; this includes two top 10 finishes for MVP (3rd in 2003, 6th in 2007).

Posada retired with a slash line of .273/.374/.474/.848 and 275 home runs. Posada’s home run total peaked at 30 while his average climbed to .338 in his best season. His rather impressive .374 career on-base percentage ranks him 9th among qualifying catchers, topping HOFers Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Bench, Roy Campenella and Yogi Berra among others and sits just below the HOF average of .377. Among all backstops, he is ranked 13th in RBIs (1065), 8th in OPS (.848) and 9th in home runs though Salvador Perez is just two shy of a tie.

When you compare Posada’s numbers to the rest of the HOF ballot, one can understand how he might be overlooked. But when it comes to hitting, there are few catchers who did better. Sadly, he fell off the ballot in his first year only receiving 3.8 percent of support. This may have been because he wasn’t seen as a great defensive backstop, but there is a quite compelling rebuttal:

2. Mark Teixeira

Another slugger who found his career overshadowed by PED users was Mark Texeira. Teixeira recorded nine seasons where he hit 30+ home runs topping out at 43. His batting average topped .300 three times, but he was only able to hit for high averages for the first half of his 14-year career due to injuries.

Texeira retired after hitting .268/.360/.509/.869 with 409 home runs winning three Silver Sluggers and claiming the World Series title in 2009 with the Yankees. He led the AL in home runs, RBIs and runs once each. His career home run total makes him one of five switch-hitters with a home run total over 400. Adding to his case is his five Gold Gloves. Several players have been inducted just for their defense, but defense might not be Teixeira’s most compelling talent.

At first glance, Texeira has a borderline HOF case. No single stat proves indefinitely that he deserves a spot in the HOF. But for the first half of his career, he was consistently among the top first basemen. Several others have been inducted into the hall for doing less. For example, we’ll use first baseman Tony Perez.

Perez spent 23 years in the MLB bringing consistent quality to the plate for most of his career. He finished with a slash line of .279/.341/.463/.804 and 379 home runs. While his stat line is good, Perez lags Texeira in all but one stat (AVG) and never won any Gold Gloves. Still, Perez made it into the HOF in his ninth year on the ballot. Teixeira, on the other hand, only garnered 1.5 percent support in his only year on the ballot. Like with many other talented players, Teixeira’s contributions were dwarfed by the behemoths of the Steroid Era. This is likely why his case was thrown out so early.

1. Andres Galarraga

This brings us to our fourth first baseman on a list of five players. Andres Galarraga began his career before the steroid epidemic was in full swing, but his best years came as it materialized. The Big Cat was quick to impress in his first full two years with The Montreal Expos hitting to averages over .300 with clear power potential and leading the NL in both hits and doubles. But after such a promising start, Galarraga’s production just as quickly fell off. After landing with the Rockies in 1993, his bat jolted back to life winning his only batting title with a career-best .370 batting average.

From there, Galarraga started hitting for high averages while slugging home runs. From 1996 to 1998, he posted home run totals over 40 and averages over .300. To dispel any questions around the ‘Colorado effect,’ his 1998 season (44 home runs with a .305 average) came with the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately, his production dipped after coming back from a season lost to injury.

Galarraga finished his career hitting .288/.347/.499/.846 with 399 home runs. He garnered MVP votes seven times, winning two Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves at first base. Over his 19-year career, he led the NL in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs one time each while leading the MLB in both RBIs and batting average separate times.  

Galarraga was knocked off the HOF ballot after one year garnering a 4.1 percent share of the vote. While he played for many years, the problem here was likely if he had been good enough for long enough. Also, there is likely the bias against the Rockies since Denver’s elevation is responsible for improving many stat lines.