Predicting the next Hall of Fame inductee for every NL team
On Saturday, we picked the next likeliest player to wear each American League team's cap into the Hall of Fame. Today, it's the Senior Circuit's turn. Here are our picks for the next likeliest Hall of Famer from each of the 15 National League franchises.
Note: the number of "current inductees" for each team indicates how many Hall of Famers were inducted representing that team, not how many wore their uniform overall.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Current inductees: 1
Most recent: Randy Johnson, 2015
Next likeliest inductee: Paul Goldschmidt
Though a case can be made for Curt Schilling to join Johnson in a D-Backs cap, it's highly unlikely that he'll pick them. Zack Greinke's a possibility, but he needs a few more excellent years in the desert to justify choosing them over Kansas City. Unless that happens, we're left with the safe choice in Goldschmidt, who's quickly trending in the right direction. Barring a change of uniform in free agency, Goldy is almost assuredly Arizona's guy.
Atlanta Braves
Current inductees: 13
Most recent: Chipper Jones, 2018
Next likeliest inductee: Fred McGriff
McGriff and his 493 home runs have just one year left in front of the BBWAA and his candidacy has stalled in the low 20s - but his is a case that should get much kinder treatment from the Eras Committee, meaning the "Crime Dog" is actually closer to going in than his former teammate Andruw Jones, who has a ways to go and needs a lot of help. The Blue Jays and Rays do have cases to claim McGriff based on tenure, but he's best remembered in a Braves uniform and the plaque will reflect that.
Chicago Cubs
Current inductees: 15
Most recent: Ron Santo, 2012
Next likeliest inductee: Kris Bryant
Sammy Sosa should be the pick, but he's barely hanging on above the five-percent mark and probably won't get any love from the committees. Luckily for the Cubs, they have a new star quickly building himself a Hall-worthy resume in Bryant. Even if he does end up in another uniform down the road, Bryant's starring turn as the heartbeat of the Cubs' first championship team in 108 years makes his representing the North Side a mere formality.
Cincinnati Reds
Current inductees: 10
Most recent: Barry Larkin, 2012
Next likeliest inductee: Joey Votto
The proud Reds franchise has fallen on hard times of late - save for the one bright spot in the form of Joseph Daniel Votto, all-time great hitter and on-base machine. He's probably spending his whole career in the Queen City, so when the Hall calls him - and they will be calling him - there will be no cap questions.
Colorado Rockies
Current inductees: 0
Most recent: None
Next likeliest inductee: Larry Walker
No Hall of Famer has even played an inning in a Rockies uniform, and only Walker can change that (sorry, Todd Helton). Although the Canadian icon also starred in Montreal, the bulk of Walker's Hall of Fame resume came in Colorado. Whether he makes it in via an unprecedented jump on the writers' ballot in the next two years or through a future committee election, it's Walker who will eventually be the first Rockies representative.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Current inductees: 15
Most recent: Don Sutton, 1998
Next likeliest inductee: Clayton Kershaw
Theoretically, the Eras Committees could call on any of Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela, or Orel Hershiser before Kershaw retires, but all of their chances are slim at best. So it's pretty much set in stone that Kershaw will be the next Dodger, and while we have to wait a while for his induction, we do get to watch him pitch in the interim. That's a fair trade-off.
Miami Marlins
Current inductees: 0
Most recent: None
Next likeliest inductee: Gary Sheffield
Miguel Cabrera will go in a Tiger, and it might be a long time before Giancarlo Stanton makes up with his old team, so it comes down to Sheffield, the 509-homer man who's still struggling to gain momentum on a crowded ballot. Despite playing for eight teams, Sheff's cap choice might be an easy one: his six years in Miami marked his longest tenure in any one city, he was the Marlins' first superstar, and he helped lead them to a World Series title.
Milwaukee Brewers
Current inductees: 2
Most recent: Paul Molitor, 2004
Next likeliest inductee: Prince Fielder
Fielder might have been on his way to 500 homers and first-ballot lock status before his career-ending neck injury in 2016. The short peak will probably cost him votes, but since he did the majority of his damage in Milwaukee and will hit the ballot long before ex-teammate Ryan Braun - whose own case is bound to stall because of that very messy PED suspension in 2013 - Fielder is the Brewers' next best hope, long shot and all.
New York Mets
Current inductees: 2
Most recent: Mike Piazza, 2016
Next likeliest inductee: David Wright
This could easily be Carlos Beltran, but his picking the Mets over the Royals is far from a sure thing (we think Beltran goes with Kansas City in a narrow decision). Wright, on the other hand, is not only the Mets' modern-day face even while injuries took their toll, but he's their biggest and most beloved homegrown star since Tom Seaver. Wright's got a good case for enshrinement at his position despite his injuries, and his cap choice will be pretty easy.
Philadelphia Phillies
Current inductees: 10
Most recent: Jim Bunning, 1996
Next likeliest inductee: Curt Schilling
Most of Schilling's Hall of Fame resume was built during his nine fantastic seasons with the Phillies. Yes, the majority of his more famous postseason heroics came in Boston and Arizona, and in Schilling's case specifically that could override regular-season work when picking a cap. Still, once it's his turn in a few years it would somehow feel wrong if he didn't represent Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Current inductees: 12
Most recent: Bill Mazeroski, 2001
Next likeliest inductee: Andrew McCutchen
Cutch has plenty of time left to bolster his Hall of Fame credentials. He also named his son Steel, and if you're Pittsburgh, McCutchen naming his son after his (now former) city is a pretty good sign. While former skipper Jim Leyland may beat McCutchen to Cooperstown, it's possible that he'd go in as a Tiger.
San Diego Padres
Current inductees: 3
Most recent: Trevor Hoffman, 2018
Next likeliest inductee: Adrian Gonzalez
It's slim pickings for the Padres - even Bruce Bochy's all but guaranteed to go in as a Giant. Gonzalez, a San Diego native, played the majority of his career games for his hometown team and hit the second-most homers in franchise history, so he's their best hope - that is, if he can beat some rather long odds to reach Cooperstown.
San Francisco Giants
Current inductees: 28
Most recent: Orlando Cepeda, 1999
Next likeliest inductee: Barry Bonds
The home-run king will be going in before his 10 years in front of the writers are up, and he'll do so wearing a Giants cap.
St. Louis Cardinals
Current inductees: 15
Most recent: Whitey Herzog, 2010
Next likeliest inductee: Albert Pujols and/or Scott Rolen
If Pujols - who we all know is going in as a Cardinal - retires after his contract expires in 2021 as expected, he'd be a first-ballot inductee in 2027. That would also be Rolen's 10th and final year on the ballot. Though he only got 10 percent of the vote this year as a first-timer, the lack of multiple first-time candidates in future elections may help Rolen gain ground going forward. He's also likely to go in as a Cardinal, despite more years (and more hurt feelings) in Philadelphia. So not only are longtime teammates Pujols and Rolen the next two likeliest Cardinals inductees, but they could enter Cooperstown side by side.
Washington Nationals
Current inductees: 0
Most recent: None
Next likeliest inductee: Max Scherzer
Scherzer has three Cy Young Awards, and he's won two of them since joining the Nationals three years ago. He's showing no signs of slowing down, and by the time his current contract is finished he will have spent more time in a Nats uniform than with any other team. It already seems like a very easy call to say that Scherzer will be the District of Columbia's first Hall of Famer since Bucky Harris - manager of the long-departed Senators - in 1975.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)