See You In Cooperstown

When Ivan Rodriguez retired the other day, the inevitable questions about whether or not he's a future Hall of Famer rose to the surface.  My response to those questions: "Are you kidding?"  He was the premier catcher of his era and one of the greatest defensive catchers in history.  Of course he's a Hall of Famer.  The only question we should be asking is, "Will he get in on the first ballot?"  The hat he'll wear on his plaque isn't a question, either.  He'll be the second resident of Cooperstown wearing a Texas Rangers hat.

With Pudge now retired, the list of sure-fire future Hall of Famers that are still active dropped by one (although it'll grow by one when Andy Pettitte returns in a couple weeks).  You could probably count on two hands the number of active players that can be viewed as locks for Cooperstown.  There are others like Matt Kemp, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer, Robinson Cano, Buster Posey, etc., that have gotten off to good starts, but haven't played the required 10 years to be eligible for the Hall of Fame yet.  Here are 10 guys who have reached the 10-year minimum that I think will be giving speeches in Upstate New York once their playing careers come to an end:

1. Mariano Rivera-It'll take about 11 seconds for the writers to vote Mariano Rivera into the Hall of Fame.  Mo's the greatest closer in history.  There's no debate about that, and it's not even close.  Even the closers that are already in the Hall of Fame would agree.  He's the all-time leader in saves, and he's still going strong.  The Yankees don't win seven pennants and five World Series without him.  His number is already retired across the entire sport, but it's safe to say that even if it wasn't, no Yankee would ever wear No. 42 again.  Will "Enter Sandman" also be retired when Mo hangs it up?

2. Derek Jeter-Yes, I made him No. 2 on purpose.  Like his Yankee teammate, voting Derek Jeter into the Hall of Fame won't take very long.  To be the New York Yankees' all-time franchise leader in anything is impressive.  When you're the first guy in franchise history with 3,000 hits, that tells you all you need to know.  He'll have many more Yankee records by the time he's done.  With any other team, we'd be talking about Jeter as potentially the best player in franchise history.  As it is, he's a worthy successor to a legacy that includes the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle.  Jeter got the only single-digit number left.  It won't be the only one left for long.

3. Alex Rodriguez-Say all you want about the steroids.  A-Rod's body of work before and after are Hall of Fame worthy.  I understand there are a number of voters who'll never vote for him because of the steroid allegation (and admission).  They're entitled to that stance, but I don't agree with it.  A-Rod is probably going to pass Barry Bonds' all-time home run record, and there's no argument that he's one of the preeminent power hitters of this (or any) era.  Plus, he's a 14-time All-Star, three-time MVP and two-time Gold Glove winner.  And let's not forget that he switched positions in the prime of his career and didn't miss a beat.

4. Albert Pujols-Now that I've moved on from the three Yankees (it'll be four when Andy Pettitte returns), it's time to move on to the other teams.  And I don't think there's any debating Albert's Hall of Fame worthiness.  If he'd retired last year after 11 seasons in St. Louis, he'd be a no-doubt-about-it first-ballot Hall of Famer.  Albert's first 10 years were better than any player in the history of the game, and the first time he didn't have 30 homers and 100 RBIs was last season.  And he's a .328 career hitter.  Albert's a three-time MVP (and in the discussion every year), and he led the Cardinals to two World Series titles.  He's already on the short-list of greatest hitters of all-time.  If his Angels career is anything like his Cardinals career, he might be considered THE greatest ever.  Especially if he breaks the home run record.

5. Ichiro Suzuki-Ichiro could become the first player inducted to the Hall of Fame in both the United States and Japan.  He was already an established star when he joined the Mariners in 2001.  All he did that season was win the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards as Seattle tied the Major League record with 116 wins.  He holds the Major League single-season hits record (262 in 2004) and had 200 hits in each of his first 10 seasons.  Ichiro also won the Gold Glove and made the All-Star team every year from 2001-10.  In addition, he was a member of the winning Japanese squad at the first two World Baseball Classics.

6. Chipper Jones-This year is the Chipper Jones retirement tour, and at the end of 2012 the careers of all five Hall of Fame locks (Chipper, Bobby Cox and the three pitchers) from the Braves' dynasty will be over.  There's something to be said about a guy who spends his entire career with one team, and Chipper Jones is one of those guys.  He was the first pick in 1990 draft, and he's been employed by the Atlanta Braves ever since.  His official rookie year was 1995, when the Braves won the World Series, and he played in two more in the next four years (1996, 1999).  He was also the NL MVP in '99.  Chipper has better numbers than any switch hitter in history except for Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.  And he's one of the classiest guys in the game. 

7. Jim Thome-Yes, Jim Thome is old.  Which, I think, makes the fact that he's still productive even more remarkable.  Thome's never been a "superstar."  He's just been really good for a long time.  That's why he's been overlooked for long.  I never really thought of Thome as a Hall of Famer until recently, but I've certainly come around.  He's got 600 career home runs.  Only seven other guys can say they've done that (well, six, because Babe Ruth's dead).  Five are in the Hall of Fame, one (Ken Griffey, Jr.) absolutely will be, and the seventh is A-Rod.  That alone will be enough for Thome to get the Cooperstown call.

8. Todd Helton-Talk about underrated, the guy who brought Peyton to Denver has been the Face of the Rockies since 1997.  Since he's spent the last 15 years in Denver, few people have noticed, but Helton has been one of the most consistently solid hitters in the game during that time.  And his numbers aren't simply a product of Coors Field.  He holds every Rockies career hitting record and is, without a doubt, the greatest player in franchise history.  Helton's also the active Major League leader in on-base percentage and second among active players in doubles.  Guys like Helton get overlooked by the fans, but not Hall of Fame voters.  His numbers speak for themselves.

9. Roy Halladay-What, you thought I was only going to have one pitcher on the list?  He started his career in Toronto, where he didn't just hold his own in the AL East, he was arguably the best pitcher in the American League.  Halladay won the Cy Young in 2003.  In 2010, he was traded to the Phillies, where Halladay has only enhanced his legacy.  He dominated the National League that year, unanimously winning the Cy Young.  Halladay threw a perfect game on May 29, 2010, then, in his first career postseason start, threw another no-hitter against the Reds in Game One of the Division Series.  Entering this season, Halladay had a career record of 188-92 with a 3.23 ERA and 1,934 strikeouts, as well as a Cy Young in each league.

10. Paul Konerko-Stats-wise, this final spot should probably go to the newly un-retired Manny Ramirez, but other than the fact that I despise him, I'm not giving it to Manny for a reason.  Even though I'm what I call a "Steroids Era Apologist," I put Manny Ramirez in a different category than A-Rod, et. al.  None of those guys ever officially failed a drug test, and taking drugs wasn't against baseball's rules when they allegedly did it.  Not so with Manny.  He was tested, failed, and was suspended.  TWICE!  For me, that's enough to make a distinction and not throw a Hall of Fame vote his way. 
Instead, I'm giving my 10th vote to Paul Konerko.  The White Sox have so much respect for Konerko that they considered making him a player-manager before deciding to hire Robin Ventura during the offseason.  Early on, he shared the first base/DH job with future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, but with Thomas injured for much of the 2005 season, it was Konerko that led the White Sox to their first World Series title in 88 years.  He's been the captain of the White Sox since 2006 and is one of the greatest offensive players in franchise history.  Konerko has 400 career home runs, making him one of 48 guys in Major League history to reach that milestone.  I don't think he's as much of a lock as the other guys on this list, or even a lock at all.  But if I had a Hall of Fame vote, Paul Konerko would get it.