Should Jeff Bagwell be a Hall-of-Famer?

Question

why or why not? reasons!

Answer 1

not if he took steroids

i think jamie moyer should be. he signed my first autograph, i luv him!  

Answer 2

Why not? He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame with his 449 career HRs and 1,529 RBIs not to mention that he was a four-time All-Star and a Golden Glove winner.

Answer 3

Yes. He was one of the best all-around hitters of his era. He's 41st all-time in OBP and 34th all-time in slugging. Not many can say that they're in the top 50 for both of those. And for a power hitter, he was really fast: 202 career stolen bases. He may not have 500 home runs, but he makes up for that by reaching base more than almost everyone, above average speed, and plate discipline.

Answer 4

Bear in mind this is coming from a big-time Astros fan, but it's going to be very hard for a first baseman to get into the HOF ever again without 500 home runs.  Compare Bagwell to other guys of his generation, like Frank Thomas and Jim Thome, and I think it's very hard to give him the nod.

He's going to be one of those guys that lingers on the ballot, though, I think.  Had he not had injury problems, there's not much dispute he would have topped 500 and the conversation would be done.  He was a RoY, an MVP (and a runner-up), a Gold Glover, and an All-Star starter (at first and at DH)... 9 times he was in the Top 10 for games played, including four consecutive years without missing a single game.  

But at the end of the day, I think he fell a few years shy of getting into the Hall of Fame.  After the Tony Perez debacle, I remain hopeful, but not very optimistic.

Answer 5

The evidence is not compelling on him as a steroid user, but that doesn't mean that the whole story has been told.  However, I will argue for him as a non-user.  If he used, no HOF.,

I think the best single stat is OPS+, measuring OBP and SLG in the context of the player's time.  Bagwell is #37 all-time..but he is behind Thomas and Pujols and close to Thome and Berkman.  I cannot really see that many guys playing first base at the same time as all worthy of the Hall.

I have gone back and forth on him, but I have to lean toward no.  He fielded well, but it is only first base.  There are already probably more so-so first basemen than we need.

I am going to lean no--for now.