Manny Ramirez is a HOFer, right?

[RyDogg66]

Should come close to 600 HRs, maybe more, career OPS+ of 155, might get to 3,000 hits. 30 Hrs + 11 seasons so far.

But tonight I noticed he has never won an MVP, has only been in the top 5 in the MVP voting twice and never above 3.

He had the 2nd highest OPS in the AL last year, but finished 18th in the MVP voting, somehow finishing below 4 yankees including Giambi and Damon and 4 twins, two of them pitchers.

Has Manny Ramirez gotten the respect he deserves as a hitter? Or is he overrated?

[dadofandrew]

Unless he gets hurt tomorrow, the only question is first ballot or not. He's in, but may be delayed due to his defense.

[JimH5]

He's a first ballot guy right now. He's got a .593 career slugging percentage, which is 8th all-time.

[jwaltz]

There is no doubt in my mind he's a HOFer. He has a career line of .313/.409/.593. A career 1.002 OPS. He will most likely finish his career without an MVP but there were multiple instances where he was just as deserving as the winner. Even without the MVP he does have a World Series MVP award to his credit and two Hank Aaron Awards. Plus he's given us quite a few "Manny being Manny" moments.

[drezdn]

He'll get in but wander off during the ceremony.

[danzig6767]

Seems a no doubt first ballot to me,at least if i had a vote

[jwaltz]

Of all the future HOFers his acceptance speech is the one I am most interested to hear and see. Who knows what he will say or do? Anything can, and probably will, happen.

[brewcrewreview]

The Hall Of Fame Speech that I have been waiting for my whole life is Rickey Henderson's!

[bigbrewkahuna]

How well a players finishes in yearly MVP voting should'nt be much of a factor in deciding a players HOF chances.

Just like the All Star game voting outcomes,the MVP voting outcomes are often nothing but a big joke.

As an example,look at how often Ted Williams got snubbed by the "expert" MVP voters.

[RoseBowlMtg]

One of the most feared RH hitters in baseball with an incredible career and will get in first ballot unless he is on George Mitchell's list which is very possible imo. The list will spread deep.

[JoeHova]

People don't seem to realize it, but Manny has a legit shot at becoming the all-time RBI leader. He's 696 behind Hank Aaron and he's only 35. His career pace is about 120 RBI's per year, which would have him breaking the record when he's 41. Plenty of great players play till they're that old, so I could see it happening. Additionally, RBI's aren't like home runs or even hits where the amount a guy gets will decline precipitously as he gets worse. Even if what Manny is doing this year is a real decline and not just a one year anomaly (he's hitting the worst he has since 1994, though it's still pretty good for anyone not named Manny Ramirez or Albert Pujols), if he hits in the middle of a pretty good lineup for 5-6 more years, he should get a bunch of RBI's.

 

All of this assumes good health though, which is never that safe of an assumption.

 

Also, A-Rod will end up with that record, like he will the HR record, when all is said and done. That assumes good health too, of course.

[DHonks]

Manny didn't get the vote in 2006 for a couple of reasons, but basically taking September off was a huge one.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Of course Manny Ramirez is a HOFer. The guy is one of the greatest offensive players in baseball history. Despite his lousy defense and less than ideal attitude how can anyone question his HOF credentials.