Dodgers: 3 franchise greats who should be in the Hall of Fame

Dodgers who should be in the Hall-of-Fame: Steve Garvey

Another first baseman who has received a large share of Hall-of-Fame votes but never crossed the threshold for induction is Steve Garvey.

Garvey is one of three first basemen to have hit at least 250 home runs and accumulate at least 2,400 hits (along with Todd Helton and Eddie Murray). Playing 14 seasons for the Dodgers, Garvey was one of the best players in the game from 1974 to 1981, during which time he won an MVP award in ’74 and finished top-6 in MVP voting four more times.

During his best campaign in 1974, he batted .312 with a .469 slugging percentage, and also won the Gold Glove Award. That season marked the first of six in which he would record at least 200 hits (twice leading the National League). He also won four consecutive Gold Gloves from 1974-1977.

Similar to Hodges, Garvey became a fixture in the World Series for the Dodgers, reaching the final round four times and winning the championship in 1981. He was also the MVP of the 1978 NLCS when the Dodgers beat the Phillies behind his incredible production—batting .389 with four home runs and 7 RBIs in that series.

Garvey received as much as 42.6% of the BBWAA vote for the Hall-of-Fame in 1995, but never reached the 75% threshold to get in and was removed from the ballot after 15 years in 2007.