It is common knowledge among players that 3,000 hits is an automatic ticket into the Hall of Fame. Even those who have come close to this number can get in if they displayed some amount of power, speed, or clutch play over their careers. As a result, no eligible player with more than 2,800 hits has been left out of Cooperstown. There are currently 23 players with more than 2,500 hits that are not in the Hall. Five of them are still active:
Tim Raines – 2561
Harold Baines – 2855
Rickey Henderson – 2914
Cal Ripken Jr. – 3070
Tony Gwynn – 3108
Henderson and Ripken are surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers. Gwynn and Raines are almost guaranteed to get in, though perhaps not in their first year of eligibility. Baines, a DH since 1987, has only three 100 RBI seasons and has never had 30 home runs, and is on the bubble. Four other players are retired, but not yet eligible to be voted in:
Andre Dawson – 2774
Wade Boggs – 3010
Eddie Murray – 3255
Paul Molitor – 3319
Boggs, Murray, and Molitor will all get in when their turn comes. Dawson is less certain, but will probably be there as well. Finally, there are those who came close, but not quite close enough. These are the fourteen players that are eligible for Hall election but have not been deemed worthy of occupying its hallowed halls:
Buddy Bell – 2514
Roger Connor – 2542
George Van Haltren – 2552
Jimmy Ryan – 2556
Willie Davis – 2561
Steve Garvey – 2599
Lave Cross – 2666
Fred Clarke – 2678
Doc Cramer – 2705
Dave Parker – 2712
Bill Buckner – 2715
Rusty Staub – 2716
Al Oliver – 2743
Vada Pinson – 2757