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5 Cardinals Who Should Be in the Hall of Fame

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The St. Louis Cardinals, one of the most storied franchises in MLB history, have plenty of representation in the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, since the members of the BBWAA have several agonizing decisions to make every year, they often have to leave otherwise deserving players off of their ballots. Thus, there are a select few icons of the franchise who may deserve another look.

Even once a player receives less than 5% of the BBWAA vote in a given year, eliminating them for consideration, they are still subject to the consideration of a pair of Era Committees appointed by the Hall of Fame for the purpose of recognizing those players who were dealt an unfair hand. Were any of these players eventually elected to the Hall of Fame, it would be through their recognition by one of these two voting bodies.

For the sake of this exercise, active players and players who have retired but have not yet become eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot will not be considered. While this excludes some great players, such as Albert Pujols and Nolan Arenado, it allows for legends of Cardinals history to be revisited in more depth.

5 Cardinals Who Belong in the Hall of Fame

1. Jim Edmonds

Jim Edmonds, one of the most awe-inspiring defensive center fielders of all time, has a strong case for selection by the Era Committees. Across his career, he amassed a 60.4 bWAR, 1,949 hits, and 1,199 RBI.  In addition to this, he was an eight-time Gold Glove Award winner and is arguably the most flashy player to ever play his position.

His 51.5 JAWS (a metric developed to measure a player’s Hall of Fame resumé according to historical voting trends) is the 15th-best among center fielders all-time. Despite this, he shockingly received only 2.5% of the vote in 2016, eliminating him from consideration in future BBWAA ballots. However, 2016 featured a deep ballot headlined by Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza.

While the BBWAA ultimately did not give Edmonds his fair shot, he is a prime candidate for consideration by the Eras Committees.

2. Curt Flood

Curt Flood, the primary center fielder for the great Cardinals teams of the 1960s, had impressive statistics over the course of his career. But it is his impact off the field that primarily makes his case for consideration.

Flood, dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969, refused the trade and wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Baseball challenging the Reserve Clause, a league rule that bound players to their teams except in the event of a trade, release, or retirement.

After a lengthy court battle, Flood ultimately won, expanding player rights and paving the way for modern free agency. If his career had not been cut short at 31 due to the ire he drew from league owners, his statistics may have made a borderline case on their own. However, as modern opinions turn more favorably in his direction, the Eras Committee could decide to include him based on his true historical importance to the game.

3. Ken Boyer

One of the great third basemen in league history, Ken Boyer posted 2,143 hits and 1,141 RBI over his 15-year career, gathering 62.8 bWAR in that span.

The biggest highlight was his 1964 National League MVP campaign, in which he slashed .295/.489/.365 with a league-leading 119 RBI. He later helped lead the Cardinals to a victory in the World Series against the New York Yankees that postseason.

Boyer’s 54.7 JAWS places him 14th among third basemen all-time, just below the 56.2 average of those elected at his position. While it is not a definite case, Boyer certainly has reason for reconsideration by the committees. While he was on their ballot in 2024, he only received five votes, with 12 needed for induction.

4. Keith Hernandez

As far as pure counting stats go, Keith Hernandez has possibly the best case for reconsideration on this list. Over 19 seasons in MLB in the ’70s and ’80s, he amassed 60.3 bWAR, 2,182 hits, and 1,071 RBI. He was a four-time All-Star and an 11-time Gold Glove Award winner, and his 1979 MVP season was one of the more impressive in Cardinals history.

He essentially had two primes of his career, one with the Cardinals and one with the New York Mets, and each lasted six years in their duration. To maintain that level of production across multiple teams and decades is a feat worthy of consideration.

While his 50.8 JAWS is slightly below his positional average of 53.4, Hernandez fits much of what the Hall of Fame voters typically like to see: All-Star-level performance extended over a multitude of years.

5. Willie McGee

To those familiar with the Cardinals, it might be a shock that a legend such as Willie McGee is not in the Hall of Fame. Frankly, his numbers, at least those currently used to assess player value, do not reflect a Hall of Fame career.

Yet, his 2,254 hits and .295 career batting average are highly impressive. He only had four years in his 18-year career where he hit under .280, and two of those took place at the end of his career when he had already turned 40. In his 1985 NL MVP season, he slashed an absurd .353/.503/.384 with 56 stolen bases. Although relatively unrecognized in his time, named to only four All-Star teams in his career and none after 1988, McGee has, at the very least, a borderline case for reconsideration by the Eras Committees.

 

Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher- USA Today Sports

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