Dodgers: Adrian Gonzalez Hall of Fame Odds

This season has been the complete opposite of what Adrian Gonzalez has been used to throughout his 14-year career. Even with his struggles this year with the Dodgers, does he have the numbers it takes to get into Cooperstown? We will look at his resume and see if he is a Hall-of-Famer.

The Dodgers activated veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez prior to tonight’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox. Adrian Gonzalez has battled injuries all season long up until this point, but it looks like the Dodgers will be getting him right when they need him. While this has been a down season, what does this mean for his Hall of Fame ballot?

Adrian Gonzalez was drafted by the Florida Marlins back in 2000. Before even getting to the bigs with the Marlins he was traded to the Texas Rangers. Gonzo made his MLB debut in 2004 with the Rangers. He was just 22-years-young when he made his debut. Gonzo might have broken into the MLB with Texas but did not do much there as he only played in 59 games.

After his short stint in Texas, A-Gon was traded to the San Diego Padres during the winter of 2006. San Diego was really the spot that thrust Gonzalez into the limelight. He spent 5 wonderful seasons with the Padres and loved tormenting the Dodgers while in San Diego. Adrian Gonzalez was from the area and was doing absolutely fantastic in from of his hometown crowd down south.

He was an All-Star 3 of the 5 years he was a Padre. Gonzo was also a two time Gold Glove winner in San Diego. He finished top 5 in MVP voting in 2010. But perhaps, more importantly, he was on the field for almost every single game. He played in 799 of the 810 regular season games during his 5-year tenure with the club.

The Padres moved on from Gonzo following the 2010 season and traded him that offseason to the Boston Red Sox. He spent just one full season with them. In that season he posted career-highs with 213 hits and a batting average of .338 en route to his first Silver Slugger award. That season he had 27 Home Runs and 117 RBI’s.

This season warranted a monster contract. That is exactly what he got. He signed a 7 year 154 million-dollar contract to stay with the Red Sox long-term. Or so he thought.

He signed that contract thinking he’d spend 7 seasons in Boston. But he didn’t even get through year one of that contract with the Red Sox. August 25^th, 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired him and other All-Stars in perhaps one of the biggest blockbuster trades made after the non-waiver trade deadline.

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A-Gon did not waste time re-introducing himself to the Dodger fans as he hit a 3 run home-run in his first AB. This time around he was on the good side. Before taking his first AB as a Dodger, he was greeted by the Los Angeles faithful with a standing ovation, proving that he would become a fan-favorite. His Mexican background could be felt by many fans giving him an automatic appeal with the Angelinos.

His seasons with the Dodgers have been consistent production. Having no less than 90 RBI’s in his four complete seasons. This season was the first he missed games due to injury. He was also put on the DL for the first time in his career. As the saying goes “father time is undefeated.” That has certainly been the case this year but the years before were stat patters to his Hall-Of-Fame resume.

As of right now, he will fall short of being enshrined in Cooperstown. But that doesn’t mean he can’t make-up the ground. He is four hits shy of 2000 which would be a great accomplishment. Though just a difference of four, 2000 looks a whole lot better that 1996. Getting to that milestone would be a huge step. His 309 home-runs are nothing to scoff at, but it isn’t as high as other first basemen in the Hall-of-Fame.

He currently owns a .289 career batting average which is a good number to have while vying for a spot in Cooperstown. But if his regression continues onto next season that could drop and hurt his stock. His .489 slugging percentage is higher than that of Eddie Murray who is one of the marquee first basemen in the Hall.

One thing that could really help his stock would be if he could be a key contributor on the Dodgers in the playoffs. A ring would be huge for the slugger. Many people over-value rings in voting for the HOF, but if Gonzo gets a ring and produces big time in October, he can sway enough voters and work his way into Cooperstown.

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More than anything it’s the stiff competition that Gonzo had at 1B that will most likely hurt him. Having the likes of Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Jim Thome and Mark Texiera all at the same position made many people over look him for ASG selections, Silver Sluggers and many more accolades. Gonzalez has certainly had a tremendous career but he still needs some work to be a sure-fire HOF, but for now he is on the edge.