Rafael Palmeiro’s Hall of Fame Numbers
Rafael Palmeiro ranks so high on so many lists of important offensive categories that one cannot possibly make the argument that he is not Hall worthy. One of the registers he is lowest on is slugging percentage, where Rafael Palmeiro’s .5145 has him at 65th all-time, tied ironically with Jose Canseco, one of his chief accusers in the steroids mess. In games played, Rafael Palmeiro currently sits in 15th place. Cal Ripken and Rickey Henderson are ahead of him in this category, a pair of Hall of Famers as soon as they are eligible. The player who has played in the most games, Pete Rose, is also a Hall of Famer if and whenever his lifetime ban from the game is lifted. That leaves only Rusty Staub ahead of Rafael Palmeiro on the games played roster that is not in the Hall of Fame. Rafael Palmeiro’s 2,831 games played are the most by an individual who failed to make it to a World Series.
His 10,472 at-bats put Rafael Palmeiro 14th lifetime; everyone ahead of him is enshrined except for Ripken, Henderson, and Rose. Rafael Palmeiro scored 1,663 runs. Only 28 other baseball players tallied more and all are in the Hall except for Craig Biggio, Rose, Henderson, and Barry Bonds. Biggio will eventually be elected, you can bet on that, and Bonds will be too, after much angst regarding his own situation. Rafael Plameiro sits at 23rd on the total hits roll call, with 3,020. Needless to say, everyone who has achieved 3,000 hits has been honored with a plaque in Cooperstown, except for the aforementioned Rose, Ripken, and Henderson.
As far as totals bases are concerned, Rafael Palmeiro is ranked 10th in that statistic. Rose and Bonds are ahead of him as non-Hall members, and that’s it. Rafael Palmeiro has more than such legends as Frank Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Ted Williams, and Honus Wagner. Rafael Palmeiro’s 585 doubles are more than such stalwarts as Charlie Gehringer, Wade Boggs, Robin Yount, and Rogers Hornsby and he occupies the 14th slot in two-base hits. The 569 home runs poled by Rafael Palmeiro are the 9th most ever, more than Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Willie McCovey in the 500 homer club.
There are only 17 men who have played baseball that accumulated more than 1,800 runs batted in; Rafael Palmeiro’s 1,835 RBI are eclipsed by 13 of those players. The number is 4 short of Ted Williams and 2 more than Dave Winfield. Rafael Palmeiro is 28th in bases on balls, but only 72nd in striking out, amazing when you consider his power numbers. Rafael Palmeiro is 16th in runs created with 2,002, a number that is more than Eddie Murray, George Brett, and Al Simmons. Only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, and Willie Mays slammed more extra-base hits than Rafael Palmeiro. The 4,460 times that Rafael Palmeiro reached base are less than only 16 others, and more than the likes of Joe Morgan, Al Kaline, and Rod Carew.
Rafael Palmeiro hit 40 or more homers in a single season 4 times, 37 or more in a year 10 times. Rafael Palmeiro registered 10 campaigns where he had over 100 runs batted in and 14 where he had more than 85. 6 seasons saw Rafael Palmeiro bat over .300 and his lifetime mark is .288. In addition, Rafael Palmeiro struck out more than 100 times in a year just once.
The only argument against keeping Rafael Palmeiro out of the Hall of Fame if you are just looking at his numbers is that he never led the league he was in once in any of the Triple Crown categories- homers, average, and runs batted in. Rafael Palmeiro never won an MVP Award. These facts could mean he is not a first ballot type, but could not possibly exclude him from the Hall of Fame. Rafael Palmeiro is the only player in history to lead his league in singles and reach the 500 homer plateau, and is one of four men with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Eddie Murray, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays are the other three. This overwhelming statistical evidence will present Hall of Fame voters with quite a quandary as to the status of Rafael Palmeiro in 2010, when he becomes eligible for consideration.
