Rafael Palmeiro is a Hall of Famer

SPORTING GOODS

End of discussion. Well it should be. But people on the radio, TV and internet are busy trying to state that Palmeiro doesn't belong. There are three successive arguments that are made in support of this:

1. He has never been considered among the "elite" in the game
2. Letting Palmeiro in would somehow diminish the accomplishments of previous electeees
3. I am a blustering idiot.

The third point is always implied, never stated. But it must be made in order to try to stand by the argument that Palmeiro doesn't belong. Is it worth debating? Yes. Are these people right? Not at all.

3,000 hits, 566 home runs. That should end the debate. I did not think he was a lock when he hit his 500th, but it still seemed like he would make it. And that was 66 home runs ago. And not a, "playing 6 extra seasons at 11 each" either. 43 - 38- 23 the last 3 years, and on pace for about 30 again this year.

Here are Palmeiro's 162 game career averages:
.289, 33 home runs, 106 RBI, 96 runs. .373 OBP. .517 SLG

That's top 10 hitter in the majors type numbers. And if you are in the top ten in the majors, averaged over 20 years, you should be in the hall of fame.

As for the point that Palmeiro was never elite, just very good for very long, how about these seasons:
1991: .322, 26 HR, 88 RBI, .532 slugging
1993: .295, 37 HR, 105 RBI, .371 OBP, .554 slugging, 22 stolen bases
1995: .310, 39 HR, 104 RBI, .380 OBP, .583 slugging
1996: .289, 39 HR, 142 RBI, .381 OBP, .546 slugging
1998: .296, 43 HR, 121 RBI, .379, .565
1999: .324, 47 HR, 148 RBI, .420, .630
2000: .288, 39 HR, 120 RBI, .397, .558
2001-2: 2 more 40 HR, 100 RBI, .560+ SLG years

OK, so he has fantastic numbers, that show 10 years of being one of the best in the game. In terms of Win Shares, he is in the Boggs/ Gwynn/ Carew/ Clemente range. In order to put up those kinds of numbers, you need to be very good, for a very long time. And that is what he has done.

There are over 200 players in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and Raffy Palmeiro is right around 50th all time in terms of Win Shares. If you want to talk about the watering down of the hall of fame, have a look at the bottom quartile, not the top one.

Look at the Mazeroskis and the Chesbros and the Rizzutos. The hall of fame is not only reserved for guys who can be mentioned in the same breath as Cobb, Ruth, and Mays. It never has been, it never will, and it's tiring to hear old farts with their "good ol' days" mentalities bringing those arguments to the table.