What are the chances that Altuve does not become a first ballot Hall of Famer

What I would like to see is a new Hall of Fame that competes with Cooperstown. Start it with a massive event that honors Bonds, Rose, Clemens. And do not let writers vote people in -- let the fans. This would improve things so much. Take out the east coast bias... and take out the outsized influence that nearby Syracuse has (leading school in placing key figures in sports media). Put it in Chicago or somewhere that is far more accessible. Make the old HOF irrelevant.

 

3,000 might be his benchmark to be considered 1st ballot. 2020 might be the reason if he doesn’t get to that number. However, I don’t think the coasts media and higher than thou baseball writers will give him 1st ballot because of the scandal.

 

He's only 2/3rds though his career. It's not fair to compare him with players with half again more PAs.

 

I disagree.

I still think that a player with his skill set needs at least 2300 hits or 1250 runs scored, (likely both) to get in, especially on the first ballot.

I see Altuve getting there but he needs more time and more stats.

 

Where Altuve stands currently, there might not be another player comparable in league history.

An extra few hits or runs don't mean much when talking about a 3x batting champ, who's also arguably the greatest playoff performer ever.

The scandal will be his only demise.

 

Pre-scandal, the writers LOVED Jose Altuve's story. More and more, they're starting to reengage with that again. After game 5, there was almost no mention of the scandal as they heaped praise on his heroics - that's a big turn, and the continuation of a trend that's been slowly building.

He will never, ever be a first ballot Hall of Famer. And he still needs 3-5 more seasons in-line with his '21 and '22 seasons to really cement his case. But as I said in another thread: it is now impossible to write the story of MLB in the 21st century without including a chapter on Altuve. He is the most unique, impactful and divisive player of the past 10 years. If he gets those seasons, it would be criminal tp keep him out.

 

I disagree that he can't become a 1st ballot HOF, but it's not likely.

If he plays 6-7 more years, gets to 3000 hits, 1500 r, 1000 rbi, 500 doubles and 300 HR along with more good post season performances, then he should be a first ballot guy.

Also that is further removed in time and writers retiring from the scandal with more "clean" performance building up the resume.

 

I think the whole hall of fame thing in baseball is weird, especially since it's not controlled by the MLB at all.

 

Baseball, and the writers who feel like they're the story.. and the true protectors of the game, has always been weird.

The weirdness is becoming less rampant though:
Once secret HOF ballots are becoming transparent thanks to social media.

Baseball writers no longer have newspapers to write for, so they're trying to cultivate twitter presences.... but when everything gets saved digitally (and receipts are kept), they now become more reluctant to take polarizing views on players/teams that they will be incessantly called out on when their 'expert' opinion gets exposed.

There's just so much access to data, metrics, and even casual fans understanding some of the advanced numbers that go beyond batting average, RBIs, HR's, pitchers wins/losses that once were defining criteria of who's in and who's not.

Baseball isn't as popular on a generational level as it once was... and as the older generations expire, newer generations are less likely to harbor the pre-conceived ideologies or bias' that continue to impact this country in other areas.

Media bias, while still very much a real thing, is also getting further diluted as the regional sports network model that was once the main difference between rich teams and poor teams has jumped the shark fully. Streaming has forced big media to take a back seat as to how these games are showcased/covered.

The potential lack of future dynasties (after this Astros run) will further dilute how writers cover these eras.