The following is my personal opinion on which active players are likely to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame To be considered for my list, players had to have been active at the end of the 1993 season and had to have started their careers in 1986 or earlier (minimum of 8 seasons played - HOF requires ten years of service for eligibility). The list is broken into four categories. All names are listed in alphabetical order.
Definitely In (16)
Each of these players will be elected based on their current
accomplishments. If they retired today, they would still have a
virtual lock on entering. I don't really see any plausible
arguments against any of these players. I think their credentials
are obvious.
Good Chance (9)
These players could move up into the higher category in
the next few years if they continue to be productive (guys like
Dawson & Murray are examples of doing that). In most cases,
career totals (milestones) will move them into the
"definitely in category". If they retired now, they'd
have a fair chance of getting in.
Long Shot Candidates (13)
Most of these players are near the end of their career
and have achieved a few things that might make them worthy of
consideration. Most likely, they will not be serious candidates
unless they continue to be productive into their forties and
achieve some significant milestones.
Not Yet - Working towards it (12)
These players would not go in if they retired today because their
careers would have been too short. They have however established
a path that will make them very strong candidates.
I will revisit this list in a few years to add new names and (perhaps) to remove some.
