Running through Ex-Dodgers on the 2020 Hall of Fame Ballot

Bobby Abreu

Although his brief Dodger tenure was spent as an over-the-hill pinch hitter, Bobby Abreu has quite a solid HOF resume. He accrued 60 WAR over an 18-year career and was one of the best right fielders in baseball in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Abreu had a rare combination of power, speed, and an outstanding eye at the plate. He is one of just four players ever to draw 1400 walks, hit 500 doubles, hit 250 homers, and steal 400 bases. Despite a lack of hardware (one Gold Glove and one Silver Slugger), Abreu has a decent shot at the Hall, but it’ll take him a few years.

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Andruw Jones

One of the worst free-agent signings in Dodger history, Andruw Jones was quite the ballplayer before his dismal season in LA. Jones was one of the best center fielders in baseball for most of his career. During his 12 year Atlanta tenure, he totaled 368 homers, won ten Gold Gloves, and stole as many as 27 bases. His best year came in 2005, in which he hit 51 homers and drove in 128 runs, and fell a close second to Albert Pujols in MVP voting. Jones had a terrific career, but his abrupt decline, ho-hum on-base numbers, and the fact that he fell just short of the 2,000 hit plateau will likely keep him from enshrinement.

Manny Ramirez

I might say Manny Ramirez’ Hall of Fame candidacy is as interesting as his playing career, but that might offend plenty of LA, Cleveland and Boston fans alike. Either way, the polarizing outfielder might be as well known for his antics both on and off the field as his hitting, which is saying something because he is easily one of the best right-handed hitters of recent memory.

Manny was arguably at his most controversial during his time in LA, with two of his three positive tests for PED’s being revealed (he tested positive in a 2003 “survey test” that hadn’t come to light until 2009).

His second-half tear after being traded from Boston propelled the Dodgers into the playoffs (and spawned the “Mannywood” section in the left field stands), but his downward spiral revolving around steroids and injuries began soon thereafter.

Manny definitely has the credentials for enshrinement in the Hall if it weren’t for his murky PED situation. 2,574 hits, 547 doubles, 555 homers (21 of the grand slam variety) and a .312 average would certainly be Cooperstown material under normal circumstances. He’s topped out at 23.8% of the vote and likely won’t get much higher unless the writers change their position on steroid offenders.

With all of these great players on the ballot, the Dodgers still remain unlikely to add any players to Cooperstown donning the LA cap, but hopefully, a few World Series wins in the 2020s will change that going forward.